Australia's Commonwealth Bank slapped with class-action suit
Paulina Duran September 5, 2017 / 9:39 AM / 2 months ago
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) was hit on Tuesday with potentially Australia’s biggest class-action lawsuit over a money-laundering scandal that has already smashed its share price and exposed it to billions of dollars in fines.
FILE PHOTO - A pedestrian walks past a logo for the Commonwealth Bank located outside a branch in Sydney, Australia, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray
Litigation financier IMF Bentham Ltd (IMF.AX) said it would fund the lawsuit against Australia’s biggest bank, accusing it of making false and misleading statements and failing to disclose breaches of anti-money laundering rules for years.
A second lawsuit against the A$128 billion ($102 billion) lender, on top of one filed on Aug 3. by financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC alleging breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, is fuelling investor concerns that the scandal may still have more shocks in store.
“Things can get worse before they get better, which means the underperformance of CBA ... will continue into the next quarter,” said George Boubouras, managing director and chief investment officer at Contango Asset Management, which owns CBA shares.
In addition to the two civil suits, CBA is being investigated by Australia’s banking and corporate regulators over the suspicious transfers cited in the AUSTRAC claim. Investors are also worried that foreign regulators will pick up the case, as some of the money was sent offshore.
Do Australians have more freedom to bring class action lawsuits against big banks than so many needy, freedom-fixated Americans have? Not sure, yet now, thanks to big business hugging Republicans, it seems Australians customers may have.
Posted to your first one.
In “Wet Kiss” for Wall Street, Congress Overturns Rules Allowing People to Sue Banks for Misconduct
Published on Oct 26, 2017 by Democracy Now! [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzuqE7-t13O4NIDYJfakrhw / https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow , https://www.youtube.com/user/democracynow/videos ] After nine months of struggling to deliver on their legislative priorities, Senate Republicans found unity Tuesday when they overturned a rule that makes it easier for Americans to sue banks and credit card companies. The rule was developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and would have allowed people to file class action lawsuits that could have cost the banks billions of dollars. We get an update from Public Citizen’s Amanda Werner, who recently dressed as Rich Uncle Pennybags, with a top hat and monocle, and sat directly behind former Equifax CEO Richard Smith when he testified about a security breach that left sensitive personal information for 143 million Americans exposed to hackers. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/26/congress_sides_with_wall_street_to [with embedded video, and transcript] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irPdmmFSt20 [with comments]
Noted: That does not necessarily mean Australian customers end up with the biggest piece of the settlement pie.
NAB consumers to receive about a third of $6.6 million bank fees settlement
by Marianna Papadakis
Apr 11 2016 at 6:01 PM Updated Apr 11 2016 at 6:01 PM
[PHOTO:] The Consumer Action Law Centre has written to NAB chief Andrew Thorburn requesting that vulnerable customers "unfairly" excluded from its bank fees class action deal be compensated. Wayne Taylor
National Australia Bank customers could end up receiving about a third of a total $6.6 million settlement that was to safeguard compensation for the alleged wrongful levy of penalty fees by the bank.
The Federal Court approved a confidential settlement between class action members led by Maurice Blackburn on April 6 which resulted in $6.6 million in compensation being apportioned to NAB customers for late payment fees the bank levied on credit cards.
But of that amount, $600,000 will go to Maurice Blackburn for legal fees and disbursements, and $4.1 million will go to the litigation funder for the case, IMF Bentham, leaving NAB customers with about $2.5 million.
NAB abolished fees charged for dishonouring accounts and slashed its credit card late payment fees in 2009.
We feel rewarded when we punish others, which creates an easy shortcut from justice to depravity. We must be ever vigilant, lest we fall for this trap.
Creative Commons Music Used: "Landing On a Dark Planet" "Sea of Doom" "Chaos" "Pachabelly" "Secret Conversations" These are all available in your YouTube music library,
You might be able to escape religion, but you can't escape what caused it in the first place. All you can do is try to be cognizant of it, and try your best to keep it in check.
Royalty-free music used: "The Line" by Alexey Pogorelov "Is That You or Are You You" check YouTube's music library "Lost Within" by Himitsu "Restless Pain" by Iltarusko
If you somehow obtained ultimate power, the things you’d choose to do would show us far more clearly who you really are than you could possibly show us with your current limitations. You could choose to bend people to your will, even if only through threats and intimidation, or maybe you could enjoy life with us, help us, and teach us. The bible authors created a character in Yahweh who abuses his limitless power with wanton abandon, reeking of a crude tool of manipulation - not a loving, caring teacher. He is the ultimate bad guy, sold to us as the ultimate good guy - a monumental travesty of history. It certainly is a good thing that Yahweh is a fictional invention of ancient writers.
Bad ideas need special protections to propagate. Good ideas stand up to criticism. This doesn’t only apply to religion, but also to many other forms of dogma.
Creative Commons music used (in order of appearance): “Cylinder Five” by Chris Zabriskie “Cold Morning” “Atlantis” “Take Off and Shoot a Zero” by Chris Zabriskie “Within Space” by Rassolodin “Strange Stuff” by Matt Harris “Gramaphone” by Jahzzar “Stardome” by Stellardrone “The Halloween Dawn” by Twin Musicom “Visions [feat Mnomized & Sylphides]” by Ars Sonor “Cellular Fugue II feat Mnomized Mystified Sylphides” by Ars Sonor “The Line instrumental” by Alexey Pogorelov
Full Broadcast 27Oct17 Real News with David Knight GUESTS: • Gerald Celente — A stunning revelation as Gerald Celente recounts his discussion with Gov Connally just before he died. It was the first time the governor had returned to scene of the assassination in about 30 yrs. TOPICS: • JFK files “released”. Some new revelations but the most important revelation is thatTrump pulled back from releasing information that the CIA & FBI told him not to release • Politically Costumed: if you want to trigger them, here’s what you can wear
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Friday, October 27th 2017[, with an appearance by Roger Stone, and Jack Posobiec hosting the fourth hour]: Catalonia Goes 1776 - Catalonia has declared independence from Spain only weeks after Spanish police brutally attacked peaceful voters holding a referendum. Also, the Deep State is doing everything it can to hide evidence of the JFK assassination, although some of the new documents released to the public confirm the conspiracy to kill the president. We also analyze the expansion of the economy and where things could still go wrong.
An action packed War Room today full of guests and great discussion. Loaded guests ranging from experts on the JFK assassination to people who have experienced first hand false flags being propagated by Twitter trolls. Owen Shroyer continues to wage his defense against the attack on men and the lie that American culture is just as sick as that in Hollywood. The truth is out there, find it on the War Room.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer tied to Kremlin
The Beat With Ari Melber 10/27/17
The meeting between Trump campaign and Russian lawyer was coordinated by the Russian Government, according to New York Times reporting. Duration: 13:31
Young undocumented immigrant with cerebral palsy detained in Texas
The Beat With Ari Melber 10/27/17
A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy is fighting for her life after Trump’s border patrol took her into custody after emergency surgery Duration: 4:43
String of white supremacist violence across the country
All In with Chris Hayes 10/27/17
There have been a number of violent incidents involving white supremacists, racists, and nationalists across the country over the past few months - and two Tennessee towns are bracing for more white supremacist rallies this weekend. Duration: 1:28
Virginia gubernatorial race could be national bellwether
All In with Chris Hayes 10/27/17
If Republican Ed Gillespie's Trump-like tactics help him win the Virginia governor's race, other candidates could adopt similar tactics. Duration: 4:29
Thing 1/Thing 2: Donald Trump used singer Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” as his entrance song throughout his campaign. He tried to send him a tweet on his birthday – but reached the wrong Lee Greenwood, who just happens to be a #inner. Duration: 2:26
First charges filed in Mueller's Trump Russia probe: report
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney talks with Rachel Maddow about new CNN reporting that a federal grand jury has "approved the first charges" in special counsel Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation. Duration: 11:40
Mueller's Trump Russia investigation may be entering new phase
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Matthew Miller, former Justice Department spokesman, talks with Rachel Maddow about CNN's report that the first charges have been filed in Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation and what it means for the broader political context of the investigation. Duration: 6:42
Early report of Russia probe charges offers hints about case
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Paul Fishman, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about CNN's report that charges have been filed in the Trump Russia investigation and what can be guessed about the state of the probe from the details reported so far. Duration: 6:17
Report: Trump backer sought to help with Russia-hacked documents
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Rachel Maddow shares a scoop from the Wall Street Journal that Rebecca Mercer directed Cambridge Analytica to offer to help Wikileaks even as Cambridge Analytica was part of the Trump campaign and the Wikileaks documents were known to be the product of Russian hackers. Duration: 14:20
Russia charges cast U.S. attorney Boente resignation in new light
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Barbara McQuade, former U.S. attorney, talks with Rachel Maddow about what might be inferred from the surprise resignation of U.S. attorney Dana Boente at the same time as reports of the first charges in the Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation. Duration: 7:52
Exclusive: Mueller probe reached out to James Woolsey about Flynn
The Rachel Maddow Show 10/27/17
Rachel Maddow shares an exclusive statement from the spokesman of former CIA director James Woolsey about being contacted by special counsel Robert Mueller's Trump Russia investigation with regard to a meeting that included Mike Flynn. Duration: 3:39
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. has reportedly approved the first charges in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and anyone charged could be arrested as early as Monday, Joy Reid discusses with Ron Klain, David Corn, and Natasha Bertrand. Duration: 12:37
1st charges reported amid flurry of new Russia probe developments
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 10/27/17
Donald Trump again denied colluding with Russia as new details surface about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer and the data firm used by the Trump campaign reaching out to Wikileaks. Joy Reid discusses Ken Dilanian, Malcolm Nance, and Natasha Bertrand. Duration: 9:08
Top Dem: Trump "has met the boundaries for impeachment"
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 10/27/17
Top Democratic donor Tom Steyer has launched a campaign to impeach Donald Trump. He joins Joy Reid to react to the report that the first charges have been filed in the Mueller investigation and to make his case for impeaching the President. Duration: 7:06
Woody Harrelson: LBJ | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Published on Oct 27, 2017 by Real Time with Bill Maher
Academy award nominee and "LBJ" star Woody Harrelson joins Bill to discuss how "publicly vulgar" Donald Trump measures up to former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Donald Trump claimed to be the victim after it was revealed that the Clinton campaign and DNC paid for the 'anti-Trump Fake News Dossier.' Stephen thinks the victim is someone/something else.
In this edition we welcome Andrew Thorpe King to discuss his newly published book, and ask the question: are punk rock and Christianity totally incompatible? Visit his website here: http://www.andrewthorpking.com/
Former Host of Coast To Coast AM John B Wells is now in control on Caravan To Midnight & Ark Midnight.
Satan 2: Russia test fires ballistic missile that could wipe out entire countries The RS-28 Sarmat travelled 3,600 miles before hitting its target Russia has conducted a test launch of its Satan 2 nuclear missile, the country's defence ministry said. The rocket was fired from the Plestek Cosmodrome spaceport, roughly 500 miles north of Moscow, officials said. The missile, also known as RS-28 Sarmat, travelled 3,600 miles before hitting its target on the Kura test range, an intercontinental ballistic missile impact area in the Russian Far East. The weapon is said to be capable of carrying 12 nuclear warheads and could wipe out a whole country with a single strike. Three ballistic missiles were also fired from nuclear submarines as part of the drills to test Russia's nuclear arsenal. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin took part in the exercise and personally launched four ballistic missiles. [...] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/satan-2-russia-icbm-missile-destroy-countries-us-nuclear-weapons-intercontinental-ballistic-a8022831.html
Trump’s $700 Billion Gift to Wealthy Foreigners By Paul Krugman Why is Donald Trump planning to give away $700 billion — that’s billion, with a “b” — to foreigners, no strings attached? You probably didn’t know that he’s planning to do this. In fact, he himself almost surely has no idea that he’s planning to do this. But it would be one clearly predictable consequence of the tax “reform” he and his congressional allies are trying to pass. Some features of the Trump tax plan are still up in the air. For example, we don’t know exactly how upper-middle-class taxpayers will be punished — will they lose their deduction on state and local taxes, some of their tax breaks on retirement accounts, or something else? But the core of the plan is clearly an enormous cut in taxes on corporate profits, which the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates at $2 trillion over the next decade. Now, the administration claims that all of this tax cut will be passed on to workers in the form of higher wages. In fact, it claims that the wage gains from the tax cut will be several times as large as the revenue loss. Few independent analysts believe this. In fact, the administration itself doesn’t believe it. Recently Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, warned that stocks will crash if Congress doesn’t pass tax cuts. But why would stocks crash if all the benefits go to wages rather than profits? For what it’s worth, the argument goes like this: Cutting corporate taxes would bring foreign capital into the United States, which would raise investment, which would increase productivity, and this productivity would then get reflected in higher wages. If this sounds like a convoluted and uncertain story, with many weak links in the supposed chain of events that ends up helping workers so much, that’s because it is. There are, in reality, multiple reasons not to believe much of this account, ranging from the fact that a lot of the corporate income we tax represents monopoly profits — which won’t be competed away even if foreign money comes flooding in — to the sheer size of the U.S. economy, which can’t pull in lots of foreign capital without driving up interest rates worldwide. Also, to the extent that the story makes any sense at all, it’s a story about the very long run. In the short run, drawing in foreign money by cutting taxes on profits would lead to a stronger dollar, which would slow the pace of foreign investment by making U.S. assets look expensive. So we’re talking about a process that would take many years if not decades. Oh, and the stronger dollar would also mean much bigger trade deficits — a consequence of tax cuts that Republicans, strange to say, haven’t advertised, even though the same thing happened during the Reagan years. Realistically, then, the benefits from cutting corporate taxes would overwhelmingly flow into after-tax profits rather than wages, especially in the first few years and probably for a decade or more. And this in turn means that the main beneficiaries would be stockholders, not workers. So who are these stockholders, exactly? You can guess part of the answer: We’re talking mainly about the very affluent. Even if we count indirect holdings in retirement accounts and mutual funds, the richest 10 percent of U.S. residents account for about 80 percent of American-owned stocks, and the richest 1 percent own about 40 percent. So we’re talking, as always when it comes to Republican plans, about tax cuts heavily tilted toward the wealthy. But that’s not the whole story, either — it gets worse. The whole sales pitch for the Trump tax plan rests on the claim that everything is different because we’re now part of a global financial market. The truth is that this makes less difference than many imagine. But one thing is true: These days there’s a lot of cross-border investment. In particular, as Steven M. Rosenthal of the Tax Policy Center notes — in a paper I found revelatory — around 35 percent of U.S. equities are now owned by foreigners, triple the level during the Reagan years. What this means is that around 35 percent of a tax cut from an administration that proudly uses the slogan “America first” — $700 billion over the next decade — wouldn’t even go to Americans. Instead, it would be a windfall to wealthy foreigners, who would probably gain a lot more from the tax cut than U.S. workers. Oh, and it makes all that talk about allies not paying their “fair share” sound kind of silly, doesn’t it? And meanwhile, the result would be a huge hole in the budget, which Republicans would try to close at the expense of the poor and middle class. The budget resolution the House and Senate passed over the last week called for cuts of $1 trillion in Medicaid and almost half a trillion in Medicare. The resolution doesn’t have the force of law, but it’s a pretty clear indication of what’s next if the big tax cuts pass. Now, it may sound extreme to say that Trump and his allies want to take away health care from millions largely so that they can give wealthy foreigners a $700 billion gift. But however it may sound, it’s also the literal truth. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/opinion/trump-taxes-wealthy-foreigners.html
Trump Donor Asked Data Firm If It Could Better Organize Hacked Emails Exchange between Rebekah Mercer and Cambridge Analytica’s CEO shows efforts to leverage Hillary Clinton-related messages Trump donor Rebekah Mercer in August 2016 asked the chief executive of a data-analytics firm working for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign whether the company could better organize the Hillary Clinton -related emails being released by WikiLeaks, according to a person familiar with their email exchange. The previously undisclosed details from the exchange between Ms. Mercer and Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix show how an influential Trump supporter was looking to leverage the hacked Clinton-related messages to boost Mr. Trump’s campaign. [...] https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-donor-asked-data-firm-if-it-could-better-organize-hacked-emails-1509133587
Former intel official: Trump-Russia dossier 'played no role' in our analysis of Russian meddling Conservative commentators and allies of President Donald Trump have sought to cast the Russia investigations as a partisan witch hunt in light of revelations that the Trump-Russia dossier was funded by a lawyer for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. But the former general counsel for the Director of National Intelligence says the dossier "played absolutely no role" in the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. "The salacious allegations in the 'dossier' are a mere sideshow that should not distract from a comprehensive investigation" of Russian interference, the lawyer, Robert Litt, said. http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-litt-says-dossier-played-no-role-in-intel-community-russia-assessment-2017-10
Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Grilled on Russia Tower Deal WASHINGTON — Congressional investigators this week grilled President Donald Trump’s personal attorney over a scuttled plan to open a new tower in Moscow, as lawmakers again expanded the scope of various inquiries into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, sources familiar with the interviews told NBC News. Long-time Trump ally Michael Cohen’s appearances before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on consecutive days this week offered the panels greater insight into the inner workings of the president’s business empire and how it considered expansion into foreign markets like Moscow. Sources familiar with Cohen’s interview Tuesday with the House panel said there was an extended focus on emails he received in 2015 from Felix Sater, a former Trump associate with a criminal past, about a potential deal to open a Trump Tower in the Russian capital. Cohen has downplayed those conversations, in which Sater bragged about his access to top Kremlin officials, saying it was about "a real estate deal and nothing more." [...] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hill-committees-focus-russia-tower-deal-cohen-interviews-n815121
Carter Page scheduled for House intel committee interview Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, is scheduled to come before the House intelligence committee next week in its investigation into Russian meddling in the election. Page, an energy industry consultant who Trump aides say played a bit part in the campaign, has come under scrutiny for reported contacts with Kremlin-allied Russian officials in 2016. He’s denied those contacts, but in recent days he also informed the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would plead the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination if it called him to testify. It’s unclear whether he plans to cooperate with the House’s investigation on Thursday, when he’s due to testify. Page didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In an advisory, the committee described the interview as “open” but slated to be held in a “closed setting.” An aide said that means Page’s testimony will be delivered without members of the public or press present, but, because the hearing is unclassified, a transcript may be made available later. [...] https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/27/carter-page-house-intel-committee-interview-244244
Former Trump Adviser Carter Page Questioned by Senate Panel WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met behind closed doors on Friday with Senate Intelligence Committee staff for more than five hours. Page, who had been a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, received a subpoena from the committee two weeks ago. The House Intelligence Committee announced Friday that Page would appear before committee members on November 2. That session will be closed to the public. Asked by NBC News Friday as he departed the interview whether he answered all the committee's questions, Page responded, "Thanks, have a great day." He did not respond to questions about whether he had been contacted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Spokespeople for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., both declined to comment on Page's meeting with committee staff. [...] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/former-trump-adviser-carter-page-questioned-senate-panel-n815226
Amid Calls For Trump’s Impeachment, Debunking Myths As California billionaire Tom Steyer is pledging to spend at least $10 million in a national TV ad campaign to get President Trump impeached, Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein says the process can be arcane to most Americans. The Constitution says presidents and other federal officials can be impeached for treason, bribery, "or other high crimes and misdemeanors." That last phrase is pretty ambiguous to modern ears, says Sunstein, who testified before Congress during the Clinton impeachment proceedings on its exact meaning. House Minority Nancy Pelosi, for example, got it wrong earlier this year when she said Trump could only be impeached if he committed a crime, according to Sunstein. Abuses of power, even if not violations of the law, are what the founders were thinking of when they put in impeachment protections, he said. "If the president is acting in an 'atrocious' way that harms most of the states, he is committing a 'misdemeanor' even if no violation of the law is involved," Sunstein writes in the new book, "Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide." But not every crime deserves impeachment, according to Sunstein. Crimes that do not involve abuse of presidential power, like personal tax fraud or battery, are not what the founders intended. That makes a hypothetical president committing murder a surprisingly difficult case. "On the one view, there is no abuse of distinctly presidential powers, and thus no impeachable offense," he wrote. "On another view, the president can be impeached for this level of private misconduct, on the theory that murder is an exceptionally serious crime and the president is not likely to be able to govern after committing such a crime." http://www.kpbs.org/news/2017/oct/26/amid-calls-impeachment-debunking-myths/