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 [...]
Apple facing UK competition probe over app store dominance March 4, 2021 Apple is facing a competition probe in the UK over claims the way it treats app developers is “unfair and uncompetitive”. The iPhone maker has been locked in a long-running dispute with app makers including Epic Games, the company behind hit video game Fortnite, over the cut it takes through the App Store and on [...]
Virgin Media boss Schuler to lead £31bn tie-up with Telefonica’s O2 April 7, 2021 Virgin Media chief executive Lutz Schuler will lead the firm that results from their mega-merger with Telefonica’s O2. Schuler was confirmed in the role late last night. Schuler joined Virgin Media in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer and had been CEO since June 2019. O2’s Patricia Cobian will become chief financial officer of the combined [...]
Watchdog slams rule-breaking influencers over ‘unacceptable’ social media ads March 18, 2021 The UK advertising watchdog has ramped up the pressure on social media influencers over their continued failure to mark posts as adverts. Under the current rules online stars are required to clearly state when their posts are sponsored or when a brand has provided them with free products. But a three-week monitoring exercise carried out [...]
Sajid Javid cuts cost of NHS Covid test for travel to £68 August 14, 2021 In a bid to help holidaymakers and drive down the market rate for Covid tests for travel, the health secretary has cut the cost of the travel tests that the NHS provides from £88 to £68 each. Travellers returning from green and amber list countries to England will now pay £20 less per PCR test, [...]
Marston’s and Carlsberg get green light for £780m brewing JV October 9, 2020 Brewers Marston’s and Carlsberg have been given the go-ahead to complete a £780m joint venture after a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation. Shares in London-listed Marston’s rose 16.7 per cent as markets cheered the decision. The UK’s competition watchdog said that as the two firms had different areas of focus, competition between the two [...]
Tui to refund all customers by the end of the month September 16, 2020 Travel giant Tui UK will refund all package holidays cancelled due to the coronavirus by the end of the month, the UK’s competition watchdog announced this morning. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had launched an investigation into the firm after receiving thousands of complaints from customers who had not been refunded. Under consumer protection [...]
Crowdcube launches IPO platform for retail investors June 1, 2021 Crowdcube has today announced the launch of a new IPO platform as minister plan to reduce the dominance of institutional investors in listings. The UK crowdfunding company allows retail investors to xxx . It will offer a service for public as well as private share sales from this summer, the Financial Times reported. “These community [...]
AJ Bell buys mobile platform Adalpha March 19, 2021 AJ Bell has bought startup platform Adalpha to enhance its mobile offering for advisers and their clients. The investment platform, which has £55bn assets under administration, said the “simplified proposition” has the potential to complement its existing adviser platform business AJ Bell Investcentre. “Financial advisers need a variety of propositions to match a diverse range [...]
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 [...]