Car industry in shock and fuel prices climb as government scraps all grants for electric vehicles June 14, 2022 There is widespread shock and surprise in the car industry this morning as the DfT said all grants for new EVs have been scrapped.
Competition watchdog opens probe into Facebook’s Giphy takeover January 28, 2021 The UK competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into Facebook’s takeover of popular gif search engine Giphy. Facebook last year announced it planned to merge the gif-maker with Instagram in a deal worth a reported $400m (£321m). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) served an initial enforcement order in June, forcing the social media [...]
Lastminute.com threatened with legal action over unpaid package holiday refunds February 12, 2021 Travel platform Lastminute.com is facing legal action from the UK competition watchdog unless it repays customers whose package holidays have been cancelled due to the pandemic. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned the firm that it will take court action unless Lastminute processes the repayments – totalling £1m – within seven days. On 1 [...]
UK regulators unveil ‘joined-up’ approach ahead of Big Tech crackdown March 10, 2021 Three major UK watchdogs have outlined their “joined-up” approach to digital regulation this morning as authorities prepare to crack down on Big Tech. The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DCRF), which includes Ofcom, the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), today unveiled its first annual plan for co-ordinating new regulation across online [...]
Babcock sells off helicopter business for £10m September 1, 2021 Babcock, the British defence and engineering business, has sold off its helicopter operations branch for £10m after purchasing it for £1.6bn in 2014. The Group’s Aviation sector, which is being purchased by CHC group, provides offshore oil and gas crew transportation services in the UK, Denmark and Australia. Babcock said that its divestment from oil [...]
UK competition watchdog launches probe into O2-Virgin Media merger November 19, 2020 The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into the planned £31bn mega-merger between O2 and Virgin Media after the deal was referred from the EU. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month requested to take over the case, arguing the potential impact on competition would primarily affect the UK market. The watchdog has [...]
Ebay mulls letting users pay in Bitcoin May 3, 2021 Cryptocurrency is one of the new payment options EBay is exploring for customers, CEO Jamie Lannone has said. In an interview with CNBC, Lannone said the e-commerce firm is also exploring ways to get in to the business of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – unique tokens stored on blockchain that have recently become popular among those [...]
Joe Biden’s executive order smoothing a transition to open-banking should inspire UK competition and innovation July 16, 2021 President Biden won a lot of praise when he issued a slew of consumer-friendly executive orders last week. One of them could have an impact here, an ocean away from the US consumers who’ll feel the direct benefit. The order aims to make it easier for US customers to access and share their banking data. [...]
CMA fines concrete cartel £36m for pushing up prices for seven years October 23, 2019 A concrete cartel must pay a £36m fine for breaking competition law for almost seven years. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered three firms to cough up after fixing prices between July 2006 to March 2013. Read more: Audit watchdog calls on firms to improve reporting on climate change They also shared the [...]
Rangers, Hummel and JD Sports probed by competition watchdog over replica kit pricing December 16, 2020 Scottish football club Rangers are being probed by the UK competition watchdog over the pricing of their replica kits. The Competition and Markets Authority is also investigating Rangers’ former kit maker Hummel and retailers JD Sports and Greaves Sports. The CMA said it’s probe centred on “suspected anti-competitive behaviour in relation to the price at [...]