Banking watchdog outlines plan for single interest rate across cash savings accounts January 9, 2020 The financial watchdog has proposed an overhaul of cash savings products in the UK, a move it said would bump up interest payments to consumers by £260m a year. Under the plans by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banks would have to set a single easy access interest rate (SEAR) across all easy access accounts. [...]
How will losing its London licence affect Uber? January 8, 2020 Uber does not appear to have the controls necessary to run a wide-scale transport service and assure passengers and authorities of adequate safety standards. Despite London being one of the company’s top five markets in the world by revenue, the company has shown a marked reluctance to fully co-operate with transport authorities. Time and again, [...]
Facebook and Ebay pledge to combat trading of fake reviews, says competition watchdog January 8, 2020 The competition watchdog has announced that Facebook and Ebay have signed agreements committing to combat the sale of fake and misleading reviews on their platforms. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns about the trade of fake and misleading reviews on tech giants’ platforms last summer, and has been pressing them to crack down [...]
Three New Year’s resolutions for the wealth management industry January 8, 2020 The year ahead has the potential to be a defining one for the wealth management industry, following a difficult 12 months that have seen client confidence rocked by a number of high-profile issues. Whether it’s the suitability of investment products, exorbitant and opaque fees, or the need to build a better and more inclusive dialogue [...]
Amazon’s Deliveroo investment could cause higher prices, says CMA December 27, 2019 Amazon and Deliveroo are the subject of an in-depth probe by competition authorities into the e-commerce giant’s investment in the food delivery firm. Neither company offered undertakings in response to concerns aired by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Read more: CMA puts brakes on Amazon’s Deliveroo investment The CMA said earlier this month that [...]
Activism: an escape hatch for active fund managers? December 19, 2019 Active fund managers are like deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry is expanding its product range to all investment strategies and grabbing market share from the mutual fund sector. In an important milestone, in August 2019, passive US equity funds surpassed their active counterparts in assets under management [...]
Rivals ‘can’t compete’ with Google and Facebook on digital advertising, watchdog warns December 18, 2019 Tech giants Google and Facebook dominate Britain’s digital advertising market to such a great extent that rivals can no longer compete with them on “equal terms”, the competition watchdog has warned. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also raised concerns over the pair’s dominance undermining the ability of newspapers and other providers to produce “valuable [...]
Brydon review finds UK audit industry in need of ‘urgent reform’ December 18, 2019 The UK’s audit industry is in need of “urgent reform”, according to the findings of a year-long review into the sector. The review, which was led by Sir Donald Brydon, a former chair of the London Stock Exchange Group, calls for the creation of “a standalone and transparent audit profession” split off from the accounting [...]
FCA overdraft rules: What they mean and which banks have hiked fees December 18, 2019 Millions of people may see changes to their available bank balances today as new overdraft rules from the financial watchdog covering how overdrafts are displayed come into effect. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ordered UK banks to stop including overdrafts in funds marked as “available” to customers, in a move designed to make it [...]
Ocado set to be crowned the FTSE’s most valuable tech giant December 17, 2019 Analysts have said Ocado has the vision to become the “Microsoft of Retail tomorrow” and transition into the FTSE’s most valuable tech giant. Once finalised, the decision by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to de-designate Ocado as a retailer in August will make it the largest listed tech company in the UK by valuation. [...]