ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is making good on promises to combat greenwashing, issuing its second set of fines against a company for misrepresenting the ESG bona fides of an investment product.

The long-running project has been shelved after a devastating Accenture report cited multiple areas of concern. ASIC chair Joe Longo said the ASX “failed to demonstrate appropriate control”.

Commonwealth Bank-owned brokerage platform CommSec and former CBA subsidiary AUSIEX have been hit with $27 million in fines for violating ASIC’s market integrity rules, in the largest-ever penalty handed down for such breaches.

Crypto currency funds at Holon Investments were dealt a severe blow after ASIC slapped a temporary halt based on heightened risks concerns

The corporate regulator has delivered a stern warning to licensees with the release of its guide on consumer remediation. After overseeing billions in repayments to Australians, ASIC deputy chair Karen Chester says the industry “must do better”.

The chair will take a hard line on DDO and crack down on scams, but his major concern is crypto misinformation. “My job is to be frank with the Australian people,” he said.

Crypto is the second most common product held by Australian investors.

The review will consider “the consequences of time lags between regulatory action and cost allocation”, the terms of reference states.

Mixed day but higher finish, new highs for stalwarts, Woolworths disappoints The ASX200 (ASX:XJO) managed another small gain, adding 0.3%, powered ahead by the technology sector; Afterpay (ASX”APT) and Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) adding 3.5% and 2.5% respectively. With half the sectors down, it was the consumer businesses that were the biggest detractors, Woolworths (ASX:WOW) falling 3.9% after delivering lackluster third quarter sales figures….

Last week, Beijing based short-selling activist firm J Capital launched a scathing report on Australian aerial imagery technology firm (and small cap darling) Nearmap (ASX: NEA), in the hope that it would trigger a sell-off so that it could profit handsomely from short positions in the company. The report titled “Afraid to Admit Failure” attacked…