Electric shock – finding the winners and losers of the electric revolution October 11, 2017 The electric car – as a concept – is almost as old as the internal combustion engine (ICE). The first electric vehicle (EV) is credited, somewhat contentiously, to Scottish chemist Robert Anderson as far back as 1837. Thomas Edison is even rumoured to have explored a cheap electric car with Henry Ford as early as [...]
Wood Group completes £2.2bn takeover of Amec Foster Wheeler | City A.M. October 9, 2017 Wood Group has completed its merger with Amec Foster Wheeler, the FTSE-250-listed oilfield services firm announced today. The £2.2bn takeover had been held up by the Competition and Markets Authority, but the regulator waved the deal through in September after Amec Foster Wheeler agreed to sell some North Sea assets. The integration of the two [...]
Wood Group completes £2.2bn takeover of Amec Foster Wheeler October 9, 2017 Wood Group has completed its merger with Amec Foster Wheeler, the FTSE-250-listed oilfield services firm announced today. The £2.2bn takeover had been held up by the Competition and Markets Authority, but the regulator waved the deal through in September after Amec Foster Wheeler agreed to sell some North Sea assets. The integration of the two [...]
Monarch dethroned: Rival budget airlines’ shares take off as firm collapses and Greybull gets set to lose £170m October 3, 2017 Monarch collapsed into administration yesterday, affecting the journeys of 860,000 passengers in the largest UK airline failure in history. The failure of the Luton-based company led to transport secretary Chris Grayling ordering the “country’s biggest ever peacetime repatriation” to fly back 110,000 passengers stranded abroad. The rescue operation will cost around £60m, the Civil Aviation [...]
HSBC has an innovative new app, Beta, taking on challenger fintech startups and rivals ahead of Open Banking and PSD2 September 28, 2017 HSBC is seeking to get ahead of rivals and fend off growing challengers with the launch of a new banking app. The banking giant will play up its position as a trusted high street bank and make the most of millions of customers with the roll out of the financial management app Beta. Read more: [...]
Competition regulator launches probe into Comparethemarket home insurance pricing September 26, 2017 Britain’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into price comparison website Comparethemarket over allegedly unfairly priced home insurance deals. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed details of the probe as part of its findings following a year-long in-depth investigation into online comparison websites. Watchdog concerns centre on “most favoured nation clauses”, exclusive deals agreed [...]
A life off-grid with no energy bills is closer than you think. Here’s what the future has in store for sustainable homes September 26, 2017 "Right," says eco-developer Sam Budhdeo, rubbing his hands together. “We think we have the solution to climate change.” As openers go, it’s a bold one, but not quite as outlandish as it sounds. The housebuilder who successfully cracks the code to building sustainably – and affordably – would be solving a large part of the [...]
Why Paris is on the up: tourism, transport and Brexit September 21, 2017 As Global Cities bloggers and property investors, we track a whole range of factors when compiling the Schroders Global Cities index. Strong tourism and improving transport links are among the essential ingredients for improving a city’s prospects and therefore its attraction to commercial real estate investors. Paris, ranked 16th in the index, is worthy of [...]
21st Century Fox’s Sky takeover will be referred to CMA for in-depth investigation, culture secretary Karen Bradley confirms September 14, 2017 The culture secretary this morning confirmed she will refer Fox’s bid for Sky to the competition regulator for an in-depth, phase two investigation. Karen Bradley said she will refer the bid on the grounds of both media plurality and broadcasting standards. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will now have 24 weeks to report back [...]
City watchdog the FCA refers investment consultants for a CMA competition investigation in the first decision of its kind September 14, 2017 The spotlight is about to turn on the investment consultancy and fiduciary management services industry, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced that it will refer the sector to the competition authority. This is the first time the FCA will have ever made a Market Investigation Reference to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). [...]