KPMG has promoted insider John Sams to CEO, replacing Andrew Yates, who quit over the audit leaks scandal. Senators aren’t thrilled about another insider taking over. Liberal senator Paul Scarr wants answers: “I hope in their appointment process they’ve gone very deeply on whether he knew things, or did things he shouldn’t have done.” Up next for Sams: cost cuts that could axe 1,000+ jobs: AFR

⚖️ Arbitration: The Victorian Supreme Court has handed down Australia's first ruling on "hybrid" arbitration clauses — where one institution is nominated to administer arbitration but told to apply another's rules. In the Murra Warra Wind Farm dispute, Croft J upheld a clause directing the Resolution Institute to run arbitration under ICC Rules. His Honour found the clause clearly evidenced the parties' intent to arbitrate, and that ICC Articles 1(2) and 6(2), reserving administration to the ICC itself, couldn't override that consent. He also refused to read down or sever the clause, holding that would override party autonomy and rewrite the bargain entirely: HFW

⚖️ Corporate: Matthew Bekier and Paula Martin aren't taking their Star Entertainment penalties lying down. Both have filed notices of appeal against Justice Lee's findings that they breached their s 180 duties over Suncity's money laundering red flags. Martin says her company secretary role didn't carry the same disclosure obligations as her general counsel hat. Bekier argues the "Power email", a 2018 warning from Star Sydney's Andrew Power about "unacceptable" legal risks in Suncity's VIP room, concerned a one-off incident he'd already flagged to the board. Bekier's also chasing a lighter penalty, calling his $700k fine "entirely disproportionate" next to the $180k and $60k copped by Hawkins and Theodore for similar conduct: Lawyerly

⚖️ Insolvency: ASIC's first deep-dive into voluntary administration and DOCA outcomes, Report 836, crunched 3,528 grouped appointments across 5,020 companies from 2021 to 2025. Around half of appointments reaching a second creditors' meeting had a DOCA proposal on the table, and 87% of those got creditor sign-off. Size matters though: companies with liabilities over $10m landed a DOCA 48.3% of the time, versus just 15.4% for those under $250k. Nearly half of approved DOCAs saw the company keep trading post-execution: ASIC

RBA's Philip Lowe is sounding the alarm: GDP per person in Australia has grown just 4% this decade, putting us on track for the weakest living standards growth since WWI. Real wages are down 5% in five years, per the OECD, worst in the club. Redbridge's Tony Barry says that's exactly why Pauline Hanson's One Nation keeps climbing: voters “aren't really living, they're just surviving": AFR

Argentina lost the final and their cool. Midfielder Leandro Paredes grabbed Spain defender Eric García by the throat, then shoved another Spain player, right as Spain celebrated their 1-0 win. Two other Argentina staff and players piled in too. FIFA's now got a prosecutor looking into it, separate from the probe already underway over Argentina's Falklands banner in the England semi-final: TDA

📉 ASX endured a cautious first half, with 17 companies listing (up 50% on last year) but just $1.55bn raised in total, down on 1H25’s $2.46bn. Middle East jitters and sector volatility pushed the likes of i‑MED, Estia Health and TPG’s Greencross toward trade sales instead: HSF Kramer

🥛 The billionaire Perich family is buying out Noumi in a $737m deal taking the dairy maker off the ASX for good. It's a rough ending: shares that once traded near $6.73 are being bought out at just 12c. Noumi was advised by Arnold Bloch Liebler: AFR, Noumi

📦 WiseTech Global is snapping up California-based FRDM.ai for $10m upfront cash and shares, with earn-outs pushing the total to as much as $14.31m. The AI platform maps supplier networks and scores supply chain risk in real time: Capital Brief