Category Archives: Business

ACCC sues Coles and Woolworths over allegations of ‘illusory’ discounts on common products

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Competition watchdog alleges supermarkets briefly increased prices on hundreds of products before placing them in discount promotions

The competition regulator is suing Coles and Woolworths over allegations they misled shoppers by engaging in “illusory” discounts on hundreds of common supermarket products.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claimed on Monday that the major chains derived significant revenue from the sale of tens of millions of products sold through promotions that the regulator says breached consumer law.

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Why News Corp’s realestate.com.au can put fees ‘up and up and up’, according to ex-CEO

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Simon Baker says REA Group’s property portal is viewed ‘jealously’ by others around the world because the home-sellers pay the bills

A former chief executive of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au says the company views real estate agents as its “outsourced sales force”, outlining how home sellers have been targeted with ever-rising advertising costs.

Simon Baker, who was chief executive of REA Group from 2001 to 2008 and now works as a consultant in the property tech industry, says the “vendor-paid” advertising market operating in Australian real estate is rare globally.

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Health and productivity losses from obesity ‘far outstrip weight-loss jab costs’

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Exclusive: £100bn-a-year cost of obesity to UK makes clear economic case for use of drugs such as Ozempic, says report

Spiralling healthcare costs and productivity losses from the global obesity crisis far outstrip the cost of new weight-loss drugs, according to a report, which also calls on governments to prioritise prevention by promoting a healthy diet and exercise.

In the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, there is a clear economic case for these medications, the report says, as the annual cost of the diabetes drug Ozempic is lower than the cost of additional healthcare needed by people with obesity. The cost of the weight-loss injection Wegovy is higher, but still dwarfed by the overall economic cost to society of obesity, according to the research by ING Bank, shared with the Guardian.

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Mouse crawling out of meal forces plane to make early landing

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Rodent posed risk to electrical wiring on Scandinavian Airlines flight from Oslo to Málaga

Airline meals hardly carry high expectations but this week a passenger faced more than just a disappointing supper after a mouse crawled out of their meal, forcing their flight to make an unscheduled landing.

The incident occurred during a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight from Oslo to Málaga on Wednesday, forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen, the company said on Friday.

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NSW nurses and midwives announce strike – as it happened

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Australia’s ‘sex report card’ released

The latest Australian Study of Health and Relationships was revealed at a conference in Sydney this week held by the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Rent assistance went up by $25 and … average rents have gone up by more than $100. What might look like a big percentage increase is, frankly, fuck all, and that’s one of the reasons that this is so upsetting.

When CRA is indexed, the amount of rent that you have to pay before you get any rent assistance increases. So the proportion of your rent, where you qualify for it, reduces if you aren’t receiving the maximum payment.

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Gambling firm appears to trivialise Lebanon pager blasts in social media post

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London-listed Evoke, which owns William Hill, apologises for post on Israeli Facebook page linking to job ads

The gambling company that owns the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green brands has apologised after one of its social media accounts appeared to make light of the pager explosions in Lebanon that killed 12 people and injured thousands.

The explosions on Tuesday were followed by walkie-talkies exploding on Wednesday, killing another 20 people.

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Rod Sims says ‘worth considering’ whether realestate.com.au engaged in anti-competitive practices as Greens blast ‘rigged’ system

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Greens say the price hikes arising from REA Group’s dominance underscore need for new price-gouging laws

Rod Sims, the former chair of Australia’s competition law enforcer, says he believes the regulator should consider investigating the behaviour of the market’s leading real estate property portal, realestate.com.au, for potential anti-competitive behaviour.

The Greens have also hit out at what they say is an alleged “outrageous abuse of market power”, saying the price hikes arising from REA Group’s dominance underscored the need for new price-gouging laws.

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Bank of England keeps interest rates unchanged at 5%

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Policymakers vote 8-1 against back-to-back cuts in borrowing costs after inflation stayed above Bank target

The Bank of England has kept interest rates unchanged at 5% as it put its efforts to ease the pressure on household budgets on hold.

The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a majority of eight to one against launching a back-to-back reduction in borrowing costs amid concerns over lingering inflationary pressures.

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US cannabis company Eaze pays supervisors less than those they oversee, workers say

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Shift supervisors unable to unionize are left in limbo, despite workers claiming low pay and lack of authority

The largest cannabis delivery service in the US faces a growing backlash in southern California from shift supervisors who said they are paid less than the workers they supervise, struggle to make ends meet on low and stagnant wages, and are at odds with the company over their right to form a union.

Nearly 600 delivery drivers at Eaze in California voted to unionize in 2023 with the United Food and Commercial Workers, and secured a first contract earlier this year after threatening to strike in April.

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Boeing accused of being ‘unprepared’ for federal mediation as strike continues

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Union members ‘frustrated’ that company was allegedly unwilling to discuss wages and pensions in negotiations

Union officials have accused Boeing of being “unprepared” after talks resumed to end the US’s largest strike.

Boeing workers will be joined on picket lines by the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Brian Bryant on Thursday a day after the company announced plans to furlough “large numbers” of employees.

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Billionaire Guy Hands’ property firm takes housing reforms to European court

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Annington Property fears recent legislation will force it to offload some of the 38,000 freeholds it owns on UK military homes

A property company founded by the billionaire Guy Hands has taken a legal fight with the UK government to the European court of human rights over fears it could lose significant sums as a result of planned housing reforms.

Annington Property, which owns the freehold of about 38,000 military homes, has filed the claim against the housing minister, Angela Rayner, over concerns that the new Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act could force it to off-load the homes well below market value. Last month it launched a challenge in the high court on the same grounds.

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The great divide: are office workers more productive than those at home?

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Amazon has told staff they must return five days a week – but experts don’t all agree that flexible working cuts output

Four years ago when the world of work was upended by the Covid pandemic, confident predictions were made that a permanent shift in remote working would follow the removal of lockdown restrictions.

Much has clearly changed since. Some of the earliest preachers of the brave new teleworking world – including the US tech companies Google and Microsoft – are among the most vocal to repent.

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NSW government announces free weekend train travel in bid to avoid industrial action – as it happened

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Australia “abstained with great disappointment” on the Palestinian-drafted resolution at the United Nations general assembly in New York early this morning, the Australian ambassador to the UN has said.

The resolution – which sought to act on a recent advisory opinion of the international court of justice – was passed with 124 votes in favour and 14 against. Australia was one of 43 countries to abstain, including the UK, Canada and Germany.

That is why we abstained with great disappointment.

We wanted to vote for a resolution that directly reflected the ICJ Advisory Opinion.

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Top UK food firms urged to do more to cut ‘staggering’ emissions

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Food campaign Bite Back says 10 firms account for more carbon emissions globally than aviation industry

Britain’s biggest food and drink firms are doing too little to tackle the climate emergency and are producing “staggering” amounts of greenhouse gases, campaigners claim.

The 10 companies that manufacture more of the UK’s food than anyone else produce more carbon emissions between them than even the aviation industry, a report says.

Three of the firms increased their annual emissions in 2022 – Ferrero, Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo.

Seven are on course to miss meeting emissions targets they have set themselves to achieve by 2050.

Only four have a verifiable commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 – Danone, Mars, Mondelēz and Nestlé.

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IMF postpones Russia visit after heavy criticism across Europe

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Trip to Moscow to review economy delayed indefinitely after protests it would ‘normalise relations with aggressor’

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indefinitely postponed a staff mission to Moscow this week to review the Russian economy for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, after the move came under heavy criticism from several of Kyiv’s European allies.

After revelations in the Guardian of widespread condemnation, the IMF said it would spend more time gathering information for a “rigorous analysis”.

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UK inflation stays at 2.2% as lower petrol prices offset by higher air fares

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Annual rate in August unchanged, and hovering above Bank of England’s 2% target

The UK’s annual inflation rate rose by 2.2% in August, matching the increase in July, as lower petrol prices at the pump were offset by higher air fares.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the government’s preferred measure of the cost of living remained steady, matching forecasts by City economists and hovering just above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

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Australia news live: Labor’s preliminary refusal of Pep11 gas project ‘an amazing step forward’, Scamps says; total fire ban announced for parts of NSW

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Follow today’s news live

On the double-dissolution threat floated by Anthony Albanese yesterday, Sarah Hanson-Young says:

Again, why, why be so bullish about this? The Australian people don’t need a panicked prime minister who wants to press the exit button because he can’t get his own way.

They want a government that’s willing to work across the parliament. Now, a third of Australians voted for parties other than Labor or Liberal at the last election. And they did that because they want a parliament that works for them.

We want to fix it. We want to give the government the opportunity to fix it. I’m not just interested in saying no to things. I want to get outcomes. I guess that’s my concern.

This prime minister seems to have such a chip on his shoulder, doesn’t want to work with anyone. Just wants to do it all his way. I don’t think this is a very good sign for the future. Come on, come on, prime minister, you know, let’s put – put aside the politics and get on with getting some outcomes.

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Guardian parent company in talks over potential sale of Observer

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Guardian Media Group announces it is in negotiations with Tortoise Media over world’s oldest Sunday newspaper

The Guardian’s parent company has announced that it is in formal negotiations with Tortoise Media over the potential sale of the Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.

Guardian Media Group (GMG) told staff it was in negotiations with the Observer after being approached with an offer that was significant enough to look at in more detail.

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Users of ‘throuples’ dating app Feeld may have had intimate photos accessed

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Alternative relationships site says it has resolved concerns about data security that tech firm claims to have uncovered

Users of Feeld, a dating app aimed at alternative relationships, could have had sensitive data including messages, private photos and details of their sexuality accessed or even edited, it has emerged, after cybersecurity experts exposed a string of security “vulnerabilities”.

Feeld, registered in the UK, reported soaring revenues and profits this month, thanks to millions of downloads from non-monogamous, queer and kinky users across the world.

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B&Q owner Kingfisher reports weak demand for kitchens and bathrooms

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Shares in FTSE 100-listed company rise after it reports improved full-year profit forecast

The chief executive of Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains, has said demand for kitchens and bathrooms in the UK has plateaued but overall sales are showing signs of recovery, as the retail group reported sliding half-year revenues.

Thierry Garnier said demand for big-ticket categories had remained weak, in line with the wider market, while sales of seasonal products – from garden furniture to barbecues – had improved since early July.

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