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☆ 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 Latitude Group opposed to paying ransom to cyber attack criminals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - Australian consumer finance firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (LFS.AX) will not pay a ransom to those behind a cyber attack last month, saying it will be detrimental to customers and cause harm to the broader community by encouraging further attacks. "We will not reward criminal behaviour, nor do we believe that paying a ransom will result in the return or destruction of the information that was stolen," Latitude said in a statement on Tuesday. Latitude, which provides consumer finance services to retailers Harvey Norman (HVN.AX) and JB Hi-Fi (JBH.AX), had also taken its platforms offline. Several Australian firms have reported cyber attacks over the past few months, which experts attribute to an understaffed cyber security industry. Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's Latitude Group says 7.9 million driver licence numbers stolen in data theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Digital payments and lending firm Latitude Holdings (LFS.AX) said on Monday it has determined that 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver licence numbers were stolen in a large-scale information theft on March 16. Apart from the 7.9 million driver licence numbers stolen, the Australian fintech firm also identified about 53,000 passport numbers were stolen and less than 100 customers had a monthly financial statement stolen. A further 6.1 million records dating back to at least 2005 were also stolen. Customers who choose to replace their stolen ID document will be reimbursed, the company said in a statement. Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SummarySummary Companies Latitude marks worst intraday dropLatitude among latest in slew of corporate cyberattacks in AustraliaMarch 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Latitude Group Holdings (LFS.AX) slumped to their all-time low on Wednesday after the fintech firm unearthed further evidence of large-scale information theft affecting former and current customers across Australia and New Zealand. Latitude said it was attempting to identify the number of customers affected and the type of personal information stolen by the hacker. Latitude had said last week that personal information of around 328,000 customers, including copies of drivers' licences, was stolen. It took its platforms offline on Monday and said the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre were looking into the attack. Latitude GroupReporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's Latitude takes systems offline, Federal Police investigate cyberattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 20 (Reuters) - Australian fintech firm Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (LFS.AX) said on Monday it had taken its platforms offline as the cyberattack detected last week remained active, adding the Federal Police was investigating the incident. Last week, the firm said personal information, mostly drivers' licence copies or licence numbers, of about 330,000 customers and applicants was stolen. Latitude said the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre were looking into the attack. Latitude shares have not traded since March 15, a day before the company first disclosed the cyberattack. Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's Harvey Norman slumps on lower half-year profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Shares of Harvey Norman (HVN.AX) slumped more than 9% on Tuesday after Australia's biggest electronics retailer posted a 15% drop in its first-half profit as the cost-of-living pressures crimped its discretionary retail spending. The company reported profit after tax attributable for the six-month period ended Dec. 31 of A$365.9 million ($246.58 million), compared with A$430.9 million last year. ($1 = 1.4839 Australian dollars)Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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