Latest news with #ACCC
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Interpublic Group (IPG) Drops After Competition Watchdog OK on Omnicom Merger
We recently published . Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) is one of the worst-performing companies on Thursday. Interpublic saw its share prices drop by 4.25 percent on Thursday to end at $24.13 apiece following the Australian competition watchdog's approval of its pending merger with Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC). In a statement, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) said that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has officially granted clearance for Omnicom's pending acquisition of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG). The ACCC approval brings the total number of antitrust approvals to 14 out of the 18 required for closing. The companies remain firmly on track to complete the transaction in the second half of 2025. 'The proposed merger of Omnicom and Interpublic will reimagine the marketing industry, ushering in a bold new era of growth for its people, delivering superior outcomes for clients, and generating significant long-term value for shareholders,' it said. A modern advertising billboard promoting a company's services in the cityscape. Additionally, investors repositioned portfolios ahead of the release of its second quarter earnings performance on Tuesday, July 22. The company said it will hold an earnings call at 8:30 AM on the same day. While we acknowledge the potential of IPG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Omnicom (OMC) Dives on Dismal Q2 Earnings, Merger with Interpublic
We recently published . Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) is one of the worst-performing companies on Thursday. Omnicom Group dropped its share prices by 4.31 percent on Thursday to end at $70.86 apiece as investors unloaded portfolios following dismal earnings performance in the second quarter of the year. In its financial statement, Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) said net income during the period declined by 21.5 percent to $257.6 million from $328.1 million in the same period last year. Revenues, on the other hand, inched up by 4.2 percent to $4.015 billion from $3.853 billion year-on-year. On the same day, Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) and Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) announced securing the green light of Australia's anti-competition watchdog for their planned merger. A social media specialist crafting new ideas for healthcare marketing campaigns on a laptop. In a statement on Thursday, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG) announced that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has officially granted clearance for Omnicom Group Inc.'s (NYSE:OMC) to acquire IPG. The approval brings the total number of antitrust approvals to 14 out of the 18 required for closing. The companies said they remain on track to complete the transaction in the second half of 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of OMC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Darwin's airport operators hike landing fees to 'more than double' anywhere else in Australia
Darwin's airport has taken on the unenviable title of the most expensive capital city airport in the country, after operators hiked its landing fees by more than 110 per cent. The fee hike by Darwin's Airport Development Group (ADG), which came into effect on July 1, has already seen charter companies Hardy Aviation and Fly Tiwi raise their passenger airfares in response. Darwin-based MP and Special Envoy for Northern Australia Luke Gosling said the changes would make the NT's landing fees "more than double anywhere else in the country". "It's an unacceptable increase, in my view," he told ABC Radio Darwin. Mr Gosling said the ADG's fee hike had been referred to the nation's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). "I'll be doing what I can with the ACCC [around] this power imbalance between the monopoly ADG, who runs the airport and sets the fees, and smaller operators," he said. Commercial airline Virgin has previously said that the ADG's plan to raise high landing fees would "put pressure on airfares and will not incentivise airlines to grow services to Darwin". Mr Gosling said it was more than likely the fee hikes would put upwards pressure on commercial passenger fares. "Unfortunately, that is the reality of it, that the airlines will seek to pass on some of those costs, which makes it even harder for us," he said. In a statement, the ADG blamed ongoing runway works for having to raise their fees. Darwin's commercial international airport operates under a "joint user deed" with the Australian Defence Department, which has been driving the airport's runway works. "The current adjustment is necessary, driven by the [runway works] which has significantly impacted [the airport's] operating costs," it said in a statement. "This is compounded by a decline in aeronautical activity and broader increases in construction costs driven by inflation. "ADG acknowledges the impact this adjustment may have on the [general aviation] community and is actively engaging with both the Northern Territory and Australian governments to explore mechanisms to support the sector." The ADG has previously said the runway works were also responsible for a downturn in flights, after negotiations to get more AirAsia flights into the Northern Territory fell over. Since that period, the airport has managed to attract more flights from AirAsia to Malaysia, however flights between Darwin and other cities within Australia remain scarce and expensive. At present, there are no daily daytime flights between Darwin and Melbourne, and flights to many other capital cities cost high rates and fly mainly in the middle of the night. The ADG said its fee hike was in line with ACCC and Productivity Commission principles. The ACCC has been contacted for comment.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Back to the future': AMP Bank goes back 20 years for new savings account
AMP Bank has added a savings product to its digital offering, promising to strip away 'bonus rate traps' which is leaving millions of Aussies getting little from their savings account. In the past high interest savings accounts were known as a way to offer customers flexibility and a strong interest rates. But over time the traditional account was muddled with added terms and conditions, which according to a 2023 ACCC report, was leading to customers missing out on. AMP Bank GO director John Arnott said this was why AMP was launching its new savings product. 'This is almost like going back to the future, we've seen the success of these high interest accounts in the past,' he said. 'There was a thing in the market 20 years ago which was a high interest online savings account or HIOSA, which was about offering high interest for online accounts that had full flexibility. 'It was very much what you see is what you get, but fast forward 20 years there has been a number of conditions added to these accounts.' AMP's new app based savings account has come to market offering savers 4.5 per cent on balances up to $250,000, without a minimum deposit, no withdrawal conditions and no monthly fees. The savings account is only available through its GO app and must be linked to a GO everyday transaction account which will not offer any interest. Mr Arnott said the bank was launch a product from the ground up since the bank only launched six months ago. 'We've gone a bit old school with what you see being what you get,' Mr Arnott said. 'If you look at what consumers want it's transparency, flexibility and peace of mind so we felt if we were going to launch a savings product that our customers are asking for then we should launch a product that solves these challenges.' The launch of a savings account comes as banks are slashing interest rates in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate cutting cycle. The RBA is highly anticipated to cut interest rates on August 12 following its next meeting. AMP, unlike the major four banks, does not host any brick-and-mortar branches, and operates as a 'digital bank'. It follows changes made in January when it introduced numberless debit cards for both its small business and personal banking customers, in a move designed to combat rising fraud and scam risks. The retail bank partnered with US payments giant MasterCard to deliver the striking new-look cards, which don't present any front-facing numbers like standard issue bank cards. The back of the card presents a four-digit number. Customers would still need a 16-digital number online through the app to access their account. The app will include other security features such as advanced fraud and scam protection systems to protect customers and multimodal biometric authentication, the bank said.
Sky News AU
6 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
'My heart dropped': Aussie tradie reveals how falling victim to one email scam saw him lose his entire $110,000 home deposit
A young Aussie tradie has shared how he lost his $110,000 first-home deposit after falling victim to a devastating email scam. Electrician Louis May was aged 23 when he saved enough to purchase his first home by working 10-hour shifts, six days a week, for years. He finally found an affordable apartment within his budget at the age of 24 and was "very excited" to be moving into his own home. Louis was tech-savvy, so when he received an email from who he thought was his lawyer, he never thought it would result in him losing his $110,000 house deposit. Louis' lawyer had contacted him using two different email addresses throughout his home purchase process. Therefore, he wasn't surprised when he received another email from a third account instructing him to complete a Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) form. 'I got sent a PEXA form that instructed me to transfer money into a BSB and account number into an ANZ account,' Louis told SBS Insight on Monday. "I didn't really think much of it. I had corresponded for a few days with the new third email address." Louis followed the instructions in the email and checked in with his bank before transferring $110,000 into the ANZ account. However, on the day of his property settlement his lawyer called to inform him that the agreed-upon $110,000 wasn't in his account. "When I said: 'I did what you had told me', and he said 'I'd never emailed you a PEXA form', my heart dropped," Louis said. "That was the moment that I realised I was scammed." In 2024, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) urged people to verify payment details directly with a business before paying an emailed invoice, amid a rise in losses due to payment scams. Australians in 2023 reported losing $16.2 million to scams like the one that caught Louis, with the amount lost per scam being significantly higher than in 2022. 'Scammers are sophisticated criminals and are becoming more targeted in how they exploit Australian consumers and businesses,' ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. 'These criminals are posing as genuine businesses that a consumer has recently dealt with, sending fake invoices with altered payment details so that the money ends up with the scammer.' 'This scam is hard to detect because the scammer will either hack into the email system of the business or impersonate the business's email address by changing as little as one letter." Ms Lowe advised people to take the time to call the business on the number they have found to confirm the payment details are correct. In February, Australia introduced the Scams Prevention Framework, imposing obligations on businesses in key sectors where scammers operate, like banks, mobile networks, and social media companies. These sectors are required to take reasonable steps to prevent, detect, disrupt, respond to, and report scams, or face fines of up to $50 million. As for Louis, he was unable to recoup his losses, with his bank offering him a remediation payment of $1,000, which he declined. He was still able to settle on his apartment thanks to a loan from a family member. However, he is now paying an additional $600 a month in interest because he had to take out a larger mortgage, with the ordeal leaving him "pretty heartbroken".
