Private equity firm Lone Star quits race to buy Asda September 22, 2020 US private equity firm Lone Star Funds has abandoned the bidding war over British supermarket giant Asda, leaving rival asset manager Apollo as its likely suitor. The two private equity firms entered a showdown for the UK’s third-biggest grocery chain last month, after US owner Walmart opened bidding for a majority stake in Asda. The [...]
Big Tech’s market might in five charts September 21, 2020 The largest US technology stocks – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google (Alphabet) – known as the “FAMAGs”, tumbled sharply at the beginning of this month, after supercharging the US stock market from the depths of the Covid-pandemic in March. These “superstar” firms have largely benefitted from the economic fallout of the crisis, as more people [...]
UK watchdog to accuse KPMG of breaches in Carillion audit September 21, 2020 The UK’s accountancy watchdog has said it has delivered an initial report of KPMG’s audit of collapsed outsourcer Carillion, indicating it found a number of breaches made by the firm. After a preliminary investigation, the Financial Reporting Council would either close the enforcement case or, if breaches have been found, deliver an initial investigation report. [...]
How Covid changed cyber crime September 18, 2020 It might not be surprising that cyber criminals have taken advantage of coronavirus and the rush to remote working. The age of cyber warfare was upon us even before the crisis. New research suggests online fraudsters are boosting their attacks at an alarming pace, and it’s thought multimillion dollar ransoms could be at stake. Interpol, [...]
Tui to refund all customers by the end of the month September 16, 2020 Travel giant Tui UK will refund all package holidays cancelled due to the coronavirus by the end of the month, the UK’s competition watchdog announced this morning. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had launched an investigation into the firm after receiving thousands of complaints from customers who had not been refunded. Under consumer protection [...]
Commission-free stock trading marks a new era for retail traders September 16, 2020 Modern technology has made retail trading accessible to all – literally at the tip of our fingertips – but it wasn’t always this easy. It’s fair to say that the technology underpinning online retail trading has come a long way since the days of pagers and dial-up modems (look it up, kids…). As we enter [...]
‘Sclerotic’ City of London Corporation needs reform, says new report September 15, 2020 The City of London Corporation is “complex and sclerotic” while the public view it as a “secretive boys’ club”, according to a long-awaited independent report into the governance of the powerful local authority. Robert Rogers, now Lord Lisvane and a former Clerk of the House of Commons, said in his report that the “slowness of [...]
Mitie-Interserve deal to face competition probe September 15, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog today announced that it was launching an investigation into whether Mitie’s acquisition of fellow outsourcing giant Interserve’s facilities management business could damage competition. Back in June Mitie signed a £271m deal with its rival for the division, which will create a giant new entity with more than 80,000 employees. The move [...]
Finance, but make it decentralised September 15, 2020 I was a law student at the University of Helsinki when I discovered the Ethereum blockchain, and I was immediately drawn to the community and what people were building. I did some coding as a teenager, and I have always been interested in finance, so I began to apply how the permissionless system of smart [...]
Regulator launches review into consumer investment market September 15, 2020 The consumer investment market is not working as well as it should and it is due a fundamental review, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Too often consumers are receiving lower returns than they should because of “unsuitable products with high fees”, the financial regulator said. It is launching a “call for input to [...]