Ann: Response to ACCC Supermarket Inquiry final report, page-3

Yep the pollies like when they drilled the bank profits a few years ago to now look at CBA and the bank prices and profits....... move onto the next sector to pretend they are going to change things........ As you say buying WOW and holding for 3-5 years will be perfect easy money

Australian Supermarket Stocks Surge After Competition ReportBy Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Shares in Australia's two dominant supermarket operators climbed after thecountry's competition regulator said it couldn't confidently say whether their prices andmargins were excessive. Woolworths and Coles were the S&P/ASX 200 index's best-performing stocks after an hourof Friday's session, rising about 5% and 4%, respectively. The early gains added about 2.71 billion Australian dollars, equivalent to US$1.71billion, to their collective market capitalizations. The surge came hours after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission publisheda report in which it said that Woolworths and Coles appeared to be among the mostprofitable global supermarkets. The ACCC published a raft of recommendations focused on improving pricing transparencyand boosting competition. It said that not all price increases since 2019 appearedattributable to inflation, but stopped short of accusing the grocery giants of pricegouging. "It would be challenging to determine whether supermarkets' retail margins at theproduct or category level are excessive," the ACCC said. In any case, charging highprices is not illegal, it added. Woolworths said that it would carefully consider the report's findings andrecommendations. "We welcome recommendations that improve transparency for customers where they don'thave unintended consequences or increase costs," Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell said. Shares in Woolworths were last up 4.9% at A$29.53. Shares in Coles were last up 3.8% atA$19.26.