Sorry will not read the AFR, all you have to do is read the incorrect assumptions and understandings posted by some non holders to see what the AFR was trying to do. If they were interested in reporting the news then there would not be this many misunderstandings (or the journalist in question is very bad at actually explaining the FACTS!). The truth will come out, partly thanks to the AFR, but I very much doubt it is as bad as the AFR have implied.
Yes RE did something unsavory 24 years ago and misled investors 11 ish years ago but this company is not about him, it is about his son and an idea he is trying to bring to the world.
Most companies I look at, if they have an investment banker front and centre or on the board, I take an extra hard look at things (probably due to the same company you post a lot on).
I suppose as capitalism gets more ingrained in society, doing the right thing comes second to making money (sometimes they do go hand in hand but it tends to be rare).
The ruler of the free world has made it crystal clear that it is ok to be a racist, a misogynist, sexist, a bully, protectionist and a few other things that it seemed society was making big steps to move away from. But maybe it just points out the facts that humans are humans, 99% can be amazing, upstanding, generous etc but the 1% tend to F*ck it up and muddy the water, always was and always will be.
Did you realise for every worker in the US that will benefit from the steel and Aluminium tariffs there are 49 others further down the process of creating goods to sell that this increase will be a detriment to (it only needs a 2% difference further down to negate any benefits of the tariffs and as they will increase the cost of the raw materials by 25% over time locally I think 10% is more likely, but it makes a great political story and when the crunch comes you can blame it on someone else or it is no longer your problem, oh and how close is the political race in the states the steel producers are based).
There is so much not right with the financial world and conflict of interests is only the start, the theory behind the stock markets is sound (but with a lot of things human nature seems to derail the good work) and there is a fine line for the ASX to provide enough opportunities to invest in and ensuring the people behind the listing are not crooks. That combined with trying to bring opportunities to Australians, trying to bring and keep money and wealth onshore, trying to provide the ability for small business to grow, contribute and provide a boost in the economy, to enable small companies employ more people, to encourage people to save and invest making them less of a drain on resources in retirement, to enable people that do save to get a better return than that provided by the Banks and it goes on and on.
Now if the AFR actually wanted to do some proper investigative journalism and clear up the market then they should look at the high frequency trading, sophisticated and professional only CR's, fund managers charging huge fees when they struggle to beat the index, good financial advisors that are only available to the wealthy when the people that need them can't afford them. The market and access to good financial advice needs to be a level playing field for the benefit of everyone, the tax system needs to be simplified so the super wealthy cant just pay 10% of their expected tax bill to a team of accountants to ensure they don't need to pay the 90%. But why would any of that happen when the people that benefit the most are the most influential in the world that benefits them.
Maybe I should have just said it is not as simple as that Happy!!! Doing the wrong thing is not good in any circumstance, if BIG have done the wrong thing, then they need to take their medicine, if it was a conscious wrong doing then that medicine need to be a lot harsher. I also believe that journalists need to report the facts, in an appropriate and informative way especially when innocent bystanders end up in the firing line. I think it is called integrity (maybe another thing we don't need anymore).
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