THE NEWS WRAP: Former Energy Watch boss faces phoenix company claim

The corporate watchdog is considering laying charges against disgraced Energy Watch boss Ben Polis over the collapse of a previous version of the business.

Officials at the Fair Work Ombudsman are also probing Energy Watch over allegations the former Melbourne Football Club sponsor failed to pay $500,000 in staff entitlements.

The Demons dumped the $2 million-a-year sponsorship after racist remarks made by Polis on Facebook.

Investigators from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are considering allegations that assets belonging to Polis’s old company, Polis Australia, were transferred to the new Energy Watch business without any payment.

Virgin takes 10% stake in Skywest

Virgin Australia will take a 10% stake in regional airline Skywest as part of efforts to take advantage of surging demand for regional travel, spurred by the mining boom.

Virgin has spent $8 million on gaining “skin in the game” in Skywest, just weeks after the competition regulator approved an alliance between the two airlines.

Virgin’s Sankar Narayan said the equity investment was an obvious next step in strengthening its relationship with Skywest and expanding its presence in the regional travel market.

Sony projects record loss

Sony Corp has more than doubled its projected annual loss to Y520 billion ($AUS6.21 billion) – its worst red ink ever – due to a massive tax charge.

The Japanese electronics company said it expects an additional tax expense of Y300 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ending March 30.

It said this non-cash charge stemmed from revaluing US tax credits that are unlikely to be utilised due to its string of annual losses.

Overnight

The Australian dollar opened lower this morning following sombre commentary from China and renewed concerns about eurozone debt.

At 6.30am AEST, the Australian dollar was trading at 102.54 US cents, down from 103.03 cents yesterday afternoon.