THE NEWS WRAP: Spotify hiring a financial reporting expert as IPO speculation mounts

Online music service Spotify has placed ads asking for a US financial reporting specialist amidst growing speculation the company is looking at a possible listing.

The Swedish firm has placed job ads both on its own website and social network LinkedIn asking for an expert in US securities and exchange commission (SEC) filings, an essential step before the company lists.

The company has not yet announced a listing and is declining to comment on the speculation.

“As Spotify grows and becomes a more mature company we are looking for people who can help us keep our financial reporting in order and up to global standards,” a Spotify spokesperson told Reuters.

Foreign investment threshold lifted to $1 billion for South Korean firms

South Korean firms will be able to invest $1.078 billion in Australian companies before Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval as part of the new free trade agreement between Australia and South Korea.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb says the free trade agreement will also see tariffs eventually removed on 99.8% of goods exported by Australia to South Korea.

“It doesn’t really get any better than this in terms of its comprehensive nature,” Robb says.

“It is also restoring our competitive position with the United States and the EU and the ASEAN countries who have struck, a couple of years ago, agreements with Korea.”

Bendigo Bank’s net profit falls, households being unwilling to borrow blamed

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director Mike Hirst has blamed reluctance on the part of households to borrow for a 4.6% fall in net profit during the December half, to $180.7 million.

“We’re seeing low growth due to subdued demand and an increase in people making additional efforts to pay down their debt,” Hirst says.

“We’re seeing low levels of arrears in the book – a natural outcome of people making additional repayments.

“The fact that people are maintaining their repayments at levels that were required when interest rates were higher means that there’s more being paid off the principal of their loans than there is going to interest and we don’t want to complain about that – that’s a fantastic outcome for our customers.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up to 5394.8. The Aussie dollar is down to US90.35 cents.