From supplying dresses to its department stores as a teenager to becoming the largest shareholder of the company almost 60 years later, Solomon Lew’s relationship with Australian retailing icon Myer has swung back and forth over the decades. In between, the veteran of Australia’s retailing industry has gone from chairing board meetings to being ejected as a director and sniping from the sidelines as a disaffected shareholder calling for better performance from the 124-year-old chain. On 23 January Lew, 77, is set to return to the seat of power if shareholders approve a $1.1 billion deal under which his 40%-owned investment company Premier Investments sells apparel brands to Myer Holdings in return for 51.5% shareholding. These new shares, and Premier’s existing 26% Myer stake, will be distributed to Premier shareholders including Lew’s Century Plaza Group, making him the largest direct shareholder with a 26.8% stake and also a seat on the Myer Board. “The combination of the Apparel Brands business with Myer is an opportunity for us all to play an important role in the future of the Australian and New Zealand retail landscape,” Lew told the Premier Investments annual meeting in December. “The combination of Myer

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has urged the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to ban surcharges on credit and debit cards as the central bank considers the future of Australia’s A$1 trillion-plus payments system. CBA said it had noted in recent years a shift to contactless payments and e-commerce and an increase in payments solutions that sit outside the RBA’s bank’s mandate and regulation, including buy now, pay later, digital wallets and three party schemes. In a response to an RBA issues paper, Australia’s largest bank said it supported the spirit of the review because payments affected all consumers and businesses and the safety, reliability, efficiency and convenience of the system was paramount. CBA asked the central bank not to formulate policy responses to some of the matters raised in its issues paper, which would be possible only when the Payment System Regulation Act (PSRA) was amended. The remaining issues for consultation could be addressed without changes to the PSRA, including surcharging, which is the imposition of an additional fee by a merchant or institutions for card payments. “We believe the most impactful initiative would be to address surcharging on debit and credit,” the CBA said in its

Investment firm CC Capital Partners LLC has thrown down the gauntlet to its larger rival bidder Bain Capital by raising its takeover offer for Insignia Financial. Insignia said it had received a revised non-binding and indicative offer from CC Capital of A$4.60 cash per share, which values the company at $3.1 billion, up from the $4.30 cash per share offered by both bidders previously. The company said in an ASX announcement the offer was subject to the same terms and conditions as the initial proposal, advising shareholders to take no action as the Board and its advisers decided whether to engage with CC Capital. The company repeated its previous statement that there was no certainty the proposal would result in a binding offer or a transaction. In the space of about one month, the 178-year-old financial services group has received two non-binding and conditional bids each from Bain and CC Capital amid speculation that asset management giant Brookfield might enter the fray as a third bidder. Bain included in its proposal the potential for shareholders who accepted the offer to receive shares in the ultimate holding company if the buyout proceeds. The top seven shareholders owned more than 58% of the target in Au

Outgoing President Joe Biden has delivered his final interview of his term, sitting down in the Oval Office with MSNBC‘s Lawrence O’Donnell. Biden reflected on his accomplishments during his time in office, including this week’s Gaza ceasefire deal. He also acknowledged his political failings in light of low approval ratings as he leaves the top job on Monday. “Ironically, I almost spent too much time on the policy and not enough time on the politics”, the 82-year-old said. Expressing regrets about not putting his name on COVID stimulus checks that were issued in the early months of his term, while Donald Trump did, Biden said that while it did cross his mind he was “not a very good huckster." “It helped him [Trump] a lot…and it undermined our ability to convince people that we were the ones that were getting this to them,' Biden added. Earlier in the week Biden also warned of an “oligarchy is taking shape in America,” during his farewell speech and reiterated his concern for “how fragile democracy is.” Speaking to O’Donnell he elaborated, saying he was concerned Americans would be left without a champion fighting for them. “Look if the decision is made that the multibillionaires, the super, supe