CEOs will sleep rough tonight to raise money for homelessness

Business leaders around the country will tonight take warm clothes, their sleeping bags and sheets of cardboard to city centres in a bid to raise awareness about homelessness. The Vinnies CEO Sleepout is still about $700,000 shy of meeting last year's donations of $6.9 million and still has the goal of raising $7.1 million. The 2018 eve...

SaaS scale-up Whispir makes ASX debut

With "on fire" growth in Southeast Asia and major customers like Disney and Virgin Australia, Melbourne-founded global cloud communications scale-up Whispir (ASX: WSP) has opened a new chapter as a public company today. Co-founder Jeromy Wells (pictured) tells Business News Australia the initial public offering (IPO) has be...

Breaking barriers: Australian-based outsourcing company makes impact in US market

At its very core, outsourcing challenges what has been considered the standard with business operations for a long time. Businesses are now reaping the benefits of outsourcing roles that typically would have stretched their resources to breaking point. As a result they are able to cut major costs including massive overheads and wages....

Facebook launches crypto project but obstacles abound

Facebook Inc announced ambitious plans on Tuesday to launch a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, part of an effort to expand into digital payments that immediately raised privacy concerns. The social networking giant has linked with 28 partners including Mastercard, PayPal and Uber to form Libra Association, a Geneva-based entity gov...

Can EMVision's portable brain scanner disrupt stroke treatment as we know it?

Studies show the brain ages by about 3.6 years for every hour that passes without appropriate treatment after a stroke. The disease is the world's second-leading killer after cancer worldwide, but to make a diagnoss for treatment the current solution comes in the form of stationary, complex and expensive imaging technologies like...

AGL walks away from Vocus takeover

AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) had four weeks to conduct its due diligence for a potential takeover of Vocus (ASX: VOC), but it only needed one. Following in the footsteps of Swedish company EQT which had pulled out of its $3.3 billion bid for the telco, AGL has determined its lower offer of $3 billion for Vocus wouldn't be worthwhile eit...

Will Australia become Asia's 'clean green' medicinal cannabis supplier?

From powdered milk to multivitamins to fresh fruit, Australian and New Zealand products command a health premium in Asian markets but can the medical cannabis industry leverage this 'clean green' image and follow suit?  Cann Group (ASX: CAN) CEO Peter Crock believes they will, and this was a driver for the company securing a ...

ANZ sacks NZ chief citing "concerns" over transactions

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) has announced its New Zealand business CEO David Hisco (pictured) is stepping down after an internal review of his personal expenses. The board has raised concerns about the "characterisation of certain transactions" while the decision also follows ongoing health ...

Losses deepen for McGrath but can new CFO turn the tide?

A new CFO will soon fill the void left by the departure of Glynn Wright at listed property company McGrath (ASX: MEA) in March, with Howard Herman set to start in the role on 24 June. But Herman, who was recently CFO at NASDAQ-listed Australian apparel business Naked Brand Group, will have a tough job on this hands as the c...

Evans Dixon CEO steps aside to lead struggling US fund

Amidst falling profits and complaints over high fees and investment recommendations for its own in-house funds, financial advisory firm Evans Dixon (ASX: ED1) will see its CEO Alan Dixon (pictured) step aside to focus on the company's US residential property fund. Executive chairman David Evans will act as a temporary CEO while a...

Afterpay faces AUSTRAC audit into anti-money laundering compliance

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has ordered an audit of fintech Afterpay's (ASX: APT) after identifying concerns over compliance with financial crime legislation. The announcement prompted a 12.6 per cent drop in APT shares this morning down to $22.41. The financial intelligence agency ha...

Emerge Gaming partners with Viacom for Nickelodeon eSports platform

Listed gaming and eSports company Emerge Gaming (ASX: EM1) has been tasked with the development of a Nickelodeon eSports platform in partnership with Viacom International Media Networks Africa (VIMN). Called NickX, the platform is a kid-focused eSports interactive tournament platform showcasing content from Viacom's Nickelodeon brands...

Blue Sky settles lawsuit against former directors

Investment firm Blue Sky has settled a lawsuit involving the alleged illegal downloading of company data. The firm, currently in receivership, says proceedings against Blue Sky Water Partners, Pinnacle Investment Management Group, Riparian Capital Partners (RCP) and former Blue Sky employees have been resolved on confidential terms. T...

The rise and fall of Blue Sky: A timeline from ASX powerhouse to pariah

Fund manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments (ASX: BLA) ended its 7.5-year run on the ASX after going into receivership. At its peak the Brisbane-based investment firm was worth almost $1.2 billion, with capital raisings easily fulfilled and an aggressive investment strategy fuelling global interest.  During what appeared t...

Afterpay to raise $330m for US expansion

Shares in Australian fintech Afterpay (ASX: APT) have entered a trading halt amidst the announcement of a $330 million capital raising aimed at funding overseas expansion. In a release today, the company says its experience to date "confirms that the US scale-up opportunity is clear" and a strong growth strategy is needed to ach...

Booktopia turns a new page after failed crowdfund attempt

Online bookseller Booktopia is looking for new investment sources after an ambitious crowdfunding scheme failed to achieve its minimum target. The company's offer on Equitise was due to expire in three days and would have needed investments of at least $3 million to go ahead, but had only reached commitments of $892,750. The decis...

The Star's growth dims as the financial year closes in

Growth revenue is softening for The Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) due to various challenges faced by the company. Between 1 January and 8 June 2019 domestic revenue only rose 0.3 per cent year-on-year. International VIP trends continue to fall as was the case in 1H19, with turnover down 31.1 per cent in 2H19 thus far. As a r...

Blue Sky CEO no longer required

Blue Sky has announced it no longer requires a CEO and has said farewell to Joel Cann (pictured) in a rather unceremonious fashion. Blue Sky, currently in receivership since 20 May, released the news in a curt announcement to the ASX. As a result, CEO Joel Cann left Blue Sky last Friday. Cann was only in the position of CEO for just o...

Australia's largest cannabis company enters JV with RFI

Major Australian cannabis player Elixinol (ASX: EXL) expects its US subsidiary will have greater exposure to markets thanks to a strategic partnership secured with RFITD Holdings. The new alliance links Elixinol to RFI, a New York-based food ingredients manufacturer that has been in business since 1989. The two new partners ...

AGL makes $3 billion bid for Vocus

AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) is having a second crack at acquiring internet service provider Vocus (ASX: VOC) after Swedish suitor EQT backed down from its bid last week.  In late May AGL confirmed it had already made a confidential offer for the telco which owns the Dodo and iPrimus brands, but an inability to reach acceptable due diligenc...