China: Why international investors are right to be nervous January 19, 2016 A quote I saw a few days ago has stuck in my mind: “what happens in Beijing won’t stay in Beijing”. We should be pretty acclimatised by now to Chinese market sell-offs, a super volatile oil price, geopolitical instability, and to a marked slowdown in global growth. And yet the Dow shed more than 1,000 [...]
Time to give challengers a fair chance: Top City regulator urged to increase competition among banks January 18, 2016 The City's top regulator is being urged by to “do whatever is required” to increase competition in the banking sector by reducing entry barriers for challenger banks. Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie revealed today that he has written to Andrew Bailey, deputy governor at the Bank of England, asking for the prudential regulation authority [...]
European Commission could force sell-offs in the £10bn Three merger with O2 January 17, 2016 The European Commission (EC) may be about to throw a spanner in the works of Three’s planned £10.25bn takeover of O2. Having decided not to refer the decision to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, the commission, the executive body of the EU, has until 22 April to make a decision on the [...]
Reactions to BT-EE merger: Telco rivals TalkTalk and Vodafone lash out after Competition and Markets Authority waves through £12.5bn merger deal January 15, 2016 Telco rivals have lashed out furiously, after the UK’s competition watchdog waved through BT and EE’s £12.5bn merger, which was given the final green light early this morning. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the takeover was unlikely to cause “significant harm to competition or the interests of consumers” as the UK mobile market is so [...]
BT’s share price climbs as it names the date for EE deal completion after CMA gives £12.5bn deal green light January 15, 2016 BT has named the date for the completion of its £12.5bn takeover of mobile phone firm EE after being given the green light by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this morning. The CMA said although the deal would create the largest telecoms business in the country, it was not expected to result in "substantial [...]
Renault’s share price recovers slightly after car giant explains emissions probe; Fiat Chrysler suspends trading after claims it is faking sales figures January 14, 2016 Renault shares recovered slightly after the French energy minister said tests conducted on Renault cars had not found any emissions cheating software. Segolene Royal said tests had been carried out to establish whether vehicles on its roads were equipped with software similar to that used by scandal-engulfed Volkswagen in the United States to trick emissions tests. "There is no fraud at [...]
BT’s EE takeover set to get a green light from Competition and Markets Authority January 14, 2016 BT’s £12.5bn takeover of rival EE is expected to get a thumbs up by the UK’s competition watchdog as the two prepare to merge in March. Anything other than a green light would be highly unexpected as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) prepares to announce its final decision on the deal at 7am tomorrow, [...]
Competition and Markets Authority launches market study into the legal services sector to examine concerns about affordability and standard of services January 13, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today announced that it had launched a market study into the legal services sector. The study will examine concerns relating to affordability and standard of services offered to consumers and small businesses. In particular, the CMA is reviewing how able consumers are to make informed purchasing decisions and whether adequate [...]
China’s weakened yuan: Experts warn the country is heading for a second Asian currency crisis as pressure on renminbi continues January 12, 2016 China's weakened yuan sent Asian share prices to their lowest level in four years yesterday, as investors panicked over the currency’s future direction. Ripples of bearish sentiment also hit the South African rand, which suffered its biggest one-day drop in seven years to reach a record low against the dollar. The sell-off continued a difficult start [...]
European Commission: Belgium’s €700m dollar tax breaks were illegal January 11, 2016 The European Commission today ruled that Belgium's tax scheme, which handed out tax breaks worth around €700m (£522m) to companies, was illegal. Belgium's tax scheme favoured multinational companies by exempting them from paying tax on so-called excess profits. The Belgian tax authorities could lower the tax base by deducting excess profit for certain companies, on the basis that a [...]