COMPETITION – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

ACCC hits big banks, ports, tech

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-Dec-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has concluded that the nation’s four major banks engaged in "synchronised pricing" with regard to increases in interest-only home loan interest rates in June 2017. The big four banks raised their interest rates following the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s decision in mid-March to cap interest-only loans at 30 per cent of all new loans from the September quarter. The ACCC estimates that the rate rises boosted the banks’ profits by around $1.1bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Rules risk entrenching giants

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 11-Dec-18

LegalVision’s James Adler has questioned the merits of the ACCC’s proposal for an "opt-in" regime for the collection and use of customers’ personal data by digital platforms. Adler warns that the proposal would adversely affect many local digital start-ups while increasing the competitive advantage of established players such as Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LEGALVISION PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Facebook and Google face clamp on customer data

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Dec-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has concluded that Google and Facebook have substantial market power. The 378-page preliminary report of its inquiry into digital platforms has made 11 recommend­ations aimed at making digital players more accountable with regard to their use of customers’ data and how their algorithms work. Amongst other things, the ACCC has noted that the digital giants have contributed to declining investment in local news and journalism.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Tech titans face crackdown

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Dec-18

The preliminary report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of digital giants’ impact on the media and advertising markets will be released on 10 December. Amongst other things, the report raises concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the algorithms used by digital companies and whether such companies have engaged in "discriminatory conduct". The ACCC may also recommend establishing a regulatory auth­ority that would have the power to investigate digital companies over such conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, INSTAGRAM LLC, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS

Google faces global media revolt

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: Online : 10-Sep-18

News Corp Australia has called for "structural intervention" to curb what it claims is Google’s anti-competitive behaviour. It did so in a submission to an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission inquiry into digital platforms. Such intervention could include having Google broken up, a suggestion that was made by the European parliament’s committee on economic and monetary affairs in April. Google has already been fined billions of dollars by European regulators for anti-competitive behaviour.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

ACCC power would be a catastrophe

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 22-Aug-18

Danny Price of Frontier Economics has warned that giving the competition regulator the power to break up vertically integrated energy companies would undermine investor confidence in both the sector itself and other industries that could potentially be subject to such regulation. Price adds that consumers would be worse off, as AGL Energy, EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy have accounted for the bulk of investment in new electric power generation capacity over the last decade.

CORPORATES
FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Formal ACCC probe of Nine deal urged

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Aug-18

Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy says the proposed merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media should be subject to a formal review by the competition regulator. He argues that an informal review is insufficient given the impact that the merger would have on the media sector. The MEAA’s media president Marcus Strom in turn says Nine and Fairfax should be required to submit detailed information on the merger’s impact on consumers and employees of the two companies.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

ACCC lashes Aurizon, Pacific National deal

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 25 : 20-Jul-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Aurizon Holdings and Pacific National in the Federal Court. The ACCC is seeking to block the sale of Aurizon’s Queensland intermodal business and its Acacia Ridge terminal to Pacific National, its main business rival. The total cost of the two deals is $225 million, with Pacific National giving Aurizon a $35 million non-refundable deposit. ACCC chairman Rod Sims has compared the sale to Coles being sold to Woolworths.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, QUEENSLAND. COMPETITION AUTHORITY, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Coal stays in energy fix

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Jul-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has made 56 recommendations in the final report of its investigation into retail energy pricing. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that the Federal Government may support the ACCC’s recommendation that the cost of new dispatchable electricity generation be subsidised by taxpayers. This could potentially include coal-fired power stations. Other recommendations include replacing electricity retailer’s standing offers with default offers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, QUEENSLAND MEDIA CLUB, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Power rip-offs: ACCC lines up energy giants

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Jul-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will release the final report on its investigation into retail energy pricing on 11 July. The ACCC has accused large energy companies of abusing their market power, and it has proposed major changes to the National Electricity Market in order to reduce electricity prices. Amongst other things, the ACCC has recommended banning companies from participating in mergers if they boast a 20 per cent share of the electricity generation market. It has also recommended giving the Australian Energy Regulator more powers to combat market manipulation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT PRICING AND REGULATORY TRIBUNAL, QUEENSLAND MEDIA CLUB