Greek parliament clears way for bailout by passing austerity measures; Misleading conduct and false representations dominate small business complaints to ACCC: Midday Roundup

Lawmakers in Greece have voted to pass a series of austerity measures that are needed for the country to secure a bailout from its European creditors, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The austerity package, which includes tough spending cuts as well as tax increases, was supported by 229 members of the 300-seat Greek parliament earlier this morning.

However, 32 members of the 149-member governing Syriza party voted against the deal and another six members abstained from the vote.

The WSJ reports Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to announce changes to his cabinet in light of the vote as he attempts to secure the bailout.

Misleading conduct and false representations dominate small business complaints to ACCC

Misleading conduct and false representations were the most frequently complained about area for small businesses in the first half of the year, according to data released today by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

ACCC deputy chair Dr Michael Schaper released the 10th edition of the commission’s Small Business in Focus report at the Council of Small Business Australia summit in Sydney this morning.

The ACCC received a total of 5020 small business complaints and 2366 small business enquiries in the period from January to June.

The ACCC received more than 1300 complaints about misleading conduct and false representations, along with 900 complaints about product safety.

Shares up on open

Local shares were in the black again this morning, which Tristan K’Nell, head of trading at Quay Equities said is thanks to a brief pause in uncertainty over Greece and strength among the banks, which is offsetting weakness in commodity stocks.

“The Australian share market continues its upward momentum from yesterday with a surprisingly strong session despite a flat Wall Street session,” K’Nell said.

“However, with issues in Greece and China subsiding for now, sentiment is continuing on the upside today after weeks of uncertainty and volatility.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 0.6%, rising 35.1 points to 5671.3 points at 12.07pm AEST. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.02%, falling 3.41 points to 18050.2 points.