It didn’t take long for the Director’s Club to mount a rearguard action following the Federal Court declaring that the directors of Centro breached their directors’ duties.
Articles by Adam Schwab 
About Adam Schwab
Adam Schwab was a corporate lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions at one of Australia’s largest legal firms before becoming a founding director of privately-owned corporate accommodation and services group, AJ Capital. Adam is also a director of Zoupon, one of Australia’s largest Daily Deal websites.
Since 2004, he has also been a financial journalist and business commentator specialising in corporate governance, economics and legal affairs for Crikey and is a regular guest on Sky Business’ Business View program and has appeared on Today Tonight and The Perrett Report.
He has also advised Australia’s largest institutions and fund managers on corporate governance and executive remuneration issues and is the author of the book Pigs at the Trough: Lessons from Australia’s Decade of Corporate Greed, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2010.
Federal Court: 8 Centro directors breached duties
ASIC yesterday achieved a stunning victory with the Federal Court ruling that eight Centro directors breached their directors’ duties in failing to accurately disclose the company’s liabilities to shareholders in the 2007 financial report.
Bank deposit guarantee puts the squeeze on loaners
Another emergency GFC policy — the federal government’s decision to “guarantee” bank deposits of up to $1 million — is expected to be lowered in the next few months. Its reduction to between $100,000 and $250,000 could place small and medium size lenders in a difficult position.
After-effects of GFC disaster continue to emerge
Governments have a habit of meddling with things. This is largely due to the political imperative of being seen to be doing something to fix economic problems.
King-Leighton soap opera plays its last episode
Former Leighton Holdings CEO Wal King has announced that he was not offered, nor is he seeking a role on the Leighton board.
Housing: what the bubble giveth, the bubble taketh away
The property mood appears to have shifted from buoyant, to flat to morose in just a few months.
US economy: Grant a mentor-in-waiting for Bernanke
Jim Grant, author of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, is one of the world’s best economic forecasters. When it speaks about global markets, and tells Ben Bernanke to resign, it might be worth a listen.
Stand-off as housing prices take a tumble
As clearance rates slump in capital cities across Australia, vendors appear to be quickly realising that what they thought (or have been told) their properties are worth is not quite accurate.
Keynesian trap of spending: what of construction post-BER?
On Wayne Swan’s economic recovery legacy, the BER wasn’t all good news. Its short-term job-creating impact throws the economy out of whack in the longer term.
Banks’ actions a danger to the economy
It is possible banks have lent so much to home buyers and investors that any significant tightening in lending standards would lead to not only a massive drop in the banks’ profitability, but also place their solvency in question.
Why abolishing negative gearing makes complete sense
Negative gearing is a poorly thought out policy which benefits a wealthy minority and penalizes the majority of Australians, both young and old.
Footy rights winners and losers … AFL looked after its own
The AFL has certainly looked after its own, with the winners from the AFL’s landmark broadcast rights agreement largely being AFL insiders.
Don’t cheer the dollar — cheap holidays will come at a cost
Media and business commentators continue their infatuation with the unstoppable rise of the Australian dollar.
Housing … past performance no indication of future returns
Instead of restricting supply of dwellings, it appears that in Melbourne especially, banks appear to be doing the opposite.
Benz, Beemer and that pool … Gore doing bankruptcy in comfort
Craig Gore was able to avoid paying almost $500 million in legally owing debts, but it appears that the former rich-lister hasn’t had to give up some of life’s finer things.
The long and the short of it is Goldman Sachs was in the wrong
A 650-page report from a bipartisan US Senate Committee was scathing of Wall Street investment banks, stating Wall Street is a “financial snake pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing”. Goldman Sachs copped the brunt of the criticism.
The house bubble is popping, even the AFR agrees
Even the Australian Financial Review appears to have taken an entirely somber view about the Australian residential property sector. It seems to be cool to be a bear.
After $50m in pay, how do we define Wal King’s legacy?
Leighton Holdings this morning announced it would write down more $1.14 billion from the value of its assets. So what role did boss Wal King play?
Is AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou worth $2.2 million?
While its high profile players have had various troubles over the summer, the AFL PR machine has been hard at work in the “off season”, especially in its attempts to rejuvenate the public perception of AFL boss, Andrew Demetriou.
Future for property bulls looks decidedly bleak
Instead of predicting the usual “5% annual house price growth”, suddenly, the “experts” are suggested house prices will drop this year.
Buying a home ‘a ridiculous thing to do with your money’
A US financial expert recently suggested that “buying a home has to be the most ridiculous thing you could ever do with your money”.
China and the Matryoshka doll bubble-within-a-bubble
The China bubble is a story that doesn’t look like it’s going away.
Covered bonds joy for banks: increased risk for taxpayers
The recent announcement by the federal governments that it will allow Australian banks to issue covered bonds was greeted with much joy by the banking industry.
Hoy … from high roller with a Rolls to a role as a jailbird
Graeme Hoy, the Geelong-based mastermind of Chartwell Enterprises, was sentenced to 13 years jail, in what was claimed to be the longest ever white-collar term of imprisonment in Australia.
The housing bubble and the illogical excuses that surround it
It’s not only uneducated investors and self-interested mortgage brokers who make illogical excuses for the property bubble.
