Four people have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rig Australian markets using Telegram to coordinate a 'pump and dump' scheme targeting penny stocks. Over three weeks in 2021, they hyped shares in public groups, inflated prices, and dumped their holdings for a profit. All four—Larissa Quinlan, Kurt Stuart, Emma Summer and Syed Yusuf—also admitted to dealing with proceeds of crime. ASIC says the case shows its zero-tolerance stance on social media-led market manipulation. The group faces up to 15 years’ jail and over $1m in fines: ASIC

Reebelo Australia has paid $59k in ACCC fines after claiming customers only had 14 days to seek remedies for faulty, incorrect or misdescribed goods. Under the Australian Consumer Law, that ain’t right—consumer guarantees apply for a “reasonable time”, which can be well beyond 14 days. The ACCC said misleading refund terms may have caused real financial harm, especially with high-ticket items like phones and laptops. Reebelo has now agreed to overhaul its website, complaints process and staff training. Best not contract out of consumer rights because the ACCC is watching.

The Full Federal Court has sided with ASIC in its case against BPS Financial, finding BPS couldn't rely on the AR exemption (authorised representative) to issue a non-cash payment facility. Although BPS was formally appointed by an AFS licensee, the Court found it was acting on its own. The licensee plays no real role beyond providing its licence—classic “AFSL provisioning”. The Court didn’t resolve whether authorised reps can ever be an issuer of financial products, but made clear: passive licensing won’t cut it. For the AR exemption to apply, licensees must be actively involved in delivering the financial services, not just named on the paperwork: Gadens

Invites are out for the Samuel Griffith Society’s 2025 conference in Perth—and the all-male, all-conservative speaker lineup is already raising eyebrows. Christian Porter will headline, followed by disgraced ex-High Court judge Dyson Heydon. The rest? Richard Court, Simon Steward, Nicholas Hasluck, John Snaden, and Professor James Allan: AFR

Arnold Bloch Leibler has promoted Luke Jedynak to partner and a record 16 lawyers to senior associate, effective 1 July. Jedynak, a former adviser to Josh Frydenberg, steps up from the corporate team. The senior associate cohort spans seven practice areas across Melbourne and Sydney, marking a major mid-year talent boost for the firm: LawyersWeekly

Kennedys has posted a record £428m in revenue, marking its 11th straight year of growth. The firm saw 27% growth in Latin America and 22% in North America, boosted by new offices in LA and Seattle and major work on Russian aircraft claims, Greensill fallout, and PFAS litigation. New senior partner John Bruce says the goal’s now US$1bn by 2030: Australasian Lawyer

Monash IVF shares nosedived 21.5% after another embryo bungle—this time, a patient got their own embryo instead of their partner’s. It’s the second slip in months, after a Brisbane clinic implanted the wrong embryo, resulting in a birth. Third time’s the charm? Reviews are expanding, insurers are covering, but investors aren’t buying it: Capital Brief

Incoming analysts at JPMorgan now risk being fired for accepting private equity offers within their first 18 months. A leaked memo says early job-hopping creates conflicts of interest—echoing Jamie Dimon’s view that it’s “unethical”. The bank’s Kool-Aid sweetener? Faster promotion to associate level. But with PE roles paying double the salary and fewer hours, analysts might still take the punt: The Entrepreneur

Japan says China’s navy is expanding its reach, after spotting both aircraft carriers conducting drills in Japan’s economic zone. It’s the first time CHina crossed the second island chain — a key US-aligned defence line stretching from Japan to Guam. Beijing calls it “routine training”, but experts say it’s a calculated move to test Japan's nerves without breaching international law: ABC

GemLife:’s $750m float could be the first to test ASIC’s new fast-track IPO process, targeting a $1.56bn valuation and shaving up to 7 days off the timeline. KWM backed the move as a “powerful” step, but also urged ASIC to go further, calling to scrap the two-strikes rule, tone down pay reporting, and reduce red tape for listed companies. Lawyers are now assessing if GemLife can shift its listing under an expedited timeline: AFR

KKR: is weighing a takeover of Spark New Zealand, despite only a 50% data centre stake being formally up for sale. Spark's $4bn valuation and share slump have sparked buyout chatter, with suitors eyeing a break-up play—data centres first, fibre next. The move would be the largest deal with an Aussie-listed telco this year: The Australian

Betashares: is in talks to acquire Drummond Capital and InvestSense to expand its $3bn managed accounts business. The ETF giant, backed by Temasek, is moving from product supplier to portfolio holder. It’s a rare M&A push for a firm known for organic growth, but the strategy looks anything but passive. It now sits with $50bn assets under management: AFR

Disney: has sealed full control of Hulu, agreeing to pay Comcast an extra US$439m, and well below the US$5bn Comcast had demanded. Disney insisted its original US$8.6bn payment covered everything, but a third-party appraiser was brought in to break the deadlock. Now Hulu, with 55m subs, will be folded deeper into Disney+ and ESPN’s new streamer: The New York Times

Roy Hill and Atlas Iron will join forces as Hancock Iron Ore from 1 July, uniting Rinehart’s two biggest moneymakers under one brand. With $3.7bn in profits last year and $11.5bn in taxes paid to date, the merger marks a streamlining push as Hancock gears up for its next mine, McPhee, north of Roy Hill, due in 2025: The Australian

Fortescue's hydrogen chief Cameron Smith has been sidelined as the miner winds back its splashy green pivot, slashing hydrogen jobs and shelving its 15Mtpa green hydro production target. With co-CEO Mark Hutchinson already ousted, duties now fall to Agustin Pichot and Dino Otranto, as the focus shifts to green iron over hydrogen hype. Smith stays onboard, but without a new title: AFR

Westpac’s poached another pair from CBA, as new biz banking boss Paul Fowler builds his squad. With just the third-largest share in business deposits, Westpac is pushing hard to catch up with CBA and NAB. Total deposits hit $697bn in March, up 7%, but as rates fall, competition’s heating up—and the bank’s betting on talent to win the race: AFR

The Sydney Stock Exchange (SSX) hasn’t hosted a single trade in 8 months, with its only listed company suspended since October. Once home to Sigma and Brumby’s, the exchange now survives on interest income, tax losses, and a $1m loan from parent AIMS. ASIC’s watching. Everyone else’s just wondering if it’ll quietly shut up shop: Capital Brief

Rest is fighting to keep its stake in the Melbourne $14bn airport, as major property investors like IFM and Future Fund force a sale on Dexus. A fight is now afoot since Dexus opened up the data room to sell off a 9% stake, coined Project Mercury. Its co-owners say the move was a breach of confidentiality provisions in the SHA, issuing a default notice that demands it must sell its entire 27% stake. Rest says it wasn’t part of Project Mercury, it’s not in breach, and a forced sale would unfairly hit its 2m members: The Australian

CBRE has snapped up Burgess Rawson’s east coast biz, granting access to a tight network of cashed-up private property investors. The local outfit pulls $1.6bn in annual sales, dominates service stations and fast-food assets, and runs cult auctions every six weeks. The move gives CBRE a stronger play in sub-$35m assets as it eyes the growing private wealth boom: AFR

Glitch Capital has launched a $50m fund backed by operators from Xero, MYOB, Go1 and Pet Circle, pitching itself as Aus & NZ’s first true founders fund. Backed 70% by startup alumni, the VC will write $1m–$3m cheques into globally focused tech cos, co-investing with top-tier funds. First bet? Education tech platform Cadmus: Capital Brief

From zero to 30k consults a day, Lyrebird Health is fast becoming the go-to AI scribe for doctors, now live in 60+ hospitals across four countries. Founded by a 23-year-old ex-Tesla engineer, it’s just raised $12m at a $50m valuation. Unlike ChatGPT dabblers, Lyrebird plugs into real practice software and promises to kill admin, not jobs: AFR