Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary calls on EU to block KLM bailout June 26, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called on the European Union to block a €3.4bn (£3.1bn) rescue package for the Dutch wing of Air France-KLM. In a statement, O’Leary said: “We call on the European Commission to block this subsidy doping to KLM, which will further reduce competition and consumer choice in the Dutch and French [...]
The City View: The ‘cardiac arrest’ of the UK jobs market – with Andrew Hunter of Adzuna June 25, 2020 In this episode, City A.M. Deputy Editor Andy Silvester is joined by Andrew Hunter, co-founder and chief executive of Adzuna, now Europe’s fastest growing job search engine. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Andrew discusses the “cardiac arrest” in the UK job market caused by Covid-19, the competition for job offers and steps the government could [...]
CMA clears Amazon’s £442m Deliveroo stake despite delivery firm’s coronavirus turnaround June 24, 2020 Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally cleared Amazon’s £442m investment in Deliveroo, saying that it is “not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition”. The Competition and Markets Authority has been looking into whether the deal would damage competition in either restaurant delivery or online convenience grocery delivery. The decision to let the investment [...]
Competition watchdog moves closer to green light on Amazon and Deliveroo deal June 23, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to make the first step in giving the tie-up between Amazon and Deliveroo the green light. The announcement, which could be made this afternoon, would reissue a provisional approval of Amazon’s £442m deal to buy a 16 per cent stake in Deliveroo, Sky News reported. The watchdog [...]
Big tech vs the market: what you need to know June 23, 2020 Big tech has led the global market recovery in the wake of Covid-19. Can the dominance of the FAMAGs continue? On 8 June the S&P 500 of US stocks recovered all their Covid-19 losses for 2020. The so-called FAMAGs (Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet (Google’s parent company)) led that recovery. Even before the pandemic, [...]
JD Sports appeals CMA block on £90m Footasylum buyout June 19, 2020 JD Sports is to appeal a decision by the competition regulator to block its £90m buyout of Footasylum. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to put a halt to the deal last month, ruling that it would lead to a “substantially” lessening of competition nationally. However, JD Sports said the probe had relied on [...]
Andrew Tyrie, chair of Competition and Markets Authority, to step down June 18, 2020 Former Treasury select committee chair Lord Andrew Tyrie has resigned as chairman of the UK’s competition watchdog, citing the “inherent limits” of his position. Tyrie, who used to be a Conservative MP, announced he would step down from his role at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in September. He joined the CMA in April [...]
Open banking: UK banks could pay to access central hub of Brits’ financial data June 18, 2020 British banks would pay for access to a central open banking resource under proposed next steps to introduce the concept in the UK, an industry body said today. Open banking functions to let people share their spending habits, regular payments and payees with other banks would move into a separate service company, under next steps [...]
Pensions watchdog gives go-ahead to superfund deals June 18, 2020 The UK’s pension watchdog has given the green light to the launch of superfunds, leading to billions of pounds of retirement funds to be pooled together. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has set out an interim framework for supervising the pension consolidation vehicles called superfunds. Sky News first reported the development yesterday afternoon, before TPR confirmed. [...]
FCA to make mini-bond marketing ban permanent following LCF scandal June 18, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has permanently banned the mass marketing of speculative mini-bonds to ordinary investors. The ban on the mass marketing of illiquid securities comes after a series of scandals involving unregulated bonds, including the collapse of London Capital & Finance (LCF) last year. The FCA introduced a temporary ban in January amid [...]