Economic think tank calls for Openreach to be carved out from BT as Ofcom deadline looms February 17, 2016 BT faces fresh calls for its broadband infrastructure arm Openreach to be hived off today, after economists at the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) found the UK is falling behind international competitors. The CPS also has warned Britain's current broadband infrastructure market appears anti-competitive and Ofcom should refer the issue to the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Cross-party report says BT should be forced to sell Openreach January 23, 2016 A report backed by 121 cross-party MPs says that BT should be forced to sell Openreach due to poor performance. The report, published by the cross-party British Infrastructure Group (BIG), said that Openreach, the country's leading broadband provider, had only partially extended superfast broadband, despite £1.7bn of government money. Read more: BT Openreach boss Joe Garner steps down [...]
Now banks have pulled their Google ad spend as Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds pile on pressure March 20, 2017 Google is facing growing pressure over claims it's profiting from hate speech as some of Britain's biggest banks are the latest to pull their ads from YouTube. Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds have suspended their advertising with the tech giant following an investigation which revealed household brand names were appearing next to offensive and extremist [...]
The FTSE 100 finished the year at another all-time high December 30, 2016 It's been another record-breaking day for the FTSE 100, which finished the year today at another all-time high. Britain's bluechip index rose to 7142.83 points, 0.3 per cent higher, after a last-minute rally before it closed on today's shortened trading day. The index has twice closed at record highs this week, finishing above 7,120 points yesterday [...]
Telecommunications giant BT expected to avoid being broken up from Openreach, in verdict due this Thursday February 21, 2016 BT is expected to avoid having its infrastructure arm Openreach carved out this week, following months of campaigning for a split by the company’s rivals. City A.M. understands the decision will be announced on Thursday in Ofcom’s Digital Communications Review, though will reportedly include requirements for minimum-service standards between Openreach and BT’s rivals Vodafone, Sky, and [...]
Tesco is struggling to stock key staples after price row with Unilever October 12, 2016 Tesco boss Dave Lewis is on a collision course with the company where he earned his stripes after the supermarket revealed it was running out of staple products such as Marmite and PG Tips. The supermarket giant said that it was running low on Unilever products and it is understood that this was as a result of [...]
Sky dives into mobile market with “flexible” contracts but steers clear of content offers November 29, 2016 Pay-TV operator Sky has unveiled details of its long-awaited mobile service. Available to Sky staff already and rolling out gradually to pre-registered customers and then to the wider market early next year, the service is aiming to offer what the company has called a "flexible" mobile subscription plan. Sky will then begin offering handsets to users [...]
The Friends of the Earth fracking ruling is exactly why Adland self-regulates January 9, 2017 If this newspaper made wild unsubstantiated claims, presented as fact, that fracking would purify the vilest depths of the Thames, or seep a cancer curing chemical into the water table, we’d rightly have questions to answer. So when Friends of the Earth (FoE) produce leaflets claiming that fracking could cause cancer, contaminate water supplies, increase [...]
There’s no need for Treasury giveaways to help the just about managing March 6, 2017 On the steps of Downing Street, Theresa May outlined the core of her political strategy: “If you are just about managing, I want to address you directly”. The just about managing – the so-called JAMs – saw their cost of living significantly squeezed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and it is indeed vital that [...]
Former Sainsbury’s boss warns of imminent price hikes October 12, 2016 The ex-boss of one of the UK's leading supermarkets has warned shops will have to start hiking prices soon in response to the plunging pound. Justin King, who spent a decade as chief executive of Sainsbury's, told a conference on Wednesday it would be impossible for shops to absorb the higher costs of raw materials and imported products without charging [...]