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Woolies, Coles, Aldi caught up in child labour scandal

Win Win Than, 25, says she tried to run away but was caught and handcuffed in a small room inside the shed.

Sarah Danckert 9:01PM

Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have confirmed they sell prawns supplied by a Thai company embroiled in a child labour scandal.

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Catriona Noble, ANZ managing director retail distribution, at the opening of the Parramatta Home Loan Centre.

What Macdonald's is teaching ANZ

Shaun Drummond 8:03PM

The bank's new retail chief is bringing some lessons about customer service starting with a radical redesign fashioned on an actual home in suburban Parramatta.

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Cotton On's Typo follows Smiggle to UK

Sue Mitchell 5:38PM

Aussie retailer following rivals in raid on Britain's high streets.

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Sam Walsh says companies should more clearly define, measure and report greenhouse gas emissions data.

Walsh backs greenhouse reporting revamp

Amanda Saunders 8:10PM

Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has backed a push by Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, for listed companies to more clearly report greenhouse gas emissions data.

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OzForex chief executive Richard Kimber will be entitled to an extra $1.25 million under the deal.

OzForex, Veda shore up takeovers

Sally Rose 6:43PM

Two home-grown, ASX-listed financial services companies, OzForex and Veda, are each a step closer to being swallowed by their NYSE-listed global peers.

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The bears were out on Monday, sending the ASX to its second lowest point this year

ASX plunges below 5000

Vanessa Desloires 5:06PM

The local sharemarket dived back below 5000 to its second lowest close this year ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve meeting sent investors running to the exits.

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Woolworths is no longer expected to scrap Qantas frequent flyer points.

Backlash forces Woolworths to rethink

Sue Mitchell 4:47PM

Woolworths is expected to announce on Tuesday it will change its new loyalty program.

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Markets Junk bond freeze has fundies jittery
Energy CSR seals Tesla deal to sell Powerwall
Markets Live Markets Live: Shares plunge
Media & Marketing Murdoch company linked to FIFA scandal
The Economy Singapore sling in ATO's sights

Market Indices

Last updated: December 14, 2015 - 9:00PM

Currencies

United States Dollar
Last updated: Dec 14, 2015 - 8:45PM (delayed by 30 minutes)
0.7219	0.42%
Euro
0.6590	0.47%
British Pound
0.4761	0.51%

Comment & Analysis

Michael Pascoe

Climate denial is some people's religion
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Ross Gittins

Turnbull's tax reform striptease has started
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Michael West

Gongs given out for a year of hard yakka
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Woolies, Coles, Aldi caught up in child labour scandal

Sarah Danckert 9:01PM

Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have confirmed they sell prawns supplied by a Thai company embroiled in a child labour scandal.

Contains: This article contains a video.

In Depth

Tatts slams push for live sports betting

Robbie Cooke says there is little public support for in-play betting.

Perry Williams 4:48PM

Tatts boss Robbie Cooke has had a massive swing at the UK corporate bookmakers based in the NT who are pushing for inplay betting.

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Nurofen fined over misleading claims

The products were advertised as treating specific types of pain, despite having the same ingredients.

Patrick Hatch 6:41PM

Manufacturer of Nurofen faces fines worth millions of dollars but will be allowed to keep selling product.

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Profit drops again at Diageo Australia

Diageo Australia, which owns Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Bundaberg Rum, has suffered its third successive drop in annual profit but hopes for a revival in 2016, driven by the trend to rising spirits consumption at home.

Simon Evans 12:15AM

The market leader in spirits, Diageo Australia, has suffered its third successive drop in annual profit in a market where Woolworths and Coles are increasingly influential.

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Workplace

Work begins when life ends

Gaynor Nevitt says a good sense of humour is an asset for an embalmer.

Alison Bradshaw

Embalming bodies is surprisingly fascinating, but a keen sense of humour helps.

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Girls need lessons on how to demand a pay rise

Women need to learn assertivenesss, says Headspace chair Wendy McCarthy.

Catie Low

Male managers need to rethink how they respond to assertive women.

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Markets

UBS sees plenty to like in busy Transurban

Transurban operates toll roads in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Stephen Cauchi 6:01PM

Transurban has no shortage of projects under way and UBS continues to give the green light to investors wanting to invest in the infrastructure giant.

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Aussie on the back foot ahead of Fed

Competitive tax jurisdisdictions elsewhere have a significant impact on investment in Australia.

Stephen Cauchi 5:55PM

Better-than-expected Chinese data on the weekend gave the Australia dollar a brief boost on Monday morning, but the tailwind didn't last.

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ANZ sees no need for rate cuts in next six months

House construction and the wealth effect are good for now but will start to fade, ANZ says.

Mark Mulligan 3:11PM

ANZ Bank has deferred its cash rate cuts prediction from February to May.

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China's stabilising growth aids US Fed decision makers
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Goldman Sachs bets on just James Hardie
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Steel output drops in China and more cuts on the way
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Oil skids toward 11-year low as IEA warns of worse glut
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Doubt smashes $A rally in Asia
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3 things to watch this week
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need2know: ASX to drop after overseas falls
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Fed rate rise could lift $A
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Plunging commodity prices have prompted Australian superannuation funds to look more towards international shares.

Best performing super funds dump ASX

Search Quotes & Charts

Foreigners who own land in Australia now have until the end of February to come forward and register, with the Australian Taxation Office announcing on Monday extended time for overseas investors to declare agricultural land.

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The ugly truth about the budget is what we need

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull Treasurer Scott Morrison have decided against an immediate ban in borrowing from SMSFs for investment in property, despite views from eminent economist Saul Eslake that it could lead to something similar to the US subprime crisis.

Peter Martin 4:18PM

Expect the unvarnished truth on Tuesday, because there's little point in lying.

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China's stabilising growth aids US Fed decision makers
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Leaders sound alarm on budget as economists predict billions wiped from revenue
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Oil, mining downturn yet to hit bottom
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Innovation needs to be in your face
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Opinion Australia can be a force in technology
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Retail

Harris Scarfe to open five Debenhams stores

Sue Mitchell 5:51AM

Harris Scarfe is gearing up for the biggest sales boost in its 166-year history after signing agreements with UK retailer Debenhams to open stand-alone stores.

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Banking & Finance

Aon pours multimillions into data analytics

Lambros Lambrou: "If we do nothing as in an industry, we are going to lose the race."

Ruth Liew 11:33AM

Aon Risk Solutions is looking to ramp up its multimillion-dollar spending on data analytics research, as the global insurance broker increases efforts to combat disrupters and improve its business model.

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New ANZ chief will tackle Asian business

ANZ chief executive-designate Shayne Elliott (centre) will try to retool the bank's Asian businesses, when he succeeds CEO Mike Smith (left) next month. Chairman David Gonski is to the right.

Narayanan Somasundaram 10:13AM

Incoming ANZ chief executive officer Shayne Elliott will have to tackle the bank's underperforming Asian businesses when he takes over in January.

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Barclays CEO weighs cutting 20pc of staff
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One in three bank branches could close
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Mining & Resources

Fresh oil price weakness points to more cutbacks

The not so good oil: producers are feeling the pinch of low prices.

Angela Macdonald-Smith 6:24PM

A further slide in oil prices to near seven-year lows is putting extra strain on local producers' capex budgets and cost targets for 2016, while asset write-downs appear to have become a near certainty for some.

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Energy leaders warn Paris climate goals 'not easy'

The climate goals agreed in Paris will require significant economic changes in Australia, industry leaders say.

Angela Macdonald-Smith 5:50PM

Australia's commitment to the climate accord signed in Paris has exposed the absence of policy measures to shift the electricity supply system away from fossil fuels, and the absence of a viable economic alternative to coal for baseload power, industry executives say.

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World Business

The ultra-wealthy's biggest losers

In moving to fire Dov Charney last year, the board alleged that he violated sexual-harassment policies and misused funds.

Paul Sullivan

Why do so many ultra-wealthy people lose so much of their wealth so quickly?

Contains: total comments24 This article contains a video.

World on the cusp of historic climate deal in Paris

French President Francois Hollande, left, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, applaud French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the climate conference.

Tom Arup and Peter Hannam, Paris

The world is on the cusp of a historic agreement to tackle climate change after the organisers of the Paris summit released the final wording of a deal, mapping out compromises on the key disputes that had divided countries.

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News UK dodges phone-hacking charges
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VW's emissions cheating not a one-time error
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Gold price drop could spur Indian jewellers
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South African rand slumps after cabinet shakeup
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ECB head defends stimulus package after market backlash
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China

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba buys South China Morning Post

Philip Wen

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has acquired the South China Morning Post, a move which simultaneously signals its intention to expand its media influence beyond mainland China while sparking fears around editorial independence at the venerable Hong Kong newspaper.

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China mystery as Fosun's Guo Guangchang goes missing

Mr Guo is one of China's most recognisable investors at home and overseas with a fortune of $US7.8 billion.

Philip Wen

The high-profile billionaire chairman of China's biggest private conglomerate, Fosun Group, has gone missing amid speculation he has been caught up in a deepening corruption probe targeting the country's financial industry.

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China exports fall for fifth month
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Chinese demand for Aussie homes down 15% - McGrath
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China's fortunes to weigh more on $A
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Solar chief hits out at China over coal at Paris launch of global solar pact
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A page from Mao's little red book
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What keeps Blackmores' boss awake at night
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Featured advertisers

Property Focus

City Tattsvotes for for $200m redevelopment

New impression of the City Tattersalls Club, to be developed in Sydney CBD into hotel and apartments.

Carolyn Cummins

Sydney's skyline is set to get a new crane when members of the City Tattersalls Club voted overwhelmingly to approve development of the Pitt Street building's airspace.

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Scentre strikes $2.85m deal with Booodl start up

Apps such as Boodl are increasingly aiding customers find perfect Christmas gifts.

Carolyn Cummins

Shopping is not everyone's most enjoyable way to spend a day, particularly wandering around a mall trying to locate the stores selling the items on your list.

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Hot Property: Let's keep our lifestyle

Chris Johnson

With Sydney's dwelling approvals running at 70 per cent for apartments there is clearly a big shift underway to a more urban way of living.

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Artist impression of 55 Market Street, Sydney.

Trains and profits in the Sydney CBD

Just another way of saying small business?
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Kensington on track for more growth
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No slowing down for Sydney’s western market
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Santa Claus needs to clone himself
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An upmarket design emporium in Brunswick Street takes shopping to a new level.

Design emporium ahead of the pack

Aurora Melbourne serviced apartments sale raises UEM Sunrise $120 million

Carolyn Cummins

The Malaysian property developer UEM Sunrise Berhad has sold the serviced apartment component of its Aurora Melbourne Central for $120 million to the Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

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Executive Style

'Greatest Aston of all time' sells for $20m

Chris Knapman

The 1962 model becomes the most expensive British car ever sold at auction.

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Money

Comment: Savings tips are not sexist

Giving up a glass of wine each week can add up to substantial savings.

Sally Rose

A few feathers got ruffled when I wrote about how much value a woman in her 30s could realise in her 60s by putting the cost of a few glasses of wine into superannuation instead.

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