Gina Rinehart dumps Fairfax shares; 60% of buyers don’t trust ethical products: Midday Roundup

Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, ditched more than $300 million worth of Fairfax shares on Friday.

Rinehart also launched a scathing attack on the media company through her spokesperson John Klepec.

She said Fairfax, led by chief executive, Greg Hywood, had “no workable plan to revitalise the company and address the declining business and circulation numbers”.

60% of buyers don’t trust ethical products

While purchasing ethical products has become more popular with buyers, research released this week shows a majority of buyers are still rejecting “responsible” products.

A study by the University of Technology Sydney found almost 60% of buyers felt negative, indifferent or ambivalent towards purchasing ethical products, with the most commonly cited reason being confusion about what makes a product ethical.

The report said companies that promote ethical products could consider steps such as clearer labelling, and suggested formal regulation of labelling to address issues around scepticism and trust.

Shares flat after spill motion

Australian shares are down this morning, but experts say the defeated Liberal leadership spill motion has not had an effect on market confidence.

“Markets are unlikely to react to the results of this morning’s Liberal party leadership vote. At this stage, news that the current leadership team will remain in place means that policy settings will be largely the same as investors were assuming on Friday,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

“However, a cautious start to the week looks likely as markets weigh conflicting international news released since Friday’s close.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was down 29.7 points to 5790.5 at 12:13pm AEDT. On Friday, the Dow Jones closed 60.59 points down, closing 0.34% down at 17,824.3.