We’ve reached peak Christmas jumper: How to predict 2016’s must-have fashion December 15, 2015 What would you buy Jeremy Corbyn for Christmas? Printable answers only, please. But somehow a Christmas jumper seems appropriate. First, it would match the 1980s-style shell suit he wore the other day. Second, he might like one featuring a portrait of Stalin and the slogan “Teacher, Leader, Friend”, a phrase in widespread use in the [...]
Property of the Fortnight: Inside former England defender Sol Campbell’s £6.5m Chelsea penthouse December 11, 2015 No one knows how to flash their cash like Premier League footballers. From Mario Balotelli’s camouflage Bentley to Steven Ireland’s £100,000 aquarium (complete with a coral reef imported from Fiji), they’re pretty big spenders, if not exactly renowned for their good taste. But when estate agents Strutt & Parker revealed former England defender Sol Campbell’s home [...]
It’s time the UK competition watchdog showed its teeth and cracked down on free banking December 10, 2015 From small challengers and fintech upstarts to larger disruptors such as Virgin Money, the world of banking is slowly starting to evolve with the times. The industry is ripe and ready for disruption and I want to see UK banking opened up to the full force of true competition. The UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition [...]
Vodafone sues KPN for £83m for “anti-competitive” behaviour December 10, 2015 Vodafone has filed a lawsuit against KPN for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, seeking €115m (£83m) in damages from the leading Dutch telco firm. Vodafone claims that its launch of combined TV, broadband and telephone services was delayed for three years, due to the former state monopoly not supplying the necessary technology. Rob Shuter, chief executive of [...]
AB InBev chief executive Carlos Brito defends “beerhemoth” SABMiller merger to Senate Committee sceptics December 8, 2015 Anheuser Busch InBev chief executive Carlos Brito was put through his paces yesterday as members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee voiced concerns that the £71bn merger between the world’s two largest brewers AB InBev and SABMiller, would harm consumers and competitors in the US. Brito was appearing in front of the Committee with Molson [...]
Competition and Markets Authority flags concerns in North Sea oil and gas December 7, 2015 The UK's competition watchdog has written to the government flagging competition concerns in the UK's north sea oil and gas industry. The Competition Markets Authority said government plans to establish the Oil and Gas Authority as an independent regulator for the North Sea oil and gas market could facilitate information exchanges which would ultimately harm competition with the [...]
How to overcome the SME alt fi knowledge gap December 3, 2015 There has been much talk about the dearth of traditional bank loans to SMEs since the credit crunch, with the conventional narrative increasingly detached from reality as market confidence and conditions improve. But this jaded dialogue has disguised another issue: the rapid and seemingly unrelenting decline of the small business overdraft. In fact, a [...]
London taxi drivers and Uber battling to win support with just 20 days left for TfL consultation December 3, 2015 Taxi drivers and Uber are gearing up for the final stretch in a race for support ahead of a crunch consultation that will decide the newcomer’s fate in the capital. Transport for London’s (TfL) consultation on whether to bring in further rules and regulations has just 20 days to run. Uber was given a boost [...]
Bookie Ladbrokes loses £54m gamble on tax avoidance scheme, as tribunal finds in favour of HMRC December 2, 2015 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced today that it had won a tax avoidance case worth £54m against Ladbrokes. The ruling at the first-tier tribunal prevents the bookmakers from reclaiming £54m in tax, and the tax authority has said it has another three similar cases in the pipeline worth £112m. “Avoidance just doesn’t pay – we [...]
Uber vs TfL: CMA regulator backs Uber calling new Transport for London rules anti-competitive December 2, 2015 The UK's market watchdog has thrown its weight behind Uber in a showdown between the Taxi startup and Transport for London (TfL), calling plans to curb the business anti-competitive. Responding to proposed new rules which seek a five-minute waiting time after ordering an Uber among other restrictions, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned the plans may "excessively and "unnecessarily weaken competition" and [...]