SSE sells stake in its Scottish Clyde wind farm March 14, 2016 Energy giant SSE has sold a stake in its Clyde wind farm to Aim-listed Greencoat UK Wind and a pensions partnership for £355m. UKW will acquire 28.2 per cent of Clyde and GLIL will acquire 21.7 per cent in the deal which is expected to complete on complete on 18 March. SSE will continue to hold 50.1 per cent. One the [...]
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station: EU gives EDF and China’s CGN okay for £18bn project March 11, 2016 The European Union's competition authority has given French utility giant EDF and Chinese nuclear firm CGN regulatory approval to build the controversial Hinkley Point C project. Hinkley is being financed by the two companies and will cost around £18bn. However, there's rising concern over whether EDF's already stretched balance sheet will be able to absorb this. "The [...]
CMA investigation into the big six energy companies: Energy price comparison sites March 11, 2016 Price comparison sites for energy are a good thing, right? They’re the reason that millions of customers have switched energy supplier. They’ve spent small fortunes promoting energy switching to help customers find cheap tariffs. They then help them switch, saving each customer hundreds of pounds in the process. If it’s anyone who’s going to reach [...]
Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the big six: It’s time to welcome a new era in the energy industry March 11, 2016 An eighteen month investigation into the energy market is nearing a close, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recommended some practical solutions. This is much needed, given that 20 years after privatisation, 70 per cent of big six customers are still on the most expensive tariff and have been for far too long. We've consistently said [...]
Is the proposed price cap for pre-pay customers an unwelcome intervention in the energy market? March 11, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, and author of Chasing Rainbows: Economic Myths, Environmental Facts, says Yes. Of course the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) intervention is unwelcome: any price fixing whenever would be. The entire point of a market economy is that prices change to balance supply and demand. Price fixing, by [...]
Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the UK’s big six energy companies: CMA wants energy price cap for pre-payment meters March 10, 2016 Britain's competition watchdog wants to introduce temporary price controls for four million households which are on pre-payment meters, as it laid out sweeping reforms aimed at injecting more competition into Britain's energy market. This would cut bills by a total of £300m a year and will remain in place until 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Business and the unions: We both back a third Heathrow runway – now get on with it March 10, 2016 We often read in the press about the latest bust-up between the unions and the business community. Yet there are any number of policies we agree on, especially those that help to deliver high-skilled quality employment and sustainable growth. Equally, we both get disappointed when the government falls short of the mark, particularly when the [...]
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) delays publication of retail banking review until August March 7, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed plans to delay the publication of its long-awaited review into the retail banking market, saying today that the results of the probe will not be published until the end of the summer. In a statement this morning, the CMA put forward more recommendations to help customers understand [...]
As Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch walk down the aisle, we sum up weddings in numbers: from venue costs and gift lists to tax tips for married couples and engagement ring costs March 4, 2016 Love is in the air, especially if you're in London. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and supermodel Jerry Hall have, according to various reports, tied the knot today at Spencer House. The two seem like a financially-savvy pair so we're sure they'd appreciate knowing these numbers behind weddings: 1. Friends and family thinking about their budget for [...]
Customers with the Big Six energy companies could be missing out on as much as £400 a year on their energy bills, despite announced price cuts March 4, 2016 The energy market is still failing to provide consumers with the best possible prices, research released today by consumer interest company Which? has found. The study found that customers of the so-called Big Six energy companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, npower, E.on, Scottish Power and SSE – could save up to £400 a year if they [...]