What Thomas Cook’s collapse tells us about the power of disruption November 4, 2019 Whilst the failure of UK holiday firm Thomas Cook was sudden and a considerable shock to many, the writing has been on the wall for some time now. Driven by technology and specifically by the advent of online booking and reservation systems, the travel industry has long been undergoing a radical transformation across each of [...]
Watchdog gives insurance brokers clean bill of health on competition worries February 20, 2019 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said it had not found evidence of significant levels of harm in its probe into insurance brokers, meaning that “intrusive remedies” will not be necessary. The FCA launched its analysis of the wholesale insurance brokers market in November 2017 to assess how competition was working in the sector. It said that [...]
Competition and Markets Authority to investigate price comparison websites September 29, 2016 The UK's competition watchdog is launching a wholesale review into price comparison websites to investigate how they make their money and whether they really do help consumers get the best deals. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the review this morning – the latest in a long-line of high-profile probes the body has conducted including [...]
Brexit to place ‘considerable demands’ on City watchdog the FCA April 17, 2019 Brexit will continue to place “considerable demands” on the City watchdog, it said today as the regulator unveiled its plan for the coming year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled its business plan for 2019-20 and said Britain’s departure from the EU would continue to dominate its attention. Read more: Government provides £200m for small [...]
DEBATE: Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? May 1, 2018 Would the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger be good for consumers? Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, says YES. Large deals such as these will always result in winners and losers, with suppliers and some of the competition potentially falling into the losers camp. However, it is difficult to see that consumers would be anything other [...]
City watchdog launches review of the financial advice market May 1, 2019 The City watchdog today launched a review of the financial advice market amid concerns investors are paying too much. The Financial Conduct Authority’s review will look at what consumers want from the market and how the market works to deliver this. The FCA will review how changes made since 2012, including the retail distribution review [...]
Swiss stocks buoyant despite Berne-Brussels bust-up July 9, 2019 For a market locked in a bitter battle with the European Union, Switzerland’s top-flight share index is looking remarkably chipper. But then, this may have something to do with the fact that since the breakdown of relations between Berne and Brussels, anyone wanting to deal in Swiss company stocks has to do so inside Switzerland’s [...]
Thomas Cook goes bust: How did it end up like this? September 23, 2019 Britain’s 178-year-old travel firm Thomas Cook officially collapsed into administration in the early hours of this morning after last-ditch rescue talks with lenders failed. The UK’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is now in the process of escorting back home hundreds of thousands British holidaymakers who are abroad after booking with Thomas Cook. [...]
Bitcoin: Is it starting to feel like 2017 all over again? June 27, 2019 By Gary McFarlane from interactive investor. Bitcoin’s decisive break above the psychologically important $10,000 mark – with $11,000 breached over the weekend and in sight again – is being driven by institutional investors and the afterglow from Facebook’s Libra news, despite the regulatory and political pushback against Mark Zuckerberg’s global money plans. Also, the recommendations, as expected, from [...]
Last Week in the City: Stiff competition in funerals? June 1, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (28 May to 1 June 2018). Shares in listed funeral director Dignity slumped after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will examine the pre-paid funeral sector, a move that could see tougher regulation. [...]