FCA investigates ‘crippling’ cladding insurance costs January 29, 2022 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching an investigation into the ‘crippling’ insurance costs paid by residents with cladding issues. In letters sent today to chief executives of insurance firms, the City watchdog said it will be investigating whether “products provide fair value and premiums fairly and accurately reflect risk.” The FCA will look into [...]
FCA requested to review buildings insurers as Gove says leaseholders hit with ‘rapidly escalating’ costs January 28, 2022 The financial services regulator has been requested to review the buildings insurance market for blocks of flats. In a letter to the regulator, housing minister Micheal Gove said he was “extremely concerned” to hear from leaseholders about their experience of “rapidly escalating” insurance premiums on high and medium-rise blocks. There have been cases where insurance [...]
Competition watchdog launches first phase of Morrisons takeover probe January 27, 2022 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the first phase of its probe into the takeover of Morrisons by a US private equity giant today. The £7bn deal, which was completed in October, saw Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Holdings (CD&R) remove Morrisons from the London Stock Exchange. The move prompted the CMA to order the [...]
Post-Brexit boost for the City as London takes top spot in global financial powerhouse rankings January 27, 2022 London continues to hold the top spot for financial and professional services in terms of overall offer when compared to other global destinations, including New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris and Frankfurt, according to new figures published this morning. London received an overall competitiveness score of 61, followed by New York (58) and Singapore (53). [...]
CMA launches probe into music streaming market January 27, 2022 UK competition watchdog launched a study this morning asking whether the music streaming market is working well for music lovers. In the UK, more than 80 per cent of recorded music is now listened to via a streaming service rather than using traditional physical media like CDs and vinyl. Linking the creators making the music [...]
CMA launches probe into £1.9bn merger between National Express and Stagecoach January 26, 2022 The UK competition watchdog said this morning it has launched an investigation into the £1.9bn merger between National Express and Stagecoach due to concerns over the tie-up. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had served a so-called initial enforcement order, which stops the companies from fully combining while it considers the deal. Stagecoach [...]
Google backtracks on cookies plans after ad backlash January 25, 2022 Alphabet Inc's Google announced its second try at enabling advertisers to buy ads based on users' browsing interests without having to rely on what it has described as privacy-invasive tracking cookies.
Competition is heating up amongst retail banks, says FCA January 20, 2022 Fierce competition in retail banking is driving choice and lowering prices for consumers according to the UK financial watchdog.
The world in 2022: a map to global politics January 19, 2022 In 2022 the fault lines of global politics will be tested again. City A.M. and the British Foreign Policy Group chart the year ahead. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is the deep ramifications that one country’s domestic politics have globally. From the future of the French President to continual Chinese aggression, here we [...]
UK regulator fines Mastercard £31m over ‘cartel behaviour’ January 18, 2022 Mastercard is among five payments firms which have been accused of operating a cartel in the prepaid cards market by a UK watchdog.