Atlantic Crossing: What should be on the UK’s trade deal wishlist? February 2, 2020 Now that Brexit has become reality, the United Kingdom can use its newfound independence by negotiating an ambitious free trade agreement with the United States. Such an agreement can deepen commercial ties between two longtime allies, not only in goods trade but also in financial services and the movement of people. Outside the European Union, [...]
Brexit-week: Why Brexit isn’t the only reason for the pound’s uncertainty January 31, 2020 It’s been an up and down week for the pound and for once, despite being Brexit-week, the UK’s departure from the EU wasn’t the primary cause. The provisional manufacturing PMI came in close to the breakeven point at 49.8, more than two points higher on the month. The services PMI was up three points at [...]
TSB recovers from IT meltdown to return a profit January 30, 2020 TSB returned a profit and a healthy balance sheet in 2019 after it stemmed losses from its failed IT migration. The bank reported that profit before tax for the year to 31 December 2019 was £46m, compared to a pre-tax loss of £105.4m in 2018. It said it was “primarily driven by the non-recurring effect [...]
Deliveroo and Amazon hit back at CMA probe January 29, 2020 Amazon and Deliveroo have hit back at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), calling its investigation flawed. They have complained that the CMA has failed to “produce any credible evidence of existing competition between Amazon and Deliveroo”. The watchdog referred the deal to a full investigation in late December, casting doubt on whether the investment [...]
Stubhub hit with legal threat over ‘misleading’ ticket sales January 29, 2020 Stubhub is facing legal action from the competition regulator over claims the ticket reseller misled customers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a wider crackdown on the secondary ticket market amid concerns many websites are a hotbed for ticket touts. But the regulator said it was concerned that Stubhub was not complying with [...]
Just Eat bags deal to deliver McDonald’s January 28, 2020 Just Eat today became the second UK delivery firm to partner with McDonald’s after signing a multi-million-pound deal with the fast food chain. The delivery giant, which is set to enter a £6bn merger with Dutch firm Takeaway.com, said the partnership will hit the road later this year. It comes as a blow to rival Uber [...]
CMA sets out the issues in Amazon’s Deliveroo investment January 28, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today laid out plans for the next stage of its investigation into the Amazon and Deliveroo tie-up. The regulator has set out the key areas it plans to assess. It includes whether the deal could damage competition in the online restaurant food delivery market and the emerging market [...]
UK businesses breathe sigh of relief as Huawei gets the green light January 28, 2020 UK businesses today welcomed the decision to allow Huawei a limited role in the country’s 5G networks, hailing a “sensible compromise” to the fraught row over national security. In a long-awaited ruling, the government said the Chinese tech firm, which has been classed a “high-risk vendor”, will be allowed to build non-core parts of the [...]
Government hints at tax breaks in boost for news publishers January 27, 2020 The government has hinted that it will consider a range of potential tax breaks for news publishers, marking a much-needed boost for the industry amid tough competition from tech giants. A major review into the future of UK journalism funding last year set out a number of recommendations to help level the playing field and [...]
Audit regulator proposes challenger firms get larger share of the work January 25, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has proposed a regime to the government that would see challenger firms outside the so-called big four auditors be given a substantial proportion of the audit work of major British companies. The accounting regulator has drawn up plans behind closed doors that would require all but the very biggest FTSE-350 [...]