Thousands more homeowners to be refunded after ground rents doubled August 24, 2022 Press Association Thousands more homeowners who paid a doubled ground rent on their property will receive a refund after the competition watchdog cracked down on “unfair” leasehold practices. More than 5,000 households in the UK will be compensated after being caught in contracts that saw their ground rents double in price every 10 years. Many [...]
Europe’s gas crisis: what does it mean for investors? August 23, 2022 Europe faces high gas prices and potential shortages as supply from Russia dwindles. We ask our investment experts what this means for companies, the energy transition, and the eurozone economy. Europe’s precarious gas supply situation has been a prime focus for markets ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February. The European [...]
Canary Wharf’s giants stand by idly as Brits flock en masse to challenger banks Monzo and Starling Bank August 20, 2022 In yet another sign that traditional High Street banks are losing ground across the UK, challenger banks have overtaken the established Canary Wharf institutions in a survey ranking how satisfied people and firms are with their services amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis. Starling Bank and Monzo were the top-ranked current account providers, while high-street lenders [...]
Chinese tech giants including TikTok owner reveal algorithms amid scrutiny August 16, 2022 A string of Chinese tech giants have been pushed to share details of their algorithms with Beijing’s cyberspace watchdog amid increasingly scrutiny in China. Some 30 companies, including Alibaba, Tencent and TikTok-owner ByteDance, today had descriptions of their algorithms published by the Cyberspace Administration of China. The Chinese regulator is expected to regularly update the [...]
UK competition watchdog closes case against Barratt over leasehold homes August 16, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has closed a case against one of the country’s largest housebuilders Barratt over its sale of leasehold homes. In a statement today, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that “it was insufficient to support a clear legal case for the CMA to secure collective redress for Barratt leaseholders under its [...]
Fintech challenger banks steam ahead of high street stalwarts in CMA ranking August 15, 2022 Fintech challenger banks Starling and Monzo have leapt ahead of their traditional high street rivals in a fresh ranking of UK lenders published today by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Truss backs Bank of England review to ensure ‘it is fit for purpose’ August 11, 2022 The biggest overhaul of the Bank of England in 25 years may be needed to ensure “it is fit for purpose,” Tory leadership front-runner Liz Truss’s campaign told City A.M. today. The comments represent an escalation in Truss’s drive to shake up the regime overseeing the Bank’s performance. She has promised to review Threadneedle Street’s [...]
Brexit: Truss wants ‘call in’ power to allow ministers to overrule City regulators August 10, 2022 Liz Truss wants to give ministers the power to overrule decisions made by the UK’s financial services regulators in a move that is set to create serious tensions with the Bank of England. The Tory leadership frontrunner wants to revive the policy, which was recently ditched by the Treasury, as a part of the government’s [...]
Former CMA chair sues crypto exchanges Binance, Kraken and others for £10bn August 9, 2022 Crypto exchanges Binance, Kraken, and others have been hit with a £10bn lawsuit in a competition dispute by the former chair of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. Lord David Currie filed the claim against the two crypto giants as well as exchanges Bittylicious and ShapeShift for delisting the BSV cryptocurrency from their platforms, Financial [...]
Inmarsat and Viasat £5.4bn merger paused until CMA wraps up probe August 9, 2022 The £5.4bn takeover of British satellite giant Inmarsat by US rival Viasat has been put on hold until the UK’s competition watchdog completes a probe into the merger. The Competition and Markets Authority today officially launched an inquiry into the merger, having invited onlookers for comment in late July. The regulator will have until 5 [...]