Yahoo Finance Aussie brands slammed: Yahoo Finance morning wrap for Monday
Good morning.
Here’s everything you need to know in Australia and beyond:
ASX: The Australian share market is expected to open higher after a positive lead from overseas at the end of last week.
The SPI200 futures contract was up 12.0 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 6,732.0 at 0700 AEDT, suggesting a rise for the benchmark S&P/ASX200 on Monday.
On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.39 per cent, the S&P 500 was up 0.22 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.16 per cent.
AUD: The Aussie dollar is buying 67.94 US cents from 67.87 US cents on Friday.
‘Hostile foreign intelligence’: News broke over the weekend that Chinese operatives tried to install 32-year old Melbourne resident Nick Zhao in Federal parliament. ASIO has issued a statement confirming they knew about the plot.
Bank boss bonuses on hold: Westpac will scrap or trim the bonuses of its executive team following allegations it committed 23 million breaches of money laundering laws.
Financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC is taking Westpac – the country's second-largest bank – to court over the breaches, some of which are alleged to be linked to child exploitation.
Speaking of pay, Australia’s been wracked with underpayment scandal after underpayment scandal while executive pay has gone up (until recently). Where did it all go wrong? Here’s what the experts say.
Lagging behind: Awful traffic and the controversial lock-out laws have been a ‘major drag’ on Sydney’s international reputation. Can’t say we’re surprised. The Committee for Sydney think tank has prepared a report that benchmarks Sydney as a place to live, work and study compared with other international destinations.
How much does it cost to have a kid?
Aussie brands slammed: Some Australia-based brands aren’t paying their employees in foreign countries life essentials such as food, housing, healthcare and education.
Ahead of the Christmas season, Oxfam Australia has released a list of fashion brands that have failed to make commitments ensuring payment of living wages to women making their clothes in countries like Vietnam or Bangladesh.
On the list include household names such as Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Jay Jays, Myer, Rivers, Katies and W. Lane and Big W. The Spanish-owned Zara is also on this list for failing to publish the factories where its clothes are made.
Bloomberg has a crack: Billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, has jumped into the US presidential race, adding another moderate voice to a crowded field of Democratic contenders seeking to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
–with AAP
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