On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) pushed higher, finishing the day up 1%. Scentre Group (ASX: SCG), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and McPherson’s Ltd (ASX: MCP) shares were some of the bigger stories of the day.
Scentre gets a strike
Shopping centre company Scentre Group received a first strike against the remuneration of its board members, with proxy groups clearly disappointed with the amount of ‘pain’ they shared with their retail tenants during the pandemic.
On the positive side, management confirmed some $600 million in rental collections and a continuation of the foot traffic strength in late 2020, result being a minimum dividend of at least 14 cents per share.
The SCG share price finished flat but competitor Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) rose 0.3% on the news.
ASIC takes Westpac to court
Westpac is facing more court action with ASIC launching civil proceedings relating to the sale of consumer credit insurance, this time to just 384 customers. The proceedings allege that these customers may not have requested or agreed to acquire the product.
ASIC is seeking, among other things, declarations of contraventions of certain civil penalty provisions and unspecified monetary penalties for the period from 7 April 2015 to 28 July 2015.
Westpac shares finished 1.3% higher for the day, continuing their run back towards pre-COVID levels.
Westpac share price chart
McPherson’s rejects takeover
Health and wellness product distributor McPherson’s, which owns brands such as Dr. LeWinn’s and Multix kitchen products, has rejected an offer from a Raphael Geminder backed group.
McPherson’s suggested the 9.8% premium to the share price undervalued the company; shares jumped 1.4%.
