THE NEWS WRAP: AiG calls for workplace flexibility

The pay of the top 100 CEOs in Australia has more than doubled over the past decade, now outstripping shareholder returns by more than three times.

New figures by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors show that more than 90% of the top 100 bosses received a bonus last year, up from 82% the year before. The median cash pay of the executives was $2.79 million.

AiG calls for workplace flexibility

A leading business group will today call upon the Government to allow employers to strike more flexible workplace deals with their staff, claiming that the current system is harming productivity.

Heather Ridout, chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, says that the Fair Work Act “promised so much but delivered so little.”

Ridout’s stance follows a survey of 250 AiG member companies which found that 69% backed the reinstatement of some sort of statutory individual agreement.

US launches legal action against banks

The US Government is launching a $200 billion lawsuit against 17 American and foreign financial institutions over losses sustained in the lead-up to the 2008 financial downturn.

The lawsuits, lodged by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), allege that the financial institutions didn’t properly check mortgages before bundling them into securities.

Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 253.16 points, or 2.2%, to 11,240.41 on Friday. The Australian dollar was down to 106.94 US cents.