Three banks involved in the collapse of Storm Financial say they are disappointed at the corporate watchdog's decision to take legal action against them. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleges the Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank and the Bank of Queensland participated in an unregistered managed investment scheme. ASIC also plans to take civil action against Storm founders Emmanuel and Julie Cassimatis, accusing them of breaching their duty as directors.

 

And to the market numbers, US stocks closed for the trading week in the red. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula and Europe's debt woes weighed on investors coming back from the Thanksgiving holiday. European markets have also slumped. Both the FTSE and the DAX are down about 30 points. The Australian share market ended the week flat with both the banking and telecommunication sectors in the red. And Asian stocks were also down across the board.

 

Let's check the currencies now, the Australian dollar is currently buying about 96.5 US cents.