Ofcom: BT charging £1.7m EE bill to Openreach “inappropriate” November 17, 2015 BT has been slammed by Ofcom for trying to let its Openreach division foot part of the bill for its acquisition of rival EE, as the deadline draws near for the telco watchdog’s probe into the UK broadband market. Openreach, which controls the country’s broadband network, has been charged £1.7m for BT’s takeover of EE, [...]
EE boss Olaf Swantee: Hacking activity has increased since TalkTalk attack came to light November 12, 2015 It's not just ironing out the details of the coming takeover from British telecom giant BT, scheduled for March next year, that’s keeping EE chief executive Olaf Swantee busy. The mobile operator EE, – created in a 50:50 joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange SA in 2010 – has had to fend off an increased [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore looking as safe as houses in third quarter results, as residential mortgages push up lending, but share price drops November 12, 2015 Aldermore has today reported loan growth of about £1bn over the last nine months, bringing total net loans to customers to £5.8bn, an increase of 20 per cent from the end of December. In its third-quarter results for 2015, the challenger bank, which was set up by former Barclays executive Phillip Monks, said it was on [...]
Cyber attacks rise for EE following TalkTalk hack November 12, 2015 Mobile operator EE has had to fend off an increased number of cyber attacks since TalkTalk revealed it had 15,000 customers financial details stolen. EE chief executive Olaf Swantee told City A.M.: Since the TalkTalk breach we have seen heightened activity from criminals and people who want to access our system. “We have successfully prevented [...]
India isn’t the new China – but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UK visit is worth exploiting November 11, 2015 In 2010, David Cameron chose Bangalore for one of his first transcontinental visits as Prime Minister, promising that taking the economic relationship between India and Britain “to the next level” was a political priority. Since then, bilateral trade, investment and banking have shrunk relative to the size of the two countries’ economies. Both nations have [...]
SSE pre-tax profits jumps but outlook “challenging” amid UK energy policy and low commodity prices November 11, 2015 The figures: SSE's adjusted profit before tax rose by 48.2 per cent to £548.8m for the six months ending 30 September. The UK's second-biggest energy supplier's total operating profit jumped 32.5 per cent to £701.9m from £529.8m during the same period a year earlier. The increase was driven by its wholesale business segment, where operating profit rose almost six-fold to [...]
Sunday trading: Liberalising retail laws is a win-win for staff, shoppers and business November 11, 2015 Yesterday saw – amidst what is best described as confusion – the Government enact a classic reverse ferret on plans to devolve the regulation of Sunday trading hours to Local Authorities, after members of the SNP joined Labour and some Tory dissenters in registering their opposition to the plans. It is deeply disappointing. It is, [...]
Competition and Markets Authority finds a lack of price competition in private healthcare in central London is “harming customers” November 10, 2015 A lack of price competition in private healthcare in central London is “harming customers”, the Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally found after an appeal by HCA International Limited. The CMA has found that the market share of HCA International, together with high barriers to entry and expansion in central London have resulted in weak [...]
Vodafone chief exec Vittorio Colao clashes with BT over “re-monopolisation” of telecoms market November 10, 2015 Vodafone’s chief exec Vittorio Colao has gone head to head with BT, lashing out at the upcoming BT-EE merger, which he attacks as the “re-monopolisation” of the telecoms market. “We see attempts to re-monopolise European markets, and that isn’t good,” said Colao. His attack follows the by the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) provisional approval of the £12.5bn [...]
How the Northern Powerhouse could boost SMEs – Investec Comment November 8, 2015 Critics of the chancellor's ambition to create a Northern Powerhouse often dismiss the idea as a gimmick. The challenge of rebalancing the UK economy is certainly immense. A recent report by the Centre of Cities showed that gross value added per worker in 2013 in the areas covered by the Northern Powerhouse was 13 per [...]