Our Chief Business Correspondent Ian Verrender has been helping to unpack the announcement of the departure of Nine Entertainment boss Mike Sneesby.

Ian says there are a series of factors that have come into play all at once, and the Nine CEO was ultimately the one to take responsibility. Nine’s poor financial performance has also weighed heavily upon his tenure. It’s market value dropped below $2 billion in the past week, with the stock price down around 60% since Mr Sneesby took on the top job. 

Australian businesses may soon have to comply with new mandatory codes which will put in place new rules about detecting, preventing and responding to scams. The codes will apply to banks, telcos and tech giants.

The federal government has released draft legislation for consultation and aims to introduce the news laws later this year.

You can read more about it here, and the story of first homebuyer Ilya Fomin who lost money in a scam:

As we mentioned, the European Central Bank cut interest rates again overnight – by 25 basis points, for the second time this year – and the expectation is the US Federal Reserve will begin to cut rates next week too.

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News service Reuters took a look at 10 big central banks and what their current stance on rates is. It found half have now started easing – let’s break it down and look at each one:

1. 1.Switzerland: the Swiss National Bank, the first among Western peers to lower borrowing costs in March, cut rates again in June to 1.25%. It has signaled it intends to keep going. 
2. 2.Canada: The Bank of Canada implemented its third consecutive cut on Sept. 4 to 4.25% and another 25 bps reduction in October is almost fully priced.  
3. 3.Sweden: the Riksbank, which started cutting rates in May after its successive hikes crushed inflation but weakened the economy, is tipped to lower borrowing costs by at least another 25 bps on Sept. 
4. 4.Euro zone: The ECB cut rates again on Thursday as euro zone inflation slows and the economy falters. Money markets priced in roughly 40 bps of further easing by year end. 
5. 5.Britain: The Bank of England is expected to keep benchmark borrowing costs at 5% on Sept. 19, following its first cut of this cycle in August
6. 6.New Zealand: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand in August cut rates for the first time this cycle to 5.25%, a year earlier than its own projections had stated. Markets forecast another quarter point drop in October.
7. 7.US: Markets are expecting a rate cut on Sept 18. Money markets reckon a 25 bps reduction next week is more likely than a bigger 50 bps cut after data on Wednesday showed some stickiness in underlying inflation. Traders price roughly 100 bps of easing by year-end while economists polled by Reuters forecast 75 bps worth.
8. 8.Norway: Norway’s central bank, which meets next week, is in the hawkish camp. It left rates on hold at a 16-year high of 4.5% in August and said a tight stance would likely be needed for “some time” to curb inflation, still running above the bank’s 2% target.
9. 9.Australia: The RBA has held rates at 4.35% since last November and believes inflation is still sticky, although data suggests the economy is struggling. Markets do not see more than 50% odds of a rate cut until December.
10. 10.Japan: The Bank of Japan is the outlier, raising rates twice this year as inflation rises.
    Its July rate increase caught markets off guard, exacerbating a sell-off in Japan’s stocks and a surge in the yen. The BoJ says it will tread carefully to ensure volatile markets do not hurt businesses. It is expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.25% next week. Markets and economists anticipate another increase by year-end.  

And while you’re digesting the day’s news, take a look at last night’s finance report with Alan Kohler on why markets are feeling optimistic right now

Welcome to the ABC’s live markets blog. Nadia Daly here to take you through the day’s business and finance news.

The Australian share market is poised to open higher this Friday, following Wall Street’s lead. Some economic data out there (producer price data) came in close to expectations and helped lift markets higher. The ASX SPI 200 is up 0.56%.

The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher, the Dow Jones rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq up 1%.

The data firmed expectations of a rate cut next week in the US.

Overnight, too, Europe’s Central Bank cut rates by 25 basis points.

Gold has hit a new high, rising to US$2558 an ounce.