Still doubting the benefits of free markets? Just look at Ethiopia April 1, 2019 “It's a zero-sum game,” says Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film, Wall Street. “Somebody wins, somebody loses.” This sentiment relies on the idea is that there is a fixed amount of wealth to go round. It is nonsense – yet many, perhaps unthinkingly, believe it. Read more: Editor's Notes: The future of capitalism deserves more [...]
Financial Conduct Authority confirms ban on sale of binary options to retail consumers March 29, 2019 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today it was banning the sale, marketing or distribution of binary options to retail customers. Binary options are financial instruments that allow traders to speculate on which way a market will move. Read more: The FCA has to show it really means business The FCA said the [...]
Mark Kleinman: Chairs face revolt over independence day March 29, 2019 Who’s the odd one out on this list of veteran FTSE-350 bosses? As chairs of Babcock International, Domino’s Pizza and GVC Holdings, Mike Turner, Stephen Hemsley and Lee Feldman find themselves among the first victims of governance reforms decreeing the end of their ability to act independently after nine years on the board. In the [...]
Dignity welcomes watchdog’s probe into high funeral prices March 28, 2019 Dignity has welcomed a competition probe into the funeral sector announced today. Read more: Dignity shares slide after regulator proposes funeral competition probe The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will carry out a full market investigation into the industry after voicing concerns over high prices and a lack of competition. Dignity, the UK’s [...]
Asda and Sainsbury’s propose selling 150 stores to save merger March 22, 2019 Asda and Sainsbury's have offered to sell up to 150 supermarkets and several convenience stores in a bid to save their proposed merger. Read more: Sainsbury's and Asda double down on £1bn price cut pledge to salvage deal The supermarkets promised they could divest between 125 and 150 supermarkets and "a number" of the convenience stores in [...]
Google grants €500,000 to regional UK publishers for podcast venture March 21, 2019 Local publishers Reach and JPI Media have secured €500,000 (£433,000) in funding from Google to launch a new podcast project for local news. The grant will help the two regional publishers, which have partnered with podcast platform Entale, to develop the new audio project known as Laudable. Read more: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism secures £800,000 [...]
Google hit with €1.5bn EU penalty for ‘killing competition’ with Adsense advertising practices March 20, 2019 Google has been hit with a €1.49bn (£1.28bn) fine for abusing its dominant online advertising market position. Read more: Google Doodle celebrates 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web The European Commission accused the tech giant of preventing rivals from gaining a foothold in the market it loomed over with its Adsense software, thereby denying [...]
Sainsbury’s and Asda double down on £1bn price cut pledge to salvage deal March 19, 2019 Sainsbury’s and Asda have outlined their pledge this morning to slash shop prices as a result of a planned merger, doubling down on efforts to push through a major tie-up despite being dealt a recent devastating blow by Britain's competition watchdog. The two grocery giants, who suffered a setback last month when the Competition and Markets [...]
We don’t need to break up big tech to make a better internet – we just need more competition March 19, 2019 Last week saw the release of the government-commissioned Furman Review into digital competition. The commission, chaired by former Obama administration chief economic adviser Jason Furman, found that Google, Amazon, and Facebook don’t face enough competition. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the recent attention on tech giants’ business models by governments across the world. [...]
MPs warn consumers against using ticket reseller Viagogo March 19, 2019 Viagogo has suffered a fresh public setback this morning, with a group of politicians hitting out at the controversial ticket reseller less than a month after it was dealt a blow by Britain’s competition watchdog. In a stinging report released today by an influential parliamentary committee, MPs have warned customers against using Viagogo’s website, saying [...]