Until former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers finally withdrew its threat of litigation on Friday against the scheme of arrangement that stapled all the old Centro entities together to form the new aggregated structure, the fate of Centro Retail remained unsure.
Centro
Centro ruling a ‘burden on directors’: Gonski
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.
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.
Unsophisticated speculators were late getting to the Centro action
Insiders suggest that the Chinese investors were unsophisticated did not understand that Centro was worth billions less than zero.
Centro shareholders vapourised by ASX
Thousands of Australian investors rue the day they invested in the Centro Group of companies, writes Martin Dougherty, a former senior journalist and part-time business consultant.
New York shows ASIC the way to pounce on GFC villains
While US authorities have taken legal action against failed companies, ASIC, Australia’s so-called corporate watchdog, has laid no criminal charges and only a smattering of civil actions against the villains of the GFC.
Despite Centro crash, directors continue to collect
Corporate Australia tends to have a short memory when it comes to company directors’ pay.
Mayne: Bowen is right on Sons of Gwalia
Despite all the bleating by class-action lawyers and the Australian Shareholders’ Association, the government’s decision to overturn the Sons of Gwalia High Court decision is no great disaster.
ASIC takes a serious swing at MFS
Perhaps stung by public criticism that it hasn’t done enough to prevent and prosecute corporate fraud, ASIC has launched a second action in as many weeks, announcing a civil claim against various directors of collapsed fund manager MFS.
Kohler: The last GFC shoe to drop?
The charges against Centro’s executives will have significant repercussions for future class actions. Expect an ASIC announcement exempting class actions having to register as managed investment schemes, writes Alan Kohler.
Centro charges put heat on Directors Club
ASIC announced today that it was bringing civil charges against the former executive and non-executive directors of collapsed property group Centro, alleging they failed to correctly classify $1.54 billion of interest-bearing liabilities.
ouch! 
Property the biggest loser in worst ever earnings year
2008-09 was the most dire reporting season in living memory, says Stephen Mayne. And the big Australian property players — not banks — led the losses with $17.24 billion of net losses after tax.
Business confidence on the up as NAB breaks ranks
Enjoy the return to the good times, because according to the NAB, conditions could very well turn down again later this year and into 2010.
ASIC goes ‘between the flags’, but watch those blue-chip rips
The idea of splitting investments into two highly generic categories is fraught with danger, writes Adam Schwab.
Will brutal CommBank put Centro under on Monday?
Could Centro become Australia’s biggest corporate collapse? Stephen Mayne investigates.
Centro, Westfield hearing grim tales from US mall owner
One of America’s biggest mall owners is struggling survive, which raising more concerns about viability of Centro, and to a lesser degree Westfield. By Glenn Dyer.
Centro teeters as no buyer found for Bankstown mall
The failed sale of Bankstown Sqaure suggests there is some pain for Centro, writes Glenn Dyer.
Black Friday: we’ll never see another day like it for losses
Who would have thought that almost 10% of the biggest losses announced over the past two decades could happen on the one day. Stephen Mayne charts last Friday’s historic action.
Allco, Centro flood the market with $3.8bn losses
A $3.8 billion sea of red ink washed across the Australian stockmarket this morning with news of the combined losses of Centro and Allco, writes Glenn Dyer.
The Sackable Seven – which directors most deserve the boot
It’s remarkable that we are yet to see a single high profile non-executive director fall on their sword as a result of the current credit mess. Stephen Mayne is ready to do some prodding.
