SSE hits more than two million customers with energy price hike May 30, 2018 ‘Big six’ energy company SSE has increased prices for more than two million customers. The price hike, effective from 11 July, will lead to standard dual fuel customers paying an average of 6.7 per cent more for their energy. That means customers with typical dual fuel bills will pay £76 more per year. Read more: [...]
MPs to launch select committee inquiry into Sainsbury’s Asda merger May 20, 2018 MPs are planning their own inquiry into the tie-up of Sainsbury’s and Asda, separate to the competition watchdog’s probe. The Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee is gearing up to investigate the deal due to concerns for the impact it could have on suppliers to the supermarkets, The Mail on Sunday reported. This comes [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
Competition and Markets Authority starts scrutiny of Sainsbury’s-Asda merger ahead of formal investigation May 18, 2018 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today it was kicking off its scrutiny of the proposed merger between supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Asda. Sainsbury’s announced at the end of last month that it intended to merge with Asda, which is currently owned by Walmart in the US. The two have said a deal will [...]
DEBATE: In the wake of the Carillion scandal, is it time to break up the Big Four accountancy firms? May 17, 2018 In the wake of the Carillion scandal, is it time to break up the Big Four accountancy firms? Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, says YES. Virtually all the FTSE 250 are audited by the Big Four. This cosy and complacent club has long, lucrative relationships with these companies. [...]
Big Tech must be tamed, for the sake of a fair society May 17, 2018 Just as the competitive oil rush gave way to Rockefeller’s new monopoly in the form of Standard Oil, so the internet’s infrastructure is being built around a handful of companies of immense and growing power: Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, along with their Chinese equivalents, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. There are real concerns that while [...]
MPs slam Carillion’s ‘rotten’ corporate culture and call for break up of the big four audit firms May 16, 2018 MPs today slammed Carillion’s “rotten” corporate culture and called for a break up of big four audit firms. A report published today by the Work and Pensions and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committees said that Carillion’s collapse was a “story of recklessness, hubris and greed”. Read more: Failed outsourcer Carillion hid true level [...]
Finding value in American growth May 11, 2018 Last year saw global growth accelerate at its fastest pace since the financial crisis as this long-running bull market defied expectations and found another gear. It was a period of synchronised global growth reminiscent of yesteryear – a brief boon for global stock market investors. But with growth inevitably cooling in 2018, the challenge now [...]
Digital Innovators: three life changing companies leading the way in the technology sector May 8, 2018 The way society lives tomorrow is changing today, as companies find new and exciting ways to apply technology to the world’s problems. Consumers can now check their bank account, book a holiday, and buy new furniture using their smartphone during the morning commute. With voice-powered assistants at home, and AI-powered, data-driven tools at work, the [...]
The sour notes from the Sainsbury’s boss show that business must do better May 4, 2018 “We’re in the money.” Lyrics made famous by Ginger Rogers and 42nd Street, more recently appropriated by Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe in an unguarded off-mic moment at ITV. But whereas the musical focused on the travails of those trying to make it on Broadway in the depths of the Great Recession, for Coupe it came [...]