Tesco, Sainsbury’s face calls for investigation into ‘profiteering’ as prices soar May 2, 2023 An inquiry should be commissioned into whether supermarkets have been “profiteering” during the cost-of-living crisis, the Liberal Democrats have said. Party leader Sir Ed Davey is calling for the competition watchdog to start an investigation into whether food retailers put up the price of goods by more than was necessary to cover the cost of [...]
Artificial intelligence could save London from losing our competitive edge to the US May 2, 2023 The future is AI and if London wants to be a global leader, we need to strike the right balance of innovation and regulation here in the City, writes Chris Hayward
Asda and EG Group £12bn merger would risk jobs and food supplies, union warns April 27, 2023 A union representing workers at Asda has said a potential merger of the supermarket with EG Group’s UK petrol stations could risk jobs, food supplies and monopolise petrol stations across the UK. The GMB Union wrote to Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch urging her to call in the competition regulator to investigate the possible multibillion pound [...]
Microsoft slams UK move blocking Activision takeover as ‘bad day for Britain’ April 27, 2023 Microsoft’s vice chair and president has slammed the UK competition watchdog’s decision to block the software company’s 68.7bn dollar (£55bn) takeover of gaming firm Activision Blizzard, calling it a “bad day for Britain”. Brad Smith said the UK regulatory environment compared unfavourably with the EU and warned the “English Channel has never seemed wider”. He [...]
Game Over? CMA block of Activision deal to set the tone for other regulators April 26, 2023 The UK competition regulator today blocked Microsoft’s $70bn bid for the video game publisher, Activision Blizzard, citing concerns over competition in a fledgling cloud market. The move by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to scupper the deal — Microsoft’s largest acquisition — comes as a blow to the tech giant, which has already announced [...]
Microsoft’s £55bn acquisition of Call of Duty games creator blocked by UK’s competition authority April 26, 2023 Microsoft has had its $68.7bn (£55bn) acquisition of Activision Blizzard blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the regulator confirmed on Wednesday. The CMA blocked the deal over concerns it would lessen competition in the UK cloud gaming market by giving Microsoft it control over where Activision games are available. “Cloud gaming needs a [...]
Heathrow narrows losses, but claims hit from strikes and CAA price-cap April 26, 2023 Heathrow Airport narrowed its losses this quarter, but said results were impacted by the CAA’s price cap, as well as ongoing strike action. The airport posted adjusted pre-tax losses of £139m, down from £223m the previous year, writing that this was due to the “the revenue allowance in the CAA’s H7 settlement being set too [...]
Regulation set to challenge the ‘dominance’ of tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook April 25, 2023 Plans to toughen up UK regulation of some of the world’s largest tech companies will go before MPs for the first time, with the competition watchdog’s dedicated digital unit set to be given sharper teeth. New laws to regulate big tech firms, such as Google, Amazon and Meta, have been long awaited, with MPs last [...]
Week Ahead: Aldi and Lidl tightening the screw on Sainsbury’s as retailers fight to retain price-wary customers April 23, 2023 The supermarket giant is set to report a fall in annual pre-tax profits this week, posting up to £690 million, down from £730 million last year. According to the latest Kantar survey, Sainsbury’s reported a strong 12-week sales growth of 12 per cent at the end of March, but fell short of rivals Aldi and [...]
FCA will ‘keep its eyes’ on banks’ Q1 results for evidence of savings rate profiteering April 20, 2023 Savers are facing a rising “loyalty penalty” from high street banks, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned. Customers banking with the UK’s big name lenders are likely to earn less competitive interest rates on their savings over time, while new savers are given more attractive offers, the City watchdog told MPs today. “Harm” from [...]