Coronavirus: Tesco rations essential food and household items March 8, 2020 Tesco has begun rationing essential food and household items as shoppers stockpile amid the coronavirus outbreak. Customers are limited to buying no more than five of each of the rationed goods, including antibacterial gels, wipes and sprays, dried pasta and UHT milk. The rules apply both in store and online. Waitrose has also reportedly introduced [...]
Meet the influential women building the future of Britain March 6, 2020 With International Women’s Day on the horizon, we celebrate some of the UK’s most influential women, and how their contributions are shaping the future of the nation. It’s been over a month since the UK entered the transitional period between leaving the EU and confirming a final deal with Europe. Although the pound has remained [...]
Government working with supermarkets to ensure self-isolating coronavirus patients can be supplied with food March 6, 2020 The government is working with supermarkets to make sure people self-isolating due to coronavirus can still be supplied with food, the health minister said yesterday. Responding to an audience member concerned about possible food shortages in a coronavirus epidemic on BBC’s Question Time Matt Hancock said there was absolutely no need” for people to buy [...]
How better competition policy can restore public trust in capitalism March 6, 2020 Competition policy is not something most people spend much time thinking about. It’s a dry, legalistic area of policy that even elected officials themselves have largely preferred to delegate to technocratic regulators. Yet competition policy is an integral part of the lifeblood of capitalism. At a time when trust in the market economy is under [...]
Long awaited audit reforms could start this year, says audit watchdog boss March 5, 2020 The long-promised reform of the UK audit sector could start this year with voluntary changes by the Big Four accounting firms, the audit watchdog said today. The collapse of outsourcer Carillion in 2018 prompted three reviews of the sector and two years on there have been calls from MPs and industry figures to speed up [...]
CMA warns firms against coronavirus rip-offs as face mask and hand sanitiser prices soar March 5, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today warned companies not to gouge customers during the coronavirus scare as prices for hand sanitiser and face masks rocket. The watchdog said it would look at evidence that companies may have broken competition or consumer protection law by charging excessive prices or making misleading claims about their products. [...]
Startups clash with watchdog over digital merger regulation March 3, 2020 British startups have been plunged into a bitter war of words with the competition watchdog as the two sides clash over how major tech mergers should be regulated. Industry body the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) has penned a scathing letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak warning that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) risked [...]
Competition watchdog risks ‘killing’ British tech firms, startups warn March 3, 2020 The UK competition watchdog risks “killing” rising British tech companies by launching lengthy investigations while global rivals are free to pull ahead, startups have warned. In a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak, seen by City A.M., industry body the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) said the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) “eleventh-hour interventions” risked [...]
CMA considers enforcement action against developers over ‘troubling’ leasehold mis-selling claims February 28, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to launch enforcement action against developers after finding “troubling evidence of potential mis-selling and unfair contract terms”. The watchdog launched a probe into the industry last year and confirmed today that it had found evidence of “serious issues” within the housing sector. The issues revolve around the [...]
Paddy Power owner Flutter’s profit falls on UK tax blow February 27, 2020 Betfair and Paddy Power owner Flutter posted tumbling 2019 profit today as UK gaming taxes and the firm’s increased investment in the US both took their toll. The figures Profit before tax plunged 38 per cent year on year to £136m despite a 14 per cent hike in revenue to £2.14bn. Earnings per share also [...]