Regulator targets bad behavior at Australia's biggest banks

Good morning everyone, it's Ainslie here in Sydney where the rain is well and truly back. Local stocks are looking at a weaker open today. B

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Good morning everyone, it's Ainslie here in Sydney where the rain is well and truly back. Local stocks are looking at a weaker open today. But first... Today's must-reads: • Finance industry compliance breaches • Stronger-than-expected wage growth • Boeing lands its biggest order

What's happening now

Australia's finance industry is beset by a raft of compliance lapses — from data reporting breaches to trader misbehavior — reigniting concerns the $541 billion sector has struggled to clean up after a litany of scandals came to light six years ago. Most recently, the Australian markets regulator sued Macquarie Group's local securities business, alleging the misreporting of millions of short sales for more than a decade. At rival ANZ Group, new CEO Nuno Matos said improving risk management is one of his key priorities after missteps plagued his predecessor. Read more here. Australia's wage growth was stronger than expected in the first three months of the year, highlighting the nation's tight labor market that has been underpinned by a wave of public-sector hiring. The Wage Price Index advanced an annual 3.4% in the first quarter, exceeding economists' estimate and the prior reading of 3.2%, according to ABS data. You'll soon be able to book restaurant tables through Uber Eats. From September, the app will include a Dine Out icon, giving customers the chance to reserve tables on their app via the popular booking platform OpenTable. Dine Out will launch in London and Sydney in the beginning of September, and then will roll out in phases to 90% of OpenTable bookable restaurants in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Ireland and Australia, according to OpenTable CEO Debby Soo. Source: Uber Eats Australia's Queensland state intends to issue more euro-denominated debt after it garnered strong demand for its first-ever benchmark issuance in the currency as it taps offshore markets to broaden the investor base.

What happened overnight

Here's what my colleague, market strategist Mike "Willo" Wilson says happened while we were sleeping… Treasury yields advanced and US stocks ended mixed amid talk that the recent recovery may have petered out. The dollar recovered earlier losses after a report that US officials aren't considering policies to weaken the dollar in tariff talks. Locally, we have Australia's labor market report for April today, where surveys expect modest job growth and the jobless rate to hold at 4.1%. This might help the Aussie dollar, and by extension its New Zealand counterpart, to consolidate after further choppy price action left both lower by the New York close. Stock futures indicate a weak opening in Australia. The air strikes and artillery fire between India and Pakistan have mostly fallen silent. Still, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took aim at his counterpart over the border on Wednesday, accusing Narendra Modi of fanning instability and vowing a harsh response to future attacks.  Boeing just landed its biggest-ever aircraft order, propelled by a powerful endorsement from President Donald Trump. CEO Kelly Ortberg signed an accord for as many as 210 widebody aircraft from Qatar Airways, including the 787 Dreamliner and the larger 777X model with engines from General Electric, at a ceremony witnessed by Trump and the Emir of Qatar on Wednesday.  Meanwhile, Qatar's prime minister defended his country's offer of a luxury jet to Trump, telling CNN they would not follow through with the gift if it was deemed illegal and insisting it was not an effort to wield undue influence within the US. The collapse of Nissan has extinguished all hope of a cross-border push to hold back the competitive onslaught of China's car industry, writes Bloomberg Opinion's David Fickling. "New great powers typically rise to dominance while the old order squabbles obliviously. With auto companies, as with nation states, we're seeing that pattern play out again," he writes.

What to watch

• Australia consumer inflation expectations for May, 11:00 a.m. (Sydney) • Australia employment data for April, 11:30 a.m.

One more thing...

South Korea has been developing its homegrown atomic technology for decades, with an eye on both its own rising energy consumption and a growing global urgency to shift away from fossil fuels. Now the industry is attracting the attention of Western countries eager to add to their own reliable, low-emission power at an affordable price—without involving Russia or China, the world's leading nuclear builders. Read more here. A worker oversees an automated machine grinding the inner surface of a nuclear reactor's steam generator. Photographer: Jun Michael Park for Bloomberg Businessweek

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