Online stockbroker CommSec admits to overcharging customers $4.3 million; ASX rises

Online stockbroker CommSec has admitted to overcharging customers and other breaches, and it could face a penalty on top of $6.5 million it has refunded. Key points: CommSec has admitted to overcharging customers on more than 120,000 occassions The Australian share market rose after a sharp sell-off on Friday Crown discovered it had underpaid staff and reported it to the Fair Work Ombudsman The corporate regulator said CommSec overcharged customers on 120,933 occasions, more than $4.35 million in brokerage fees between August 2010 and February last year. RBA surprises with $4b bond purchase The Australian share market has risen and the Reserve Bank is buying $4 billion of longer-dated government bonds as it battles to keep interest rates near its record-low target. Crown admits to underpaying workers Shares in Crown Resorts rose 1.5 per cent despite news the casino operator was facing another investigation, this time by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Helen Coonan, who is currently acting as Crown's executive chairman following the resignation of chief executive Ken Barton, said the ILGA considered it appropriate for Mr Poynton to step down "due to a perceived lack of independence arising out of his past relationship" with James Packer and the Packer family company Consolidated Press Holdings.