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☆ Australia marks national day that stokes patriotism and anger
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Sydney CNN —“Australia Day is Dead!” Indigenous activist Gwenda Stanley chants into the loudspeaker, as a crowd of thousands breaks into applause. This is not a day to celebrate.”Nearby, Kevin Shaw-Taylor agrees January 26 is “absolutely not” an appropriate day for national celebrations. On the other side of the city, the Australia Day party was in full swing. A yacht sails in Sydney Harbor to mark Australia Day on January 16, 2024. Instead of guilt on Australia Day, a vast number of Australians “associate it with summer fun,” says Bongiorno, from the ANU.

Persons: Gwenda Stanley, It’s, Lynda, June Coe, Jenny Evans, ”, Grace, Elise, Kevin Shaw, Taylor, Arthur Phillip, Dan Himbrechts, EFE, Frank Bongiorno, –, Asanka Ratnayake, Chelsea Watego, “, Peter Dutton, ” Dutton, Dutton, Brad Banducci, Banducci, ” Banducci, Captain Cook, Queen Victoria, Queen, Diego Fedele, “ I’m, UQ’s, we’ve, we’re Organizations: Sydney CNN —, Indigenous, “, CNN, Australia, First Nations, Sydney, British Royal Navy, Australian National University, ANU, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders, Voters, Nations, Curumba, Sea, Indigenous Voice, Coalition, Woolworths, Sovereign Movement, Blak Locations: Sydney, “ Australia, Belmore, Sydney’s, Australia, Sydney Harbor, Melbourne, Queensland, Queen Victoria

☆ Australia's Greens to investigate supermarket 'price gouging'
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People walk past a Woolworths supermarket following the easing of restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Australia's Greens party said on Sunday it would lead a parliamentary inquiry into "price gouging" by major supermarkets as the country grapples with high costs of living. "It will also assess the rise in essential item prices, the validity of discounts offered, and the inflation of profits during economic hardship," added McKim, accusing supermarkets of "price gouging" during "Australia's cost of living crisis". "Construction costs, energy prices, the cost of logistics and packaging have all risen", the spokesperson said. A Woolworths spokesperson said the company was "working to deliver relief" on grocery bills.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Nick McKim, McKim, Competition Andrew Leigh, Leigh, Sam McKeith, Lincoln Organizations: Woolworths, REUTERS, Rights, Australia's Greens, Greens, Coles, Competition, Labor, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ Australian sheep, cattle prices slump as El Nino scorches pastures
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Peter Hobson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

After three years of plentiful rain and rising livestock numbers, dry weather has withered pastures across Australia. The extreme change in conditions has helped trigger the fastest plunge in cattle and sheep prices in decades, threatening livelihoods in Australia's A$75 billion ($50 billion) red meat and livestock industry. While farmers suffer, falling livestock prices have brought some relief to Australian households hurting from high inflation. Falling U.S. beef production means demand for Australian beef should rise, helping support livestock prices, said Angus Gidley-Baird, an analyst at Rabobank in Sydney. Agricultural consultants Episode 3 estimate that Australian beef processors are reaping their best profits in at least two decades thanks to low local cattle prices and high sale prices in export markets.

Persons: Angus Hobson, Peter Hobson, Angus, Hobson, Stuart Austin, Wilmot, Angus Gidley, Baird, Teys, Mat Larkings, gaunt, haven't, they'll, Sonali Paul Organizations: Livestock, New, REUTERS, Beef, Livestock Australia, Woolworths, Data Monitor, Rabobank, Meat packers, Teys Australia, Farmers, Thomson Locations: Delegate, New South Wales, Australia, Angus Hobson's, Australia's, United States, El Nino, Japan, China, Sydney, Walcha

☆ Amazon’s top Fresh exec says store reopenings are part of broader grocery revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Peters now oversees Amazon Fresh and reports to ex-Tesco executive Tony Hoggett, who leads Amazon's physical stores business. Shoppers check out the sale items as they wait in line for the new Amazon Fresh store to open on E. Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, CA Thursday, September 15, 2022. In addition to the Woodland Hills Fresh store, Amazon reopened locations in nearby Pasadena and Irvine this week, after redesigning two Chicago-area Fresh stores in August. Amazon Fresh store in Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills Annie Palmer'Where's the butter located?' On Thursday, Amazon said it's opening the Fresh grocery delivery service to everyone in the U.S., after trials in a handful of cities.

Persons: Annie Palmer, Andy Jassy, Claire Peters, Peters, Tony Hoggett, Dilip Kumar, Stephenie Landry, Jeff Bezos, Amazon, Honey Grahams Organizations: Amazon, Woolworths, Amazon Fresh, Tesco, CNBC, Walmart, . Colorado, Medianews, los Angeles Daily, Getty, Citibank, Amazon Web, Woodland, Foods, Alexa Locations: Los Angeles, Woodland, ., Pasadena , CA, Woodland Hills, Amazon, Pasadena, Irvine, Chicago, U.S

Customers seen in the self-service checkout area of a Coles supermarket in Sydney, Australia, June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 26 (Reuters) - Australian retailers are ramping up their tech security initiatives, including placing cameras at self-checkouts and body-worn cameras on staff, to combat a surge in stock theft and customer aggression aggravated by the cost of living crisis. "Unfortunately the data suggests it's continuing to occur," added Thomson, whose firm counts Coles and Woolworths as clients. Reports of store theft surged 23% in Australia's three largest states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, home to three-quarters of the population, in the year to March 2023, according to the latest available government statistics, as COVID-related restrictions ended. Reports of threatening behaviour by shoppers rose to 17% of all security reports logged by Australian store staff in 2023, from 10% three years earlier, according to Auror data reviewed by Reuters.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Phil Thomson, Thomson, Coles, Leah Weckert, Weckert, Brad Banducci, Gerard Dwyer, Rishav Chatterjee, Byron Kaye, Praveen Menon, Christian Organizations: Coles, REUTERS, Woolworths, New, Reuters, National, of, Allied Employees Association, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, New Zealand, Australia's, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Bengaluru

☆ Australia's surprisingly strong Q3 inflation raises odds of Nov rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Markets are wagering both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are done with hiking. HAWKISH MESSAGINGThe recent messaging from the central bank has been on the hawkish side. The biggest contributors to the third quarter inflation were fuel, rents, and electricity. Fuel prices rose 7.2% from a year ago, reversing two quarters of price falls, with the conflict in the Middle East potentially set to further stoke inflationary pressures. The central bank forecast in August that inflation was only projected to return to the top of the bank's target band of 2-3% in late 2025.

Persons: David Gray, Worryingly, Adam Boyton, Gareth Aird, Michele Bullock, Woolworths WOW.AX, Taylor Nugent, Stella Qiu, Wayne Cole, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Bureau, Statistics, Wednesday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, Economics, CBA, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Woolworths, National Australia Bank, NAB, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

Mark Goddard, an actor best known for playing Major Don West in the 1960s television show “Lost in Space,” has died. Bill Mumy, who played Will Robinson on “Lost In Space,” wrote a tribute to his “beloved friend and brother” for 59 years on Facebook. Mumy said he spoke to Goddard on his birthday in July and realized he’d likely never see or speak to him again. I know he sometimes felt constricted by the campy frame that LIS constrained him within, but he also embraced and loved it,” Mumy wrote. Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesGoddard was born on July 24, 1936, Charles Harvey Goddard in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Persons: Mark Goddard, Major Don West, ”, John The, Bill Mumy, Will Robinson, Mumy, Goddard, he’d, “ Mark, ” Mumy, “, Jonathan Harris, Kevin Burns, Guy Williams, Robinson, Charles Harvey Goddard, Dick Powell, Joan Crawford, Johnny Ringo, Beverly Hillbillies, “ Perry Mason, Matt LeBlanc, Evelyn Pezzulich Organizations: Major, John The New York Times, Facebook, CBS, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Woolworths, Beverly Locations: Hingham , Massachusetts, Lowell , Massachusetts, Hollywood, Massachusetts

☆ South African rand slightly firms as US dollar dips
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsJOHANNESBURG, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The South African rand traded slightly higher on Wednesday following several days of weakness as the softening of the U.S. dollar supported risk sentiment. At 1619 GMT, the rand traded at 19.2800 against the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than its previous close. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in afternoon deals, with the yield up 6.5 basis points to 11.085%. Reporting by Tannur Anders and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexander Winning and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mike Hutchings, Tannur Anders, Anait, Alexander Winning, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., P, Africa PMI, Local, Woolworths, Africa's, Thomson Locations: Rights JOHANNESBURG, Africa, Stillwater, Johannesburg

☆ Bank of America: Asian buybacks just hit a 20-year high — and these stocks are a buying opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Analysts at Bank of America named Asian stocks with high buybacks, which they said are an opportunity for investors. "Data since Jan-90 shows Asia stocks with High Share Buybacks tend to outperform," the analysts wrote in an August 31 research note. "The proportion of Asia stocks buying back shares is at a 20-year high, suggesting increased opportunity for investors," said the analysts led by Nigel Tupper. Other Chinese stocks on BofA's list include semiconductor supplier Daqo New Energy and utilities firm Huaneng Power . Australian stocks on BofA's list included banks Westpac and National Australia Bank .

Persons: Nigel Tupper, BofA, CJ Cheil Organizations: Bank of America, Companies, Smart, New Energy, Huaneng, Catcher Tech, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Woolworths, Keppel Corp, HK Land, Swire Pacific Locations: Asia, China, Huaneng Power, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, U.S

People walk past a Woolworths supermarket following the easing of restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2020. A day earlier, Coles said a cost blowout sent its underlying annual profit lower. Woolworths said its earnings margin from food was 6% in the year to end-June, from 5.3% a year earlier. The company gave no profit guidance except that growth in Australian food sales, its main earnings driver, remained strong although inflation was moderating. "We think the result will be taken well in the context of yesterday’s weaker result from Coles," Citi analysts said.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Coles, Brad Banducci, Jim Stanford, Byron Kaye, Nausheen, Archishma Iyer, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Stephen Coates, Muralikumar Organizations: Woolworths, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Macquarie Group, Citi, Centre, Future, Australia Institute, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Coles, Bengaluru

☆ Australia's Woolworths posts nearly 5% rise in annual profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People walk past a Woolworths supermarket following the easing of restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - Australia's largest supermarket chain Woolworths Group (WOW.AX) reported an 4.6% rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, helped by elevated shelf prices on the back of rising inflation and increasing normalization of customer habits. The company said annual net profit after tax from continuing operations, after significant items, was A$1.62 billion ($1.04 billion), compared with A$1.55 billion a year earlier. The Sydney-based company also declared a final dividend of 58 Australian cents per share, higher than 53 cents per share declared last year. ($1 = 1.5567 Australian dollars)Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Brad Banducci, Nausheen Thusoo, Archishma Iyer, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Woolworths, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Bengaluru

Coles and Woolworths sell two-thirds of Australian groceries by dollar value, and are seen as bellwethers of consumer behaviour. Full-year NPAT of Woolworths is seen rising to A$1.74 billion from A$1.51 billion, and for Wesfarmers to A$2.47 billion from A$2.35 billion last year. Woolworths and Wesfarmers report annual results on Aug. 23 and Aug. 25, respectively. They added that rising operating costs are a headwind for retail companies, but focus will be on how these costs are managed. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Daniel Munoz, Jefferies, Coles, Tim Waterer, Himanshi Akhand, John Biju, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Coles Group, Woolworths, KCM Trade, Kmart, Coles, UBS, Thomson Locations: Sydney's, Australia, Bengaluru

Despite these challenges, Walmart International has performed strongly under McKenna's leadership, under which it exited poorly performing operations in Japan, Britain, Argentina and Brazil. McKenna has led Walmart International since 2018, overseeing a multi-year transformation that resulted in the unit delivering more growth and stronger financial results across the board, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon wrote in a memo to employees. Sam's Club, a rival to Costco (COST.O), for years had been an underperforming business with muted sales growth. Sam's Club, a business unit with $84 billion of yearly revenue, has posted 12.7% average annual comparable sales growth since McKay took over the division, according to a Reuters calculation. Walmart also announced that Christopher Nicholas, currently chief operating officer of Walmart U.S., would replace McLay as CEO of Sam's Club.

Persons: Mario Anzuoni, Kathryn McLay, Judith McKenna, McKenna, Doug McMillon, Piper Sandler, McKay, she's, Edward Jones, Brian Yarbrough, Christopher Nicholas, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Siddharth Cavale, Anil D'Silva, Sandra Maler, Jamie Freed Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Walmart Inc, Walmart International, Sam's, Woolworths, Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart U.S, McLay, Jan, Thomson Locations: Rosemead , California, U.S, China, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, Britain, Argentina, Brazil, India, Walmart's U.S, Walmart Mexico, Bengaluru, New York

July 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Endeavour Group (EDV.AX), Australia's biggest pub owner, hit a record low on Monday after a surprise state government decision to impose identification checks and gambling limits on poker machine users. Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, said at the weekend it would make poker machine users register for an ID card to prevent money laundering and set a loss limit in advance to restrict problem gambling. Analysts were divided on the scale of the impact on Endeavour, the country's biggest owner of poker machine licences, given the company does not break out poker machine profit in its results. The change also adds pressure on other states, particularly New South Wales (NSW), to follow suit and heed community demands for greater regulation of poker machine gambling. Australia is home to one-fifth of the world's poker machine licences, the most of any jurisdiction outside Las Vegas.

Persons: Australia's, midsession, Today's, Byron Kaye, Himanshi, Navya Mittal, Subhranshu Sahu, Stephen Coates Organizations: Endeavour Group, Australia's, Analysts, Endeavour, Woolworths, Labor, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: New South Wales, NSW, Sydney, Australia, Las Vegas, Bengaluru

☆ Aussie retailers in for more pain as high interest rates squeeze spending - Citi
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Australian retailers are in for a sombre period this fiscal year as high interest rates squeeze household budgets, especially for discretionary spending, Citigroup said on Thursday, with expected further rate hikes likely to dent confidence even more. The brokerage cut its fiscal 2024 earnings forecast for electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi (JBH.AX), fashion retailer Premier Investments (PMV.AX), auto parts retailer Super Retail (SUL.AX), and retail conglomerate Wesfarmers (WES.AX). "It appears the two recent rate rises (in May and June) following the April pause has been the final straw, pushing some consumers to restrain their spending," Citi analysts Adrian Lemme and James Wang wrote in a note. They estimate the high rates have pushed up net household interest expense by around A$30 billion over five years through 2024. "Given Citi forecasts another two rate rises, we think confidence will remain depressed for now," the analysts said.

Persons: Adrian Lemme, James Wang, JB, Harvey Norman, Citi's, Sameer Manekar, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Citigroup, JB, Premier Investments, Super, Citi, Australia, UBS, Pizza Enterprises, Coles Group, Woolworths, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Australia's TechnologyOne halts trading after being hit by cyber attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Australia's TechnologyOne Ltd (TNE.AX) said on Wednesday it had detected an unauthorised third-party access to its back-office systems, becoming the latest target in a series of cyber attacks that has bogged companies in the country since last year. "TechnologyOne's customer-facing SaaS platform is not connected to the Microsoft 365 system, and therefore, has not been impacted," the enterprise software maker reassured its customers in an exchange filing. The software maker immediately went on a trading halt after the announcement, and said it has isolated the affected systems and will contact the impacted customers after an investigation is conducted. Major firms such as top grocer Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX), and telecoms Telstra (TLS.AX) and TPG Telecom (TPG.AX) have reported data breaches and unauthorised access, bringing to light corporate vulnerability to cyber attacks. Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia central bank stuns market with 25-bps hike, says more might be needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wrapping up its May policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted rates to 3.85% and said "some further" tightening may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe. Investors reacted by pushing the Australian dollar 0.9% higher to $0.6687, while three-year bond futures slumped 16 ticks to 96.85. "Given the importance of returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe, the Board judged that a further increase in interest rates was warranted today." Home prices are also showing signs of bottoming out, having risen for the second straight month in April, supported by rising migration levels and a chronic shortage in housing supply. Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Record retail theft puts pressure on Australian supermarket giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Retail theft has hit record levels in Australia, government statistics show, putting pressure on grocery giants Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW.AX) and Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) that are already struggling with soaring supply costs and freight blockages. Queensland, Australia's third-largest state, had the highest monthly rate of shop stealing on record this January, according to publicly available police data. Neither state's data specified which retailers reported theft. That may impact profit at Woolworths and Coles, which together ring up two-thirds of Australian grocery sales and noted rising store theft in trading updates last month. Supermarkets refer to goods lost to theft, expiry or payment error as stock losses.

☆ Stocks struggle to make headway as rate rises loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) touched its lowest since Jan. 6 in early trade. Nasdaq futures (.NQc1) rose 0.9% after a revenue beat at chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O) sent its shares up 9% after-hours. Oil nursed sharp overnight losses, and Brent crude futures clung to support around $80 a barrel on Thursday. "Markets have been forced to reprice interest rate expectations, not just higher, but also questioning the view that once peak rates are hit, central banks will pivot quickly to cutting interest rates," said ANZ economist Finn Robinson. The Bank of Korea did, however, offer some dose of relief by ending a year-long run of uninterrupted rate hikes with a pause.

Woolworths and smaller rival Coles Group Ltd (COL.AX) have experienced wild swings in Australian consumer behaviour since COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 sparked grocery stockpiling. As with Coles' interim result reported on Tuesday, the Woolworths profit gain was helped by a sharp decline in COVID-19 related expenses. Woolworths shares were up 2% by midsession, against a 0.3% dip in the broader benchmark(.AXJO), as analysts cheered the prospect of profit margin growth at a company exposed to rising supply costs. "Momentum in the key Australian Food business remains solid, with sales growth rates better than expected in early 2H23," E&P Financial retail analyst said Phillip Kimber in a client note. Woolworths declared an interim dividend of 46 Australian cents per share, compared with 39 Australian cents a year earlier.

☆ Black Friday, holiday sales spur demand at South Africa's Shoprite
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 31 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggest supermarket group Shoprite (SHPJ.J) reported a 16.8% jump in half year sales on Tuesday, supported by a record Black Friday and festive season as both cash-strapped shoppers and upmarket consumers went after deals. But the offerings would hurt margins of its South Africa supermarkets business, the company said. The retailer, with over 2,100 stores across Africa, said group sales for the six months ended Jan. 1 jumped to 106.3 billion rand ($6.10 billion). The group's core business, Supermarkets South Africa, which contributes up to 80% to the topline, grew sales by 17.5%, with like-for-like sales growth of 11.1%. Its rest of Africa business grew sales by 17.5% in rand terms.

☆ Australia sues AmEx on alleged breach of credit card distribution laws
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - The Australian securities regulator on Tuesday took the local unit of American Express Co (AmEx) (AXP.N) to court alleging two of its credit cards co-branded with retailer David Jones were issued and distributed without ensuring customers understood them. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission(ASIC) alleged in a lawsuit that AmEx knew some customers would be confused whether they had applied for a loyalty card or a credit card, and that it failed to limit distribution to customers looking for a card that earns points and other benefits. The card payment service provider was aware of the high cancellation rates among customers who apply for credit cards at David Jones outlets, compared with their online counterparts, ASIC said in a statement. AmEx and South Africa's Woolworths Holdings (WHLJ.J), which owns the department store chain, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Uttaresh.V and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian regulator sues AmEx for alleged breaches of distribution obligations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Australian corporate regulator on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against American Express Co's (AmEx) (AXP.N) Australian arm, seeking declarations and pecuniary penalties for alleged breaches of design and distribution obligations. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) said the lawsuit was related to two co-branded credit cards issued by AmEx to retail consumers in David Jones stores, owned by South Africa's Woolworths Holdings Ltd (WHLJ.J). ASIC added that AmEx continued to issue the cards despite being aware of the deficiencies in TMD, risking customers with a financial product that was not in line with their needs. AmEx and Woolworths Holdings did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Uttaresh.VOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Australia Inc roiled by raft of cyberattacks this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. The data exposed included home addresses, drivers' licences and passport numbers. AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL LABSAustralian Clinical Labs Ltd (ACL.AX), one of the country's largest pathology providers, said unit Medlab suffered a breach that exposed data of about 223,000 patients. TELSTRAAustralia's largest telecoms operator Telstra (TLS.AX) suffered what it called a small data breach, which exposed data of about 30,000 current and former employees dating back to 2017. Compiled by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Australia Inc roiled by raft of cyberattacks since late 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A woman uses her mobile phone as she walks past in front of an Optus shop in Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. AUSTRALIAN CLINICAL LABSAustralian Clinical Labs Ltd (ACL.AX), one of the country's largest pathology providers, said unit Medlab suffered a breach that exposed data of about 223,000 patients. TPG TELECOMAustralia's No.2 internet service provider TPG Telecom (TPG.AX) said it had been notified of unauthorised access to a hosted exchange service that hosts email accounts of up to 15,000 business customers. CBACommonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX said its Indonesian unit, PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC), had been hit by a cyber incident involving unauthorised access of a web-based software application used for project management. IPHAustralian intellectual property services provider IPH Ltd (IPH.AX) said it had detected unauthorised access to a portion of its IT environment, compromising information including administrative documents and some client documents.

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