Credit Cards: CabCharge pays $15m in trade abuse case

CabCharge gets off lightly in credit card scam

If you elect to pay by non cash means in a cab in Australia, you goy stung 10%.
Well now the 10 per cent surcharge on taxi fares for non-cash payments could be lifted after CabCharge admitted breaching the Trade Practices Act by abusing its market dominance.

Credit cards business closed to competition by CabCharge unlawful

CabCharge admitted it had taken advantage of its position in the market to refuse requests from competitors to process Cabcharge cards on their electronic payments systems.
The company also admitted to predatory pricing by installing its fare meters free or below cost, squeezing rivals out further.

CabCharge agrees to pay $15 million in fines

It will pay penalties and costs of $15 million after agreeing to a settlement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [ACCC] yesterday in the Federal Court, avoiding a lengthy court battle that was due to begin next month.
The ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel, said the settlement was a ''clear message to Cabcharge it had gone too far'' and would lead to greater scope for competition in the industry - and lower prices for taxi customers.
''Generally where you can get some competition in the marketplace you tend to find service levels increase and prices reduce for consumers,'' Mr Samuel said.

''You could see potentially service providers saying to cab drivers and cab owners 'We can offer you a better deal than Cabcharge can offer', and Cabcharge will have to meet that competition.''

CabCharge slugs 10% on every credit card transaction

Cabcharge levies a 10 per cent surcharge on every fare processed on its systems paid by credit card, bank debit card or through its proprietary charge card and vouchers.
Its long-standing and popular charge account has helped it become the dominant player in the industry. It has its machines installed in 96 per cent of taxis across the country, though its rivals have increasingly encouraged operators and drivers to install their machines additionally, offering them a cut of the 10 per cent surcharge.

CabCharge forced to agree to Compliance of ACCC

The court ordered Cabcharge to comply with a compliance program involving beefing up its internal controls and training to ensure it did not contravene the act again. It will also be subject to external audits.
Mr Samuel said the penalty would deter CabCharge from repeating its behaviour.
''They now know what constitutes a breach of the act and misuse of market power.''
In a joint submission with the ACCC tendered to the court, Cabcharge said it had been unaware it was breaching the act but now accepted its actions were ''serious in nature and extent''.
The submission said the contravening conduct was undertaken at ''the most senior level of the corporation'', including its prominent executive chairman, Reg Kermode.
Mr Samuel said the settlement had reaped the highest penalty imposed by the commission for the misuse of market power.

Were CabCharge rewarded for bad behaviour?

Based on the amount ripped off from the public, many are saying that CabCharge out out of jail in that the fine was tiny compared to the money made from the scam and this was reflected in CabCharge's share price surging over 10% higher.

You will need to claim losses yourself

The ACCC did not quantify any loss or damage to consumers or competitors, saying it was ''not likely to be readily ascertainable''.
Whilst CabCharge denied its behaviour had contributed to any such loss or damage if you paid the amount you would have suffered.
Any individual, business or Government Department who has suffered a loss or damage, or who wants to get a refund on the 10% surcharge should contact CabCharge now.
Source: Mr Mortgage

Australia's Mortgage rates to stay on hold? IMF says it should!

IMF say to Reserve Bank of Australia leave interest rates till European debt situation is clear.

Mr Mortgage has been saying for months that interest rates should not rise till after the new year when the World Economy has played out [amongst many other reasons]. This last fewweeks everyone and his dog has been saying rates will rise in October. We have been asking why should rates rise at all this year?
Countless other so-called experts, as reported in all the media, have been saying a rise is on for October. Many Bank economists have switched to the October rate rise will happen theory.
With the financial markets now betting on a mortgage rise, and all  the big banks trying to talk up a rate rise because they will make a killing on the currency markets, the pressure is on the RBA. When rates do rise the Big banks can then slip in their own mortgage rate rises on top of the RBA's  and hope their customers don't notice. But there are too many families in Australia that will suffer mortgage stress if rates do Increase.
The major banks are using mortgage interest rates as milking cows for record profits.

This is the biggest beat up I have seen since the Iraq War WMD.

Why the RBA will leave official rates on hold.

1. European Debt crisis should hold off interest rates raises till into next year.
2. The RBA enjoy second guessing the financial markets who seek to profit on their decisions. They are Independent and like to remind the markets of this.

The IMF agrees with Mr Mortgage on the absence of reason to raise rates.

Well the IMF now agrees with Mr Mortgage, and says a bust may be closer than anyone expects, with a risk that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe may again throw world financial markets into turmoil. This is the second recession that many having been saying could happen. In other words, the US recovery is a "dead cat bounce".Where is the job growth, the housing market recovery, and the shoppers in the US picture? Was the US stimulus too small to work? And will the US Fed go negative with Interest rates? And if they do will the $AU dollar be overpriced?

IMF advises RBA to hold off on lifting Mortgage rates

The IMF advised the Reserve Bank of Australia to hold off lifting interest rates. "The Reserve Bank has scope to wait for the outlook to become clearer," the fund said. There is no impending disaster to happen if it leaves rates as is.
The RBA board is meeting next Tuesday and was widely  tipped to increase rates from the current 4.5 per cent to 4.75%.
But as many people know, the Reserve Bank of Australia's Governor and Board likes to foil currency gamblers who try to second guess Board decisions. The RBAwins when currency traders lose.
In any case a resulting higher dollar is bad for Australia in many ways, as it hurts exporters, farmers and tourism in Australia.
Expect to see the dollar crash in value in the coming days, as the bets on an interest rate rise are switched.
Author: Mr Mortgage

Lowest interest rates ever for NYS's Mortgage Agency

New York State's mortgage agency interest rates are the lowest in its 40-year history for 30 year fixed rate mortgages, thanks to US treasury bond initiative

Whilst the national average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage stopped hitting record lows the first week in September, the NYS mortgage agency betters them.

30 year fixed rate mortgages from 4%pa for owner occupied homes
The State of New York Mortgage Agency offers lower then market rates for low to middle income mortgage applicants. now touts fixed rates of 4 percent, and for Long Island households with one or two people, the total income goes up to $122,160.

First home buyers offered 3.5% pa mortgage rates if they earn less than $71,260 pa

To encourage first home buyers into the housing market NYS Mortgage agency is offering first time home buyers a low mortgage rate of 3.5 percent per annum for first time home buyers who earn less than $71,260.

Freddie Mac rate average up at the same time

At the same time the US Federal Government mortgage loan entity Freddie Mac gave an average fixed rate percentage for a 30 year fixed mortgage rate of 4.35 percent per annum for the same week. That was slightly up from the previous week's 4.325% pa, which had been the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking this rate in 1971.

Lower Mortgage rates make buying a home in New York more affordable

Home buying in the State of New York will be more affordable for low to middle income home buyers, with the NYS mortgage agency delinquency rate 5 times less than the national average.

US Federal bond issues allow States' housing agencies to lower their home mortgage loan rates

State housing finance agencies across the US sell bonds to the federal government, and before Labor Day the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would allow Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy such bonds at lower interest rates. These savings allowed State of New York Mortgage Agency to lower its rates to borrowers.
To find out more about New York State Mortgage Agency, click here.
Source: Mr Mortgage

Registered Finance Broker uses Ponzi schemes to swindle clients out of $6 million.

Ponzi schemes nets $4m for female finance broker in Mormon Swindle.

All scam artists have a common trait.
They swindle their own because its easier. They are most trusted and liked within their own sub-cultures. Why try to con random victims when you can target  people who trust you and like you?
In this case its a Mormon woman in Perth conning other Mormon women in Perth. The second trick is to offer something too good to be true. In this case ultra high interest rate returns [yields].

50 year old Perth based female registered finance broker invents a Ponzi Scheme
A 50 year old has been charged with 24 charges related to defrauding many Perth residents of more than $4 million by selling shares in an invented land development scam she called "Mormonville", according to Perth Police.
The 50-year-old female registered finance broker is said to have selected her victims aged from 43 to 73 with many of them being age pensioners.
WA police said the woman in Perth's south, set up "illusory schemes" in 2007 to fund her personal investments and affairs.

The Finance Broker Hatched swindle in 2007, which became more targeted to Mormons as she no doubt discovered that's what victims liked to hear.
The woman deceived and mislead people to invest by offering exceptionally high rates of returns with little or no risk to invested money," a police spokeswoman said. This is the footprint of all Ponzi schemes.
The swindle allegedly grew from her selling investments in 'part-shares' of land but later evolved into a scheme that she advertised as Mormonville, which claimed to be a village-type development for members of the woman's own church.

Swindler grosses $6 million.
Victims were scammed out of between $40,000 and $400,000 each for a total of $4,212,388, according to police reports.
Those targeted ranged between 43 and 73 years of age, with many relying on the age pension as their sole sources of income.
WA Officers of the Fraud squad confirmed that between early 2007 and mid-2008, the woman acquired $6 million from victims and then drip feed small amounts of the money to meet the monthly 'dividends' to investors so as to give the deception of a legitimate operation. This is how Ponzi schemes usually operate.

This provided the illusion of real investment, and engendered more trust. Yet the alleged swindler spent the majority of the funds on her personal investments according to sources.

The Global Financial Crisis brought down the scam
The Finance Broker's swindle was undone by the Global Financial Crisis spooking any new victims, with the banks being able to give Government Guarantees on bank deposits. With new money not coming into her clutches, the dividends went unpaid, and soon the Ponzi collapsed.

Things to watch out for in Ponzi Schemes
You are in line to be scammed if you do these things:

1. You don't get a second opinion with a competent stranger. [someone who is removed from benefiting from the scheme, and has the expertise to judge the investment.]
2. The person running the scheme is trusted or is referred to you from someone you trust. It could be from your investment adviser, your lawyer, your accountant or your bank manager. This makes it seem unnecessary to do due diligence.
3. You have a lot in common, Ethnicity, language, faith, work, family background, gender and age group. You trust the person so well you don't think it necessary for you to take due diligence and have your legal representative or financial adviser to check it out. In fact it could be your account or lawyer who is promoting the swindle.
4. The offer seems too good to be true, but is made to seem very plausible. ["These sort of deals are normally only available to the rich, who keep it quiet." "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Here's why"]  
5. It pushes your "Greed Button". You reason, or are told to reason that you'll have your money back soon and then your investment will be free and clear. ["Double your money and take it away." or " Have your cake and eat it too!"]
6. Pride. You been told to hand over your financial affairs to your children and you want to show them you know how to manage money.

Credit Card Security: How to protect yourself from credit card fraud

The WorldWide Web is a game changer when it comes to using your credit card for online shopping That unfortunately means that it is also a rich new resource and playground for cyber criminals.
Due to lack of security, one in 10 of Australia's internet users are now losing money to online identify fraud over the past year with losses totalling $1,286,000,000, reports VeriSign, a major player in the SSL Certificate industry.
That's an average of $1,000 per fraud victim of the 1,300,000 people affected, with more being lost in the 18-24 year old profile.
This is a 30% jump on the amount of money lost online in 2007.

Eight things that you can do to protect your personal and credit ID online.


1. Don't use your credit card to make purchases online. Use a Debit card instead. This will limit your losses to what money is left on the card. If you only transfer funds to it as required, then any losses will be tiny.
2. Keep your firewall, virus and phishing scanner software up to date and run them when online.

You could consider changing to an Apple computer. They are much more secure and less prone to virus and Trojan attack, but not immune. Try the iMac, the Mac book or the Power Book when you next update. There are a lot of other benefits also. You may want to keep the iMac for the Internet only, and the PC for desktop only duties. For business use Microsoft applications are easy to use. As PCs are so cheap these days, maybe you should use one for desktop work only and use your Mac for online work.
3. Use an encrypted keyboard. This ensures that keyboard readers are foiled.

You could also use a bank that uses a scrambler for your pin numbers. The scrambler randomly changes each pin number to a letter, each time you login. So your pin is scrambled each time you enter it. And will be different the next time you log in. This foils keyboard readers.

4. Ensure that you are putting your personal info into an encrypted form with a secure certificate. You can tell this by the address line in the browser starts with https: instead of http:
This is essential as even a trusted site can have your details stolen is it does not secure your information.

4.Even if you use a PC, don't use Internet Explorer for web surfing or purchasing. Install a more secure browser. Try Google Chrome, FireFox, Safari or Opera instead.
Apple's Safari for instance gives a warning when the security certificate is not known. Heed this warning and ensure you trust the site before proceeding.
This warning is when the browser detects a generic security certificate, not necessarily a bad site to transact with. For instance I have noticed that Melbourne IT, Australia's peak Internet names registrar uses a generic certificate, and I obviously trust Melbourne IT so I proceed with the transaction.
If the SSL certificate is issued by Verisign, Geo Trust or Thawte these are recognised as authentic and verified by the issuer, and show as such. These site also come with a guarantee.

5. Use a third party payment method for buying from unknown sites. Small companies understand they don't have the trust factor that major online brands command, and some cannot afford the security vigilance required online today, so most will opt for a third party payment solution as a way to ensure they don't lose business opportunities because of this lack of trust.
Third party payment options include PayPal, Digital River, e-Junkie, and 2Checkout. This means that your details will not be going to the merchant, but the trusted intermediary who are better placed to protect your information. I have used all of these to pay for goods online. Paypal is the best known, some merchants offer two so you can choose one, and I have used e-Junkie and 2Checkout where a choice is offered. Again, when you go to the transaction area, make sure that you are on the right site by checking the URL address in the browser window, and that it is in fact a form protected by an SSL certificate.

6. Always check your credit card/ debit card statements and determine that all transactions on there were authorised by you, and notify immediately your credit card issuer if there's something on there that you don't recognise. Also take your time. There may be transactions that you have forgotten about.

7. Try to resolve any errors with the merchant before contacting your bank. Your bank will give you more credence if you do, and relate the conversation to them.
Even honest companies make mistakes, and I have had Amazon make a couple of double orders when I did not want this to happen.

Another time I pulled out of my order without confirming the transaction, and somehow it went through. These were quickly resolved by Amazon for me.
8. Beware the free offer. Do not go for any free sample offers that come up. These can be bate traps for getting your credit card info.
 I did once. It went from a free offer, to a $1.95 postage [to get the credit card details], to $11.95 when it was transacted. I rang to cancel immediately and was told I could not. If I allowed the transaction to continue you were then slugged $68.00 for a second months supply. I rang my bank, who cancelled the transaction, and issued me with a new card. In 11 years of buying online it was the first time I was scammed. And this is typical of scams. They take a few dollars at a time.

By following this advice you should be able to use your credit cards [or preferably your debit card] online and not become another victim of Identity fraud.
Author: Rick Adlam of Mr Mortgage

Mortgage home loans interest rates head north

Home mortgage rates could soon be 8%pa if the RBA believes the economy is stable and banks don't get sorted by legislation and greater competition.
With Australia missing the Global Financial Crisis boat and the economy powering ahead first home buyers and home owners could soon face mortgage home loan rates around the 8%.
This scenario will depend on a number of factors including:

• Mortgage home loan competition. Unless we see a vigorous embracing of securitised mortgage  lenders by both mortgage brokers and home buyers and homeowners, the banks with creep up their margins on the official cash rate. Major banks margins are nearly 3%, and that is over 1% on what is was three years ago at the height of a competitive non bank lending industry. 
• Legislation. Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Greens Party has introduced a bill that looks to cut mortgage interest rates and fees and charges on all lending other credit products to fair levels. Will the banks will be lobbying hard to stop this as this will white ant their mortgage home loan record profits.
• The RBA decisions over the next twelve months. The Reserve bank of Australia is the body that will steer Australia into a low inflation, low unemployment economic future. Balancing home loan affordability with consumer spending and business demand is a hard task, given that one of Australia's biggest challenges is the housing shortage that is driving home prices, and the size of the average home loan ever higher. 
• Government housing policy. Basically we don't have the policies to drive the home building industry to address our current housing shortage. The fundamental problem is that developed land is too expensive and in too short supply and takes too long to be approved by State and Local Governments. A Government policy at State or Federal levels to acquire and develop land for residential land has to be a priority. This will take the heat out of established home prices and make homes more affordable.
• Marketing tactics by developers. Even when land was plentiful, land developers used unfair tactics in my view with the aim to push prices higher by "creating artificial scarcity". This practice needs to be stopped, and more competition in the land development brought about.

By addressing these issues, housing will be less expensive, even if mortgage home loan interest rates go higher.

And by addressing the root cause of house prices going higher, by building more housing stock sooner, one of the main reasons for RBA interest rate rises, home price increases, will be removed, according to Rick Adlam, Mr Mortgage home loans. 

Green your credit card at your local ATMs and shave your debts

With new credit cards ATM transaction charge changes proposed by Greens Senator Bob Brown, you could soon save hundreds on all those "foreign" Bank ATM fees.
And the only one's who'll complain about it our those who profit from this rort.
The real cost of credit card fees and charges
It is estimated that this alone will save Australia's bank customers  $600 million a year in direct fees.
When you add all the interest that is then extracted from bank customers, and then honour fees because this may put accounts over their limit, we are looking at over a billion dollars saved under legislation to be introduced in Federal Parliament next week banning $2 ATM fees.
Total fees and charges reductions targeted in the introduced legislation by Greens Senator Bob Brown can be as high as $5 billion a year charged in bank fees and charges.
Bob Brown claims this will put an end to profiteering by banks on mortgage fees.
The Greens' new Bill called the "Banking that serves the Community" Bill allows basic fee-free accounts, fair price mortgages and up-front disclosure of exit fees on mortgages.
Bob says that he feels that the proposed laws will put the power back in the hands of bank credit card customers and be a welcome force in keeping banks honest.

The most recent data from the Reserve Bank shows that there were more than 25 million cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs in February, representing $50 million in added credit card fees.
The proposed Bill also requires banks to show that any exit fees from mortgages reflect a reasonable cost and do not just act to chain customers to lenders.
Mr Mortgage home loans supports these changes.

Mortgage Broker top performer now faces jail over massive home loan fraud

A few short months ago a New Zealand mortgage broker was hailed as her company's top performer in a low mortgage location, now the 43 year old mother faces 10 years behind bars after being convicted of fraud. 
The mortgage broker pleaded guilty in a Wellington District Court to using scissors and a photocopying machine to create false documents to write more than NZ$15 million in phoney mortgages.
Some unsuspecting clients have lost their homes and others are struggling to continue to make their mortgage payments.
The woman's branch office starred as the best performing in the company, supported by the fake mortgages, between September 2006 and July 2008 - and it was this that lead to her undoing.
Never meet your heroes
The parent company began an audit into her loan applications because her branch's outstanding performance was at odds with its geographical location.
Most of the loans obtained through the woman's actions are being repaid.
She has been remanded on bail until 27 January for sentencing.

Beating credit card bankruptcy in Australia

Increasing numbers of people are finding it difficult to manage their finances, including their credit card debt.
Part 9 of Bankruptcy Act introduced in 1997 aimed at keeping people out of bankruptcy.
Debtors arrange to partly repay creditors over time debt agreements are one stop short of declaring total bankruptcy for the increasing number of people who can't pay their credit card debts, personal loans and bills.
A debt agreement under Part 9 of the Bankruptcy Act, allows debtors to strike a deal with their creditors to repay less than the full amount at an agreed weekly rate over a period of time – without any additional interest. It is an option for people with unsecured debts of less than $77,021 and after-tax income below $57,765.
Now big creditors seem to be getting tough and, according to debt agreement administrators, some are insisting on unrealistic returns from insolvent people.
Part 9 agreements were introduced in 1997 following widespread public concern about young people in particular having to file for bankruptcy over consumer debts such as small credit card debts or even mobile phone bills.
Since then an industry of debt agreement administrators has grown up, often relying on heavy marketing and with trading names such as Debt Assist, Debt Relief and Debt Busters.
They specialise in organising agreements and approaching creditors who vote on each proposal. Fox Symes is a market leader in the industry, filing about 300 agreements a month.
"Some of the big lenders have totally unrealistic expectations," says Deborah Southon, director of Fox Symes.
"People are coming through now with up to $78,000 in consumer debts," Ms Southon says. "You can't pay that back in less than five years and probably not at much more than 40¢-50¢ in the dollar."
Recent amendments to the Bankruptcy Act enshrine the principle that an insolvent person's debt agreement proposal must be affordable and therefore sustainable.
Debt agreement administrators say Westpac and St George Bank are among big lenders voting down debt agreements based on the debtor's ability to repay.
The administrators report a noticeably harsher approach from Westpac and St George compared with a generally supportive approach of the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank in particular.
Some say that St George is telling them no less than 65¢ is acceptable, while Westpac is said to be voting down agreements that return less than 70¢ in the dollar, regardless of the circumstances of the debtor.
Penny Doube, a debt agreement administrator based at Tarragindi in Brisbane, says that on average her agreements involve an insolvent debtor repaying about 50¢ in the dollar over three years.
Ms Doube says St George has informed her that its minimum acceptable return is 65¢.
"St George have always been difficult to deal with," Ms Doube says. "They are not fond of Part 9s."
Administrators typically negotiate agreements that return between 40¢ and 80¢ in the dollar over three to five years. For that, they charge an upfront fee that usually ranges between $600 and $1500 and an ongoing commission.
Ms Southon says each agreement has to ensure that the rent or mortgage is paid, plus provide for utilities, food, essentials, children and the occasional medical visit.
Under the new voting rules, big creditors have increased power and cannot be easily outvoted.
"If St George is your majority creditor, then it is 'shut the gate and file now for bankruptcy', because they are not going to agree to anything," says one debt agreement administrator.
Melbourne debt agreement administrator Melissa Treherne says she is being sandwiched by tough creditors and the new rules, which require her to certify a debtor can afford repayments.
"The new rules are good, they have really cleaned things up but some of the creditors are just not looking at the budget of these people," says Ms Treherne.
"They say they have a new rule, nothing under 55¢ for example, and they won't be flexible about time or rate of return."
A Westpac spokesman says 70¢ "is one of its highest repayment guidelines" and it does apply lower proportions on a case-by-case basis.
A spokeswoman for St George Bank says the bank assesses each proposal individually.
"Most importantly, customers' specific circumstances are taken into consideration, and the final decision is not solely based on the return to the bank."
Digby Ross, the Queensland insolvency registrar, says the system requires goodwill by all parties in the industry if it is to succeed, including the big creditors.
"The major creditors have generally been very supportive, right through (the reform process)," said Mr Ross.
"Yes, definitely, it needs goodwill by creditors to succeed and the contact we've had has been positive." Source: Sunday Mail

Citigroup Sells Crowns Jewels after Subprime fallout

CITIGROUP is in talks to sell a majority stake in Smith Barney, the brokerage firm, to Morgan Stanley in a deal that would create the world's biggest wealth manager.
Picture: APThe negotiations came to light as Robert Rubin, the former US Treasury Secretary, resigned as senior counsellor and director of Citigroup after months of criticism for his role in leading what was once the world’s largest bank to the brink of collapse.
Under the deal being discussed by Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, 51 per cent of Smith Barney will be sold to Morgan Stanley with an option to buy the rest of the business within five years.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the talks and Citigroup did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear how much the deal would cost Morgan Stanley.
The banks are expected to work through the weekend to finalise the terms of the deal. The merger would help Morgan Stanley, which converted to a bank holding company last year and subsequently received $US10 billion ($14 billion) in Government aid, to diversify.
Citigroup, which has taken $US45 billion in government funding, is likely to welcome the additional capital that the deal would provide. The move is also in line with the strategy of Vikram Pandit, the Citigroup chief executive, to downsize the business after the sub-prime debacle. Citigroup is dismissing 52,000 of its workers after it made $US20 billion in credit-related losses.
The bank also announced the resignation of Mr Rubin, who was Treasury Secretary from 1995 to 1999. In a letter to Mr Pandit, Mr Rubin said: “My great regret is that I and so many of us who have been involved in this industry for so long did not recognise the serious possibility of the extreme circumstances that the financial system faces today.”
Mr Rubin, who joined Citigroup in 1999, has been excoriated in the media as the force behind the bank’s decision to chase profits by pushing into risky credit-related products. His duties at the bank, other than using his network to attract clients, were not clear, but insiders said that his influence was pervasive.
In his time at Citigroup, Mr Rubin collected about $US150 million in remuneration.
Before becoming Treasury Secretary, Mr Rubin, who is a graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School, had a long career at Goldman Sachs, where he started on the arbitrage trading desk and worked his way up to become co-chairman of the elite bank.
Shares in Citigroup closed in New York at $US6.75, down by 5.7 per cent.