The Conservatives must not be afraid to stand up for free markets November 12, 2018 Today’s younger voters were born after the Berlin Wall had fallen and the battle of ideas over economics and the role of the state had been won for a generation. Since then, the world has changed. The Labour party has fallen under the control of people who do not believe in markets, free enterprise, or business. [...]
Yü Group shares skyrocket on energy supply deal with Smartest December 16, 2019 Yü Group, the supplier of energy and utilities services to UK businesses, saw its share price rise by nearly 50 per cent today after it announced an energy supply arrangement with Smartest Energy. The hedging facility with Smartest will provide Yü with a credit line up to £13m, which will grow in line with the [...]
Chinese bid for Northern Aerospace fails amid security fears July 9, 2018 Chinese takeover attempts to buy a British defence company have fallen through, according to UK private equity firm Better Capital. Approval has not been given for aircraft parts maker Northern Aerospace to be purchased by Derby-based Gardner Aerospace, a subsidiary of Chinese aerospace and mining firm Shaanxi Ligeance Mineral Resources. Read more: Aerospace sector revises [...]
Parliament a no-show for Viagogo as committee chair accuses firm of ‘gross discourtesy’ September 5, 2018 The head of an influential committee of MPs launched a scathing attack on Viagogo today after the controversial ticket resale giant snubbed a parliamentary hearing for the second time in as many years. Damian Collins, who chairs the department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) select committee, slammed the act of non-attendance as a [...]
Mazars says joint audits and market caps are solution to audit sector woes November 4, 2018 Mazars, the professional services firm which is France’s fifth-largest auditor, has weighed in on the under-fire sector’s future, calling for market share caps and joint audits to disrupt the dominance of the Big Four firms. It is the first large audit firm to release its response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is [...]
City Moves for 6 September 2018 – who’s switching jobs at the Financial Conduct Authority, JCDecaux Airport and Howard Kennedy? September 6, 2018 Today's City Moves cover competition, aviation advertising and legal eagles. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Sheldon Mills as its new director of competition. Sheldon is currently senior director, mergers and state aid at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). At the CMA, [...]
Trust me, we’ve been thinking about market power and competition all wrong November 13, 2018 Economists, politicians, and commentators on both sides of the Atlantic are growing more concerned with the supposed “monopolisation” of the economy. In a 2017 report, the Social Market Foundation found that eight of 10 key British markets, including in phones, gas and groceries, were highly dominated by small numbers of companies. Its director, James Kirkup, [...]
Co-op bank losses widen in wake of PPI costs and fierce mortgage market November 7, 2019 The Co-operative Bank has reported widening losses during the third quarter of this year, as it became the latest in a long line of lenders to take a financial hit from the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal. The British bank reported losses before tax of £118.6m during the nine months to 30 September, deepening from [...]
Asda and Sainsbury’s mega merger could hit Aldi and Lidl’s trollies October 17, 2018 Britain’s store wars are intensifying by the day but the force is still strong with German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The price-cutters continued to steal market share from the Big Four supermarkets in the 12 weeks to 7 October, figures from the closely-watched Kantar Worldpanel report showed yesterday. Aldi’s sales growth, its fastest since January [...]
Pessimism & reluctance April 17, 2020 A moment of nostalgia for sterling and relief for the euro. Sterling was not unduly worried this week, having a surprisingly successful week. Over the eight-day week it strengthened by an average of 0.5%, losing out only to the puzzlingly mismatched Australian dollar and Japanese yen. It added one euro cent and one and one [...]