US President Barack Obama has named Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, subject to Senate approval, after current Chairman Ben Bernanke’s term ends on January 31.
Yellen, who currently serves as the Fed’s Vice Chair, is set to become the first female to serve in the role, and the first woman to head a central bank in any Group of Seven industrial nation.
“While we have made progress, we have farther to go. The mandate of the Federal Reserve is to serve all the American people, and too many Americans still can’t find a job and worry how they’ll pay their bills and provide for their families,” Yellen says.
Manila is Packer’s new city of dreams
Gaming magnate James Packer and his business partner, Lawrence Ho, have announced an expansion to their casino resort in the Philippines, which is to be rebranded City of Dreams Manila and include a 260-room Crown Towers hotel.
The move comes after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) increased the number of gaming tables at the site, with the site to include 365 gaming tables, 1680 slot machines and 1680 electronic table games.
Packer and Ho are also set to rename their Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture to Crown Resorts at the company’s annual meeting next month.
“I truly believe that Crown’s presence at City of Dreams Manila will be a big step forward to realising our vision of being a leading global luxury resorts brand,” Packer says.
Cash Converters hit with $40 million lawsuit
Cash Converters is set to face a $40 million class action alleging it forced customers to pay interest rates that exceeded a legal cap.
The class action suit, which is set to be initiated by law firm Maurice Blackburn, alleges the payday loans company charged some customers interest rates equivalent to 633%, despite NSW laws capping rates at 48%.
Cash Converters says its loan products comply with all state laws.
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.18% to 14802.98. The Aussie dollar is at US94.49 cents.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
