Let’s talk Aviva: Smaller but richer insurance firm is looking to grow again September 29, 2021 It has been an interesting couple of months for insurance firm Aviva. The City giant sacked its fund manager and was dragged into a leasehold agreement affair it had hoped to avoid. Nevertheless, following a year of cutting costs and selling foreign assets, Aviva feels confident about the future. The company is firmly on investors’ [...]
£222m takeover of Hawthorn pubs by Admiral Taverns faces competition probe September 28, 2021 The UK competition regulator said this afternoon it is leaning towards launching a probe into Admiral Taverns’ £222m takeover of the Hawthorn pub business. Admiral sealed a deal to buy the pub estate, which covers 674 venues across the UK, from the retail property investor NewRiver, in July. The move will strengthen Admiral’s position as [...]
Our regulatory cheat sheet needs a post-Covid rewrite September 27, 2021 The success of a financial centre depends largely on the rules it is governed by and the quality of its rulemakers. The UK’s regulatory regime is widely regarded as one of the best in the world due to its transparency, openness and – crucially – ability to evolve. Exiting the European Union and the pandemic [...]
Small law firms are let off from economic crime tax September 23, 2021 Small law firms have escaped the UK government’s Economic Crime Levy, aimed at raising £100m annually from anti-money laundering (AML) regulated organisations, to help pay for the fight against economic crime. Instead, AML-regulated organisations, including legal practices, banks and accountancy firms, with revenues above £10.2m will be subject to the new tax. The Economic Crime [...]
Westminster’s Beis committee to probe post-Brexit subsidies regime September 23, 2021 A Westminster committee is set to probe the UK’s post-Brexit subsidies regime and the role of the competition watchdog post-Brexit. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) committee’s inquiry will look at “the main opportunities and challenges for businesses under the new UK state aid regime” and “whether competition policy in the UK has weakened [...]
The tale of Big Tech’s reckoning was spelled out by Rockefeller’s downfall September 23, 2021 The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter described an effective free market as a “gale of creative destruction”. Old companies and outdated ideas would be cast aside by the market’s pursuit of the new, and the consumer would be the winner. It is little surprise then that incumbents tend to do all they can to arrest the [...]
The tale of Big Tech’s reckoning was spelled out by Rockefeller’s downfall – CityAM : CityAM September 23, 2021 The Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter described an effective free market as a “gale of creative destruction”. Old companies and outdated ideas would be cast aside by the market’s pursuit of the new, and the consumer would be the winner. It is little surprise then that incumbents tend to do all they can to arrest the [...]
Lord Mayor calls on financial regulators to focus on innovation and sustainability September 22, 2021 Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell, will tonight (22 September) deliver a speech at the City Dinner at The Mansion House to an audience of senior regulators and representatives from across the financial and professional services industry. Lord Mayor William Russell will speak alongside Sam Woods, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England [...]
Hours after IPO, Universal Music faces competition inquiry September 22, 2021 Hours after its shares surged by more than a third on its trading debut, Universal Music and other major record labels have been threatened by an official investigation into their dominance of the music market. Government ministers have called on the UK’s competition watchdog to take the first step towards regulatory action and conduct a [...]
‘Quality losses’ matter more to investors than ‘quality gains’ September 21, 2021 People dislike losses more than they like gains. Known as loss aversion, this phenomenon, or behavioural bias, serves as a cornerstone of prospect theory, developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky more than 40 years ago. A forthcoming paper, which I co-authored with Didem Kurt, Koen Pauwels and Shuba Srinivasan, applies this theory to product [...]