Iceland mulls bid for potential Sainsbury’s-Asda store sell-offs February 11, 2019 Frozen foods giant Iceland is mulling a move to snap up supermarket stores that Sainsbury’s and Asda could be forced to offload as part of their proposed tie-up. "We are looking at everything for sure," Iceland's managing director Richard Walker told the FT. "Food retail drives footfall and we are the only supermarket that is [...]
Three themes for 2019 – and some black swans February 8, 2019 2018 was a challenging year for investors with US equity and government bond markets both returning less than cash. Two factors were instrumental in delivering this outcome: disappointment with global growth and less cash flowing through the global economy (tighter liquidity). These factors will continue to influence markets in the year ahead. We have identified [...]
Big Four accountants push back against breakup proposals February 7, 2019 The Big Four accountancy firms have fired back at the competition regulator’s proposal to break-up their UK operations. In their responses to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) outlines for shaking up the audit market, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC all resisted a suggested split. David Barnes, managing director for public policy at Deloitte UK, [...]
What do you want to know about big data & AI in investment management? February 7, 2019 A technological advance can impact — even transform — the global economy let alone a particular sector. The steam engine in the first industrial revolution, electricity in the second, and internet technology in the third fundamentally changed human history. Today, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) have the same transformative potential. When it comes to [...]
Siemens and Alstom merger plans blocked by EU antitrust regulators February 6, 2019 A planned merger between Siemens and Alstom has been stopped in its tracks after EU regulators rejected the deal due to competition concerns. The transportation giants had put forward plans to create a combined company with revenues of roughly €15bn (£13.2bn). Read more: Alstom and Siemens offer merger concessions to get EU on side But [...]
Three ways to start fixing audit now February 6, 2019 We are living through a pivotal time in the history of audit. Last December saw the release of Sir John Kingman’s report into the operation of the Financial Reporting Council and the preliminary findings of the market study by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This year we are seeing the Business, Energy and Industrial [...]
Watchdog takes action to end ‘misleading’ online hotel booking practices February 6, 2019 A watchdog is taking action against several hotel booking sites including Expedia and Trivago to tackle hidden charges and other “misleading” activities. Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com, Ebookers and Trivago have agreed to end “misleading” practices such as hidden charges and “pressure selling”, in what the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is calling a victory for [...]
FCA fines former Newton fund manager Paul Stephany for IPO misconduct February 5, 2019 Former fund manager Paul Stephany has been fined by the UK’s financial watchdog for misconduct related to On the Beach’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2015. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Stephany, a former employee of Newton Investment Management, £32,200 after it was found that he had contacted rival fund managers to influence [...]
Aldi and Lidl bag more market share as Veganuary boosts supermarkets’ fresh produce sales February 5, 2019 Aldi and Lidl enjoyed the strongest growth of any UK supermarket over the past 12 weeks, according to the latest industry figures, as Veganuary boosted fresh produce sales across the sector. Around 18.3m households shopped in at least one of the discount supermarkets in the 12 weeks to 27 January, industry research firm Kantar Worldpanel data revealed [...]
Asset management firms face overhaul of fund disclosure after FCA publishes market study February 4, 2019 Asset management firms must provide greater clarity for investors to make more informed decisions, the UK’s financial regulator has said. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today that managers must make fund objectives and investment policy descriptions more useful to investors, and explain how and why funds use particular benchmarks. Read more: A quarter of high [...]