EY axes more jobs

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• EY is to cut 100 more jobs, this time in its consulting arm.

• A trial over a stolen $5.5m gold toilet begins but the golden throne is missing.

• ASIC has a $143bn concern with Super funds, which dominate Aussie assets.

It’s half time for the week.

We’ve got the latest + some wisdom for you on this fine Wednesday 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

ASIC’s crackdown

• ASIC is coming after private markets, with a report coming soon on how to regulate this growing sector. The report points to investor concerns about the slowdown in share-market listings, matched by a surge in cash flooding into private, unlisted assets—now estimated at a hefty $150bn. ASIC’s worried that these private investments often lack the transparency of public ones, leaving investors in the dark about business performance, fund fees, and whether asset valuations even match up to public equivalents: AFR

• Telstra has been hit by the Federal Court for misleading nearly 9,000 Belong customers about broadband upload speeds, following a lawsuit by the ACCC. At the same time, the ACCC is taking legal action against The Bradford Exchange for false claims in its advertising of collectible coins and ingots, breaching Australian Consumer Law.

• Directors beware. The Federal Court has slapped penalties on two former executives of The Star Entertainment Group for breaching their section 180(1) duties. Gregory Hawkins, ex-Chief Casino Officer, was fined $180k and banned from managing corporations for 18 months. Hawkins’ breaches related to his failure to inform the board about Star’s relationship with Suncity, while Theodore failed to stop misleading communications about gambling at Star’s casino. Harry Theodore, former CFO, was fined $60k and disqualified for 9 months. ASIC’s trial against the other nine former executives continues on 5 March.

WORD ON THE STREET

Slater’s pay gap

• Another update in the Slater saga: insiders reveal that only a handful of senior execs would have had access to the spreadsheet containing pay details of every employee—details which were recently exposed in a firmwide email. The report, generated by HR software Cornerstone, has an audit trail, so IT can trace exactly who ran the report: AFR

• And it gets worse. The leaked spreadsheet also exposed massive pay disparities, ranging from Dina Tutungi’s reported $690k down to a Melbourne legal assistant earning just $22k. To add fuel to the fire, nearly 1/3 of the staff found out their performance ratings. One ex-Slater's employee said, "There are people on the same level, but earning a lot less than their colleagues”: The Australian

• Hamilton Locke is keeping its expansion plans rolling. Jamie Blair, a private clients partner, has jumped on board as the latest addition to the firm’s partnership, arriving from Perth’s Jackson McDonald: Lawyers Weekly

• EY continues to slash jobs. This time, 100 staff will be axed from its consulting arm due to trading conditions weakening after the PwC tax scandal fallout: AFR

TALKING POINTS

Albo’s goes for green

• Albo’s coming through on cheaper GP visits, pledging $8.5bn for Medicare. By 2030, 9 out of 10 GP visits will be bulk billed, and the number of fully bulk-billed practices will skyrocket to around 4,800—three times the current total. And within hours, Dutton price matched the Medicare package in an effort to avoid Mediscare 2.0: The Guardian

• Countries continue to ramp up defence spending. British PM Sir Keir Starmer has pledged a $26bn boost to defence spending each year by 2027, marking the biggest increase since the Cold War. His aim? To tackle "tyrants" like Vladimir Putin: ABC

• Treasurer Chalmers had “very constructive” talks with the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, focusing on avoiding tariffs on steel and aluminium. The discussions also covered critical minerals, US investment into Aussie super funds and broader Australia-US economic relations: Bloomberg

• A trial is underway over a gold toilet – seriously. In the UK, three men have been accused of stealing an 18-carat-gold toilet worth £2.8m (A$5.5m) from Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace. The toilet, titled “America”, was created by artist Maurizio Cattelan. The men deny the charges, and in their defence, the loo has yet to be found: 9News

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

M&A backlash

• This reporting season, Aussie investors are sending a clear message: they’re not thrilled about M&A. APA Group, Reece, and Perenti all took a dive on Monday. Reece has fallen out of favour after its US M&A spree didn’t quite deliver the goods. As for Perenti, the market’s still not over its $300m splurge on DDH1—its stock tanked the day the deal was announced back in 2023. And APA Group? Its share price has been in freefall since it dropped $1.8bn on Alina Energy last year: The Australian

• KKR might've backed out of the Perpetual deal, but it’s far from done with Aussie M&A. While financials and commercial real estate are still on its radar, it’s also circling media assets, with outdoor advertising giant oOh!media reportedly in its sights: The Australian

• Gold M&A is still hot. Equinox Gold has struck a C$2.6bn (A$2.9bn) all-stock deal to acquire Calibre Mining, making Canada’s second-largest gold producer: Mining.com

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Telstra’s $700m AI makeover

🚜 DIGGERS

• A Clean Energy Council survey reveals that 70% of Aussies are backing more renewables. Solar’s the fan favourite, while offshore wind got a solid 59% approval. Coal, however, only secured support from 33%, and nuclear? 35%. If these numbers are anything to go by, it’s a win for Labor’s renewable push: The Australian

• Woodside Energy Group is set to greenlight its Louisiana LNG project, marking a move beyond its core Asian markets. CEO Meg O’Neill confirmed the company is bringing in partners and aims to make a final decision by this quarter: Bloomberg 

🏦 FIN

• With CBA scaling back its operations, Bankwest is betting on digital banking. With its new app, Bankwest CEO Jason Chan says there's a growing demand for a “simple, digital-only proposition”: The Australian

• Super funds now own ~23% of all ASX-listed securities, raising concerns about the risk of international shocks from unlisted investments impacting the public markets. Self-managed funds controlled about 12% of the ASX. The report by ASIC also highlights that the two biggest funds hold $143.6bn in private assets. ASIC is concerned about the lack of transparency in private assets and is considering potential reforms to improve data reporting: AFR, Bloomberg

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Domino’s Pizza has just posted its first loss in 20 years, writing off over $100m after shutting down 205 stores. The new CEO’s strategy? Closing underperforming outlets and doubling down on value, with new snack-sized Pizza Pots (think muffin-sized) to lure customers in for lunchtime deals: AFR

• Australia’s in the middle of a housing “supercycle”, with pent-up demand pushing prices up and set to triple apartment construction to 75,000 a year, according to Qualitas' Andrew Schwartz: AFR

📱 TECH

• Accenture and Telstra have officially inked a $700m joint venture to roll out AI across Telstra’s operations. Starting in April, the new venture will be powered by a mix of AI experts from both companies. Telstra will now slash the number of consulting firms handling its data and AI advisory services from 18 down to just 2: AFR

• After doubling its cash earnings in the last 6 months, Buy Now, Pay Later provider Zip is boasting faster growth than its competitors. Transactions are up, especially in the US, where young women are busy with shopping sprees: AFR

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