29 March 2024
1300 794 893
AAP Image/Lukas Coch

5 things you need to know today

Switzer Daily
5 August 2021

1. Double dipping just isn’t fair

The High Court has thrown out a court decision that was going to deliver regular casuals a hip pocket windfall. A Federal court had approved what was called ‘double dipping’ when it ruled a casual mine worker was entitled to annual leave and other permanent entitlements on top of his 25% casual loading, because he had full-time rosters, scheduled up to a year ahead. But the high court has thrown this decision out, which saves employers a cool $39 billion!

2. Sorry, Pony, you just lost $19 billion!

Beijing’s crackdown on its own big businesses has cost one CEO, wait for it, $19 billion! China’s Tencent is now bigger than Facebook! It’s a social network providing music, web portals, e-commerce, mobile games, internet services, payment systems, smartphones, and online games. But its CEO, Pony Ma, has lost $19 billion in the value of his shares, as Beijing leaders seek to reduce the power of monopolies like Tencent and Alibaba. Jack Ma of Alibaba lost $3.8 billion in Alibaba’s fight with Chinese regulators.

3. Are Apple & Afterpay threats to our big banks?

The CBA boss has taken aim at Apple and Afterpay, and could it be that these tech companies are threats to our big banks? CommBank’s CEO, Matt Comyn, recently criticized Apple and Afterpay, which operate online payment systems. These companies take away business from the banks, with the restrictions of the Coronavirus speeding up our access to finance online, as we use nearly no cash nowadays. Big banks are regulated but their new rivals aren’t and Matt Comyn would want to change that!

4. German man receives $400,000 fine for owning a tank

An 84-year-old man from Germany has received a €250,000 ($400,000) fine and a 14-month suspended prison sentence for owning a 50,000kg Panther tank from 1943 and other military equipment from World War II. A German court ordered the man to sell or donate the tank and an anti-aircraft cannon to a museum or a collector.

5. Dow Jones and S&P 500 close lower overnight

The Dow Jones dropped by 323.73 points or 0.92% to 34,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 20.49 points or 0.46% to 4,402.66 on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq edged 19.24 points or 0.13% higher to 14,780.53.

Comments
Get the latest financial, business, and political expert commentary delivered to your inbox.

When you sign up, we will never give away or sell or barter or trade your email address.

And you can unsubscribe at any time!
Subscribe
1300 794 893
© 2006-2021 Switzer. All Rights Reserved. Australian Financial Services Licence Number 286531. 
shopping-cartphoneenvelopedollargraduation-cap linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram