Koala Living breaches consumer rights.

Peabody Energy takes Anglo’s coal assets in a $5.8bn deal.

Amazon overtakes Coles as Australia’s #2 online retailer—Woolies still leads.

Koala Living just had a run-in with the ACCC. The mattress retailer was caught misleading customers about their rights to a remedy for faulty products. Apparently, Koala told customers that their rights were limited to 72 hours of the manufacturer’s warranty and that they could pick the type of remedy depending on the fault. They also claimed delivery charges were non-refundable. The ACCC wasn’t having it, and Koala fessed up to breaching the ACL.

Australia’s elite can breathe a sigh of relief. Chalmers’ push to tax super balances over $3m is set to be shelved before the election, leaving the proposal’s fate in limbo.

Get ready for more pre-deal exclusivity in M&A deals. Following the AusNet and Virtus cases and the Takeovers Panel updated Guidance Note 7, Corrs is predicting an uptick in bidders requesting exclusivity now that the guidance on hard exclusivity agreements is clearer than ever.

UK firm Travers Smith is handing out £4k ($A7.7k) bonuses to associates with the message, “Take a holiday on us”. This incentive was first rolled out last year after spotting that their lawyers were flight risks, likely to be poached by a competitor with deeper pockets. Sure, it’s no US$150k bonus like the ones US firms are tossing around, but hey, every dollar counts, right?

Alleged "sex pest" barrister’s name revealed. South Australian barrister Enzo Belperio was accused of sexual harassment and gross indecency towards a junior solicitor. Initially, his identity was kept under wraps, but a Supreme Court decision this week ruled that keeping him anonymous would be against public interest and open justice.

Bird & Bird head Shane Barber’s career spans some of Australia’s biggest corporate names. From stints at Baker McKenzie and Gilbert + Tobin to corporate counsel at Optus during its start-up days, he’s done it all. As a partner at PwC Legal and later managing partner at Truman Hoyle, he helped grow the firm before leading its merger with Bird & Bird. His advice to aspiring partners: First, he stresses the importance of understanding what makes colleagues happy and productive. Secondly, Barber advises aspiring leaders to make their ambitions known subtly.

ASX’s CHESS replacement project is set to cost up to $320m by 2029. Phase one, due in 2026, will cost $125m at the top end, while phase two will add $270m-$320m over several years, reflecting the complexity of the overhaul. This comes after the ASX scrapped a seven-year attempt to replace the 29-year-old system in 2022, triggering ASIC’s legal action over alleged misleading statements.

Until recently, cheating could have technically landed you in jail in New York. Yep, you read that right. You would have been facing 3 months behind bars under the state’s adultery laws. No need to start chiming "It wasn’t me" yet—the law has just been repealed.

As Labor and the Coalition gear up to push through the social media ban, mental health experts warned a hastily convened inquiry that the plan could drive kids into more dangerous, unregulated corners of the internet—like message boards and encrypted apps. Meanwhile, X argued that banning kids under 16 from social media could be unlawful, ineffective, and a violation of human rights. The hearing itself? A rushed three-hour affair where witnesses were denied the chance to read their opening statements and couldn't take detailed questions on notice.

Exiled chief of staff to deputy PM Richard Marles is taking the federal government to court, claiming workplace bullying and seeking both compensation and punitive damages.

Australia’s budget deficit is set to blow out, with Deloitte forecasting a $33.5bn shortfall this year—$5.2bn worse than May’s forecast and the largest fiscal deterioration outside the pandemic. With the federal election looming, the government may skip a pre-election budget to avoid revealing four years of deep deficits.

CapitaLand's is making moves Down Under. The Singapore-based real estate giant is in talks to snap up the private credit and commercial property units of Melbourne's own $8bn Wingate Group.

Peabody Energy comes out on top in the coal wars. The US giant has secured Anglo American's coal assets, shelling out a cool US$3.8bn (A$5.8bn) to seal the deal.

Yancoal might’ve missed out on Anglo American’s assets, but it's not giving up just yet. The miner’s now zeroing in on the US$3bn (A$4.6bn) auction for the Kestrel coal mine.

The US government has charged Gautam Adani with bribing Indian officials to score better terms on solar power contracts. The timing? Well, it’s no coincidence. With Trump making a White House return in just 3 months, some are speculating the feds might be rushing to make the charges public before a possible shift in administration. If Trump wins, expect the case to take a turn—charges could be dropped, changed, or face some serious roadblocks. Looks like Adani might have a few political cards to play.

The Albanese Government is rolling out new tax incentives, hoping to pump billions into Australia’s critical minerals sector with production tax credits. Wesfarmers is all in, calling the credits a clever use of the tax system. The Coalition, however, isn’t quite so sold on the idea.

Ellison’s out as chairman of junior explorer Delta Minerals, stepping down just 14 months into the role. Why? To give MinRes his full attention.

Cuscal’s ASX debut didn’t exactly go as planned—investors wiped a hefty $36.4m off its market value within just 4 hours of opening. Ouch. But despite the rocky start, Cuscal’s keeping its eye on the prize: M&A. CEO’s planning to use the $336m to hunt takeover targets.

UBS is back Down Under after nearly a decade. The firm is aiming squarely at the country’s booming family offices and rising number of wealthy women. Australia sits third on high net worth growth, behind India and Italy. With $30bn in high-net-worth assets already under its belt, UBS sees Australia as a key piece of its Asia-Pacific expansion playbook, says its local investment chief.

Goldman Sachs is writing off $1.4bn after Swedish battery maker Northvolt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Once Europe’s green energy darling, Northvolt burned through $15bn in funding, leaving major backers like Goldman and Volkswagen with heavy losses. It’s also looking to spin off its digital assets platform in the next 12-18 months.

Publishers had a lot to say at Google’s US antitrust trial, and it’s not pretty. They testified they have no choice but to stick with the search giant—even when it rolls out features they hate. With Google’s ad chokehold, there are no other viable alternatives. Now, the US DOJ is gearing up for its closing arguments, aiming for a second win against Google for its alleged illegal dominance of the ad market.

Figma founder Dylan Field kicked off 2024 with Adobe abandoning its $30.7B acquisition after regulatory pushback – ouch. Now back in growth mode, Figma has opened its first Australian office, starting small but set to grow.

The federal government’s new scheme, designed to incentivise car manufacturers to allocate more low-emission vehicles to Australia, could end up making the EV oversupply worse. With too many electric cars on the market, suppliers may be forced to slash prices and sell at a loss just to clear stock.

Amazon has just been crowned Australia’s second-largest online retailer, trailing only Woolies. What does this mean for the Coles and Woolies dominance?

Rights permitting excavation, revealed by this hidden layer (5).

Answer: Lease, a mining one of course