EU to investigate Nvidia’s $54bn purchase of Arm – CityAM : CityAM August 27, 2021 Brussels is preparing to open an investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm as a result of competition concerns. Nvidia plans to notify the EU of its intention to purchase Cambridge-based technology company Arm in the first week of September. Two sources with detailed information of the process told the Financial Times that when Nvidia officially [...]
City watchdog fires warning shot at insurance industry over lack of preparedness for fresh regime August 25, 2021 The UK’s City watchdog has fired a warning shot at the insurance industry by urging firms to rapidly improve their standards to ensure they comply with a fresh regime that comes into effect in just six weeks. According to a new report published by the Financial Conduct Authority today, insurance firms are not ready for [...]
Competition watchdog blasts PCR test firms over consumer law breaches August 25, 2021 The UK competition watchdog has warned of a potential crackdown on PCR Covid test providers amid concerns they may be breaking consumer law. In an open letter the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns about a number of harmful practices in the sector. These included advertising up-front prices for PCR tests that do not [...]
E-naira: Digitising Nigeria, improving lives, and advancing national infrastructure August 25, 2021 Nigeria is more amazing than the world realises, and the nation deserves far more attention, says Alex Lightman.
CMA to probe S&P Global’s £33bn takeover of IHS August 23, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has just announced the launch of an inquiry into S&P Global’s £33bn takeover of IHS Markit Ltd. The CMA gave notice today that it plans to investigate the anticipated merger between credit ratings giant S&P Global and IHS Markit. The deadline for its decision on whether the merger is [...]
China tightens scrutiny over accounting firms in fight against forgery August 23, 2021 China’s leadership has set new rules to strengthen supervision of accounting firms in a fight against financial forgery, vowing “zero tolerance” toward misconduct. China’ State Council said accounting firms have not fully played their role as “gatekeepers” of capital markets, which have often witnessed cases of financial forgery and inaccurate accounting information. The authorities will [...]
Why a salary cap and luxury tax are unlikely to succeed where Financial Fair Play failed and make European football more competitive August 21, 2021 It feels symbolic that two of the biggest football transfers of the summer should precede the death knell for Financial Fair Play, the rules designed to rein in spending that now look set to be replaced with a salary cap and luxury tax. Paris Saint-Germain’s signing of Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Premier League record [...]
CMA watchdog warns ARM sale raises ‘serious competition concerns’ August 20, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that NVIDIA’s purchase of Arm raises serious competition concerns. The report, which has been sent to Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, said an “in-depth investigation” into the $40bn deal between Arm and NVIDIA is warranted. The CMA highlighted that NVIDIA and Arm are both [...]
Business Secretary intervenes in Cobham’s £2.6bn bid for Ultra Electronics on national security grounds August 18, 2021 Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has stopped the planned £2.6bn acquisition of defence firm Ultra Electronics by rival US-owned Cobham, to investigate possible national security risks from the merged entities. The Competition and Markets Authority will now prepare a report on the proposed transaction. Customers of Ultra, which sells torpedo and radar systems and a range [...]
PayPal ditches late fees for buy now pay later purchases August 18, 2021 PayPal will stop charging late fees when customers miss payments on buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases worldwide, in an effort to attract customers amid booming market competition. As of October 1, purchases from customers in the US, UK and France will no longer be subject to late fees, while the company’s BNPL services in [...]