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☆ Australia's biggest state to vote in close-run election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state will vote for a new government on Saturday with most opinion polls showing a close-run election with the opposition centre-left Labor party ahead of the ruling conservative coalition by a narrow margin. The poll said Labor could win up to six more seats. Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged voters in his home state to elect a Labor government, saying the current coalition government was "in shambles" due to infighting. Perrottet oversaw the brisk reopening of the state from COVID-19 restrictions in a bid to revive the state's economy that is larger than Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia. Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Fed's relentless rate hikes to rein in inflation have been partly blamed for sparking the biggest meltdown in the banking sector since the 2008 financial crisis. For now, Credit Suisse's rescue appears to have assuaged the worst fears of systemic contagion, boosting shares of European banks (.SX7P) and U.S. regional lenders. The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) rallied 3.6%, its largest one-day gain since November. Still, Australia's prudential regulator has started asking the country's banks to declare their exposure to startups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, according to the Australian Financial Review. Market cap of US regional banks included in the S&P 500 regional bank indexDeputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said a review of the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and rival Signature Bank was in order.

☆ Australia regulator seeks risk reports from banks on startups, crypto -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 22 (Reuters) - Australia's prudential regulator has started asking the country's banks to declare their exposure to startups and crypto-focused ventures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR). The APRA declined to comment on the report but referred to its statement last week that it would intensify supervision of the local banking industry and seek more information on any potential impact from Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) declined to comment, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) and National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week said Australia was in a good position to withstand some of the market volatility because the country's banks were well capitalised, well regulated and had strong liquidity. Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's sovereign wealth fund screening for Chinese firms at risk of US bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 7 (Reuters) - Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, is screening its portfolio for Chinese companies at risk of U.S. investment restrictions, its chairman said on Tuesday. The Biden administration plans to ban investments in some Chinese technology firms and increase scrutiny of others, sources have said, as part of its plan to crack down on the billions that American firms have poured into sensitive Chinese sectors. I think it’s foreseeable,” Costello said during a panel discussion at the Australian Financial Review summit in Sydney on Tuesday. The A$243 billion ($164 billion) fund was established in 2006 to cover escalating pension liabilities for public servants and rivals Australia's largest pension funds in size. "I just think it’s a prudent measure in this bifurcated world we’re going into," said Costello.

Arm is expected to confidentially submit paperwork for its initial public offering in late April, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The listing is expected to happen later this year and the exact timing will be determined by market conditions, the sources added. SoftBank has picked four investment banks to lead what is expected to be the most high-profile stock market flotation in recent years. The preparations for the IPO are expected to be kick-started in the U.S. in the coming days, the sources said. The valuation range has not yet been finalized but Cambridge, England-based Arm is hoping to be valued at more than $50 billion during its share sale, the sources said.

☆ FTX was under surveillance by Australian regulators over 6 months before its collapse, documents reportedly show
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX was surveilled by Australian financial regulators as early as March 2022, per the Guardian. FTX Australia obtained a regulatory license after acquiring a company that already had one. That article reported that the crypto exchange would lend customers as much as 20 times their investment to buy crypto assets. Almost 30,000 investors in Australia lost money to the crypto exchange, the Australian Financial Review previously reported. The regulator confirmed to the Guardian that it had made inquiries with FTX Australia since March 2022, and investigations were ongoing.

☆ Australian stock exchange's blockchain failure burns market trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

That 96% of that software is working," Hogben told a Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association conference, in footage seen by Reuters. More than a dozen brokers, other market participants and people directly involved in the blockchain project told Reuters the failure had shaken trust in the Australian exchange operator. After New York startup Digital Asset Holdings showed ASX executives a test transaction on its blockchain software, ASX in early 2016 signed the little-known company to begin exploratory work on an overhaul. From an initial plan to run about 12 of CHESS's 400 data transfers per transaction on blockchain, ASX decided the new system would include all 400 transfers, the person said. Its spokesperson told Reuters there was "no off-the-shelf solution available to meet the needs of the Australian market".

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was part of a secret chat group called 'Wirefraud' alongside other top FTX executives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was in a secret chat group called "Wirefraud" in a tweet on Monday. The former FTX CEO was arrested and charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy this week. Although the chat group was set up to keep communications hidden, the contents of it will become public throughout legal proceedings, AFR reported. FTX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the chat group, made outside of normal working hours. Hours after Bankman-Fried denied involvement in the chat group, he was arrested by Bahamian authorities.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with father Rupert Murdoch and why a merger of Fox and News Corp is about 'entrenching Lachlan's control'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Rupert Murdoch remains executive chairman of News Corp and chairman of Fox. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. If you're looking longer-term about who's going to run the company beyond the merger, if it happens, [News Corp CEO] Robert Thomson is probably retiring.

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Regulators are moving in on distressed crypto exchange FTX as it scrambles to raise billions in funds to stave off collapse, while its chief executive, Sam Bankman-Fried, faces heightened scrutiny. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas has frozen assets of FTX Digital Markets, an FTX subsidiary. FTX Australia called in administrators on Friday, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing a company statement. Bankman-Fried is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for potential securities law violations, Bloomberg reported, citing a source. This source said helping out FTX was the question for larger investors in FTX.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with dad Rupert and why his siblings want to change 'destructive' Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. Why did you want to write a book about Lachlan Murdoch? Did you talk to Lachlan Murdoch?

☆ Australia to cut economic growth forecasts on lower consumer spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Australia's economic growth is expected to slow sharply next financial year as rising inflation curbs household consumption, according to new forecasts to be unveiled by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Tuesday's budget. GDP is also due to be downgraded to 3.25% from 3.5% for 2022-2023, according to draft figures from the Treasury. The drop-off is blamed on a slump in consumer spending as rising prices and the biggest jump in interest rates in decades cut into household budgets. "These headwinds will inevitably impact our growth outlook, and Australians are already feeling the pinch from higher prices and rising interest rates." "The best defence against these economic headwinds is a responsible budget ... along with responsible cost-of-living relief that won't make the job of the Reserve Bank more difficult," Chalmers told the Australian Financial Review.

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