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 [...]
Fyre Festival, influencers, and the CMA – why are regulators finally getting involved in the world of social media sponsorship? February 4, 2019 Social media influencers are back in the headlines, and as usual, it’s for all the wrong reasons. Late last month, the government’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it had told 16 high-profile celebrities – including models Alexa Chung and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, musician Rita Ora, and YouTube star Zoe Sugg (better known as Zoella) [...]
Npower to dismiss nearly 15 per cent of its UK workforce as energy market bites January 31, 2019 British energy provider Npower has said it will cut almost 15 per cent of its UK workforce, as part of an initiative to reduce its operating costs. The company said the reductions would affect around 900 roles out of its 6,300 employees over the course of this year. It added that most of this number [...]
What are the UK’s most shorted stocks? January 29, 2019 Hedge funds made millions from short-selling Carillion shares after the construction firm collapsed a year ago. That’s hardly a surprise, but what’s telling is that many short-sellers were predicting its failure even before the company issued its first profit warning back in July 2017. Short-sellers borrow shares from other investors, typically large institutions like pension [...]
Former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia hunts for investors in new tech startup January 28, 2019 The former head of challenger bank Virgin Money is to set up her own fintech startup, designed to save consumers money on their household bills. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has approached several investors regarding a new company called Snoop, which will take advantage of Open Banking rules to utilise data about customers' spending habits, according to reports [...]
Vodafone pauses installation of Huawei equipment in Europe as spying tensions mount January 25, 2019 Vodafone has said it will stop installing Huawei equipment in its network until there is greater clarity over whether Chinese authorities could use its products for spying. Chief executive Nick Read said the company would temporarily stop the installation of new Huawei equipment in its core telecoms infrastructure in Europe. Read more: Government under pressure to [...]
CMA orders bathroom services provider Rentokil Initial to dispense with services contracts in Cannon merger January 25, 2019 The Competition and Markets Authority has ordered bathroom services giant Rentokil Initial to sell off several large supply contracts as a condition of its merger with Cannon Hygiene, after deciding the deal would cause “higher prices or a worse deal for customers”. The watchdog ruled this morning the tie-up – between two of the three major suppliers [...]