Why Star Entertainment won't make it

1. Woolworths might be right, but it has lost the PR battle

2. Why Star Entertainment won't make it

3. Soon you can have eight weeks leave on half pay

4. Lehrmann v Ten: no-one wins

THIS WEEK'S BIG STORY

Why the crisis in the Middle East will push up petrol prices and delay interest rate cuts

How Israel responds to this week's attack will determine whether there is an all-out war in the region. Internal politics is pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose hold on power is tenuous, towards war. The US, other Arab nations and the UN are pleading with Israel to not retaliate. For powers like the US, China remains the main game, and President Joe Biden, in an election year, doesn't want to contend with a war involving Israel.

 

A 'crisis' in the Middle East isn't news anymore. It's been happening ever since October when Hamas invaded Israel. But this month, two fully armed powers in the region, Iran and Israel, directly engaged with each other. On April 1, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria. Over the weekend and in retaliation, Iran fired 300 projectiles, including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at Israel. Two regional powers shooting missiles at each other. That is a crisis. 

Israel has the next move

So what does all this mean for most of us? Higher petrol prices. In fact Sydney prices this week hit an all time high - an average of $2.23 a litre, and rising. With oil prices going higher, there's little good news on petrol prices for the rest of the country either. Petrol, and more broadly energy, is used to transport good as well as manufacture products. Higher prices feed through to inflation. And that will make it harder for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates.  

Markets' response

It is all about oil. Iran is the third largest oil producer in OPEC and its location, geographically, is very strategic. Oil prices are running around $US90 a barrel and could well head towards $US100 a barrel. Then there's what's known as the 'risk-off' factor. Investors want safe havens. That triggers a drop in equities, in non-USD currencies like the Aussie dollar and Bitcoin, and a jump in the price of bonds.

Petrol, interest rates

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You made it. Thank you for getting to the end.

- Sean Aylmer

People who know Brad Banducci, the outgoing CEO of Woolworths who appeared before a Senate committee hearing this week, say he cares about retailing, staff and customers. The endorsement from retail analysts, not known for their empathy, comes notwithstanding the company has lost 15 per cent of its value this year. Mr Banducci also proved this week that he is stubborn. Refusing to answer a question, nearly ten times, from Greens Senator Nick McKim on Woolies' return-on-equity was not a good look. Mr Banducci said he was interested in return-on-investment, adding that profit margins are less than three per cent. McKim presumably knew that Woolworth's ROE was around 26 per cent, way above the banks for example, and a good argument why supermarkets are profiteering. Eventually McKim threatened contempt, which could involve gaol time. It was theatre only, but it was a terrible look for Woolworths and its boss. It overshadowed a pretty good job otherwise, from Mr Banducci and his counterpart at Coles, Leah Weckert. They defused questions around pay, suppliers, margins and all sorts of things. But the thing everyone will remember is the gaol threat.

A second inquiry in NSW into The Star Entertainment Group has heard allegations of some pretty poor behaviour from management working with the regulator-appointed overseer of the gaming group. The chair and chief executive look to have schemed (my word, not the regulator's) to undermine special manager Nick Weeks. In one exchange, they talked about removing Mr Weeks and in another, aiding a shareholder class action against him. The chair also complained that arch-rival Crown Resorts was getting a better deal from a Victorian appointed overseer, relative to Mr Weeks' efforts at Star. For his part, Mr Weeks said Star's behaviour had improved "modestly" - not exactly a ringing endorsement. Then the former chief financial officer alleged that former CEO Robbie Cooke hid the group's true debt levels from executives, and asked for the books to be altered to make the company's finances appear healthier. The gaming group's share price hit a record low on Tuesday. It is hard to see Star continuing in its current form. The inquiry still has a way to run, but the early news for shareholders is awful.

Plenty of home owners are looking for a new loan, whether they are investors, moving house, coming off a low fixed rate loan onto a much higher variable rate option, or just fed up with paying so much interest to their current lender. A study by start up Sherlok, reported in the AFR, shows lenders will cut an existing mortgage rate by 0.46 percentage points, on average, when a customer or broker negotiates. For a $600,000 loan - close to the national average - that's $2760 a year. The moral of the story? If you want a lower home loan rate, ask for one.

Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson have won their landmark defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann, after Justice Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities that the former Liberal staffer raped Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House. It's important to note this was to the civil standard of proof, which is lower than the criminal standard. While the high profile case was a win for Ten and Wilkinson, Justice Lee wasn't complimentary about either, rejecting suggestions aired by Ten's The Project that there was a political conspiracy to cover up Ms Higgins’ rape allegations. He also criticised them for failing journalistic standards including claims that were unchecked and unreasonable. The case also shed a poor light on some of the actions of Seven West Media, including allegations it paid for drugs and prostitutes in an effort to procure an interview with Lehrmann. There were no winners in this one.

Something COVID has delivered in spades is workplace flexibility. And it's good. I cringe thinking about what I was made to do, and the time I spent in the office, and what I expected others to do, as a reporter/editor in newsrooms. This week the union and employer peak bodies moved closer towards adopting a position of double annual leave for half pay. Eight weeks of leave! There goes some of those hassles around kids' school holidays, or having enough time to attend to life's emergencies, and pleasures. Both sides agree it is the employee who should ask for it - they can't be forced to take it - and while there are still a few details to iron out, it looks inevitable. Now we just have to make sure employers don't penalise employees for taking too many holidays. 

5. Best way to find a better home loan: ask for it

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