THE NEWS WRAP: Myer turns down Westfield’s online mall

Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes has publicly slammed Westfield’s online mall website, describing it as a way of the shopping centre operator pocketing extra commissions from its tenants.

The dismissal comes despite arch-rival David Jones signing up for the venture.

“I think the level of maturity you have in online will determine whether you decide to go to the Westfield online mall, and our level of maturity is such that we have got an attractive website with a whole lot of information,” Brookes says.

“So therefore there is no need for us with our level of maturity to actually to use Westfield as a harness to bring it together.

“I think the decision for David Jones to go into that is their decision. Ours is based on us being able to sell product at an effective price and not have someone else make a profit and therefore we can pass that directly to the customer.”

Former Commonwealth Bank boss to head Abbott government financial inquiry

The Abbott government has announced former Commonwealth Bank chief executive David Murray will head its inquiry into the banking sector.

“The inquiry will make recommendations to foster an efficient, competitive and flexible financial system, consistent with financial stability, prudence, integrity and fairness. This should result in less costs, lower fees and greater efficiency in the allocation of capital,” the government says in a statement.

“As part of our broader deregulation agenda, the government intends to reduce the regulatory burden on the financial services sector wherever the benefits to competition, efficiency, market stability or consumer protection are questionable.”

OECD cuts global growth forecast

The OECD, which represents the world’s developed economies, has significantly cut its global growth forecast, from 3.1% in May to just 2.7%.

The reduced growth rate represents the lowest level forecast since the global financial crisis.

The report anticipates growth in Australia of 2.5% this year and 2.6%, saying low interest rates will be required to sustain growth, while warning against government budget cuts.

“The slower pace of mining investment should be offset by the gradual strengthening of non-mining sectors, which will benefit from recent improvements in confidence, the currently lower exchange rate and expansionary monetary policy,” the report says.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.44% to 15896.71. The Aussie dollar is down to US93.45 cents.