Explainer: Why has the UK intervened in Nvidia’s $40bn Arm merger? April 20, 2021 Ever since it was announced in September last year, Nvidia’s proposed $40bn (£30bn) takeover of British chipmaker Arm has proved controversial. Critics including rival tech firms and former Arm executives were quick to hit out at the deal, warning of a negative impact for Britain and the semiconductor industry more widely. Yesterday the government made [...]
Sainsbury’s: ‘Food inflation starting to fall’ as supermarket giant reports grocery sales surge by 11 per cent July 4, 2023 Sainsbury’s has claimed “food inflation is starting to fall” as it recorded an 11 per cent hike in grocery sales in the first leg of the year. The ‘Big Four’ grocer, recorded an inflation-led 9.8 per cent like-for like-increase in total retail sales excluding fuel in the first quarter of the year up from 4 [...]
Facebook facing multiple lawsuits that could splinter the tech firm and render acquisitions illegal December 9, 2020 The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and nearly every US state have sued Facebook today, saying that it broke antitrust law and should potentially be broken up. In its complaint, the coalition of 46 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam also asked for Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to be judged to be illegal. The [...]
UK watchdog ramps up pressure on tech giants as it sets one-year ultimatum October 19, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has urged the government to step up plans for a new digital regulator as it warned it is preparing to take action against tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said his organisation was “actively considering” potential enforcement cases in [...]
Out with the old: Time to reform the legal profession for the benefit of all sides February 11, 2021 It may seem like an odd time to be thinking about reforming the way lawyers work, but if so much can change because of a pandemic, why shouldn’t the post-Covid era be a period of reform and progress? This year will be the first in which the UK’s ability to compete in the global professional [...]
Let’s talk Aviva: Smaller but richer insurance firm is looking to grow again September 29, 2021 It has been an interesting couple of months for insurance firm Aviva. The City giant sacked its fund manager and was dragged into a leasehold agreement affair it had hoped to avoid. Nevertheless, following a year of cutting costs and selling foreign assets, Aviva feels confident about the future. The company is firmly on investors’ [...]
Build, Baby, Build: The private sector alone won’t fix the housing crisis June 18, 2024 The private sector has never delivered the 300,000 homes a year the government says we need; local authorities must be part of the solution, say Gideon Salutin and Niamh O Regan All the major parties are promising more homes at this election. Labour has promised 300,000 a year for England, while the Conservatives have pledged [...]
Ex-BCG partner Marcus Bokkerink tipped as next competition watchdog chair May 31, 2022 Retired senior partner at Boston Consulting Group has been named as the next chair of Britain's competition watchdog.
Water spending rebellion could cost households billions, says Citizens Advice October 30, 2020 Citizens Advice has waded into a row between the competition and water watchdogs over new spending rules for the country’s water companies. According to the charity, households could lose out on a combined £3.7bn across the next five years if the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sticks with its decision to back a rebellion against [...]
Regulators holding back fintech firms in cost of living crunch, industry body says March 2, 2023 Regulatory red tape is stopping fintech firms from boosting financial inclusion and helping consumers through a cost of living crunch, the industry body and EY said today. In a new report, Innovate Finance and big four firm EY said today that City regulators need to quickly expand the UK’s open banking regime and loosen rules [...]