Shadow chancellor John McDonnell welcomes CMA report despite no big bank break-up October 22, 2015 In a surprising move, chancellor John McDonnell said he “welcomed” the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report today, despite the CMA’s decision to rule out forcing the break-up of banks. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband had pushed for a total restructuring of the banking sector, pledging in 2014 to break up the biggest British banks in [...]
CMA rejects bank break-ups – but this one chart suggests big lenders are ripping customers off October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog may have ruled out breaking up Britain's biggest banks this morning – but this one chart shows customers are paying more money for poorer services from the "Big Four". The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) compared satisfaction ratings from the consumer group Which? with personal current account prices at different banks. They [...]
Competition and Markets Authority rejects calls to break up big banks in retail banking review October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog has ruled out breaking up Britain’s biggest banks and defended so-called free banking practices. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the preliminary results of its 18-month investigation into the retail banking sector this morning. The watchdog launched the investigation over concerns the “Big Four” banks – Lloyds, RBS, HSBC and Barclays [...]
EE’s Olaf Swantee: The BT merger is “good for Britain” October 21, 2015 EE is “very confident” that the £12.5bn deal with BT will be approved, as a competition watchdog’s decision on the takeover draws near. Olaf Swantee, the telecoms company’s chief executive, said to City A.M. that the merger would be “good for Britain”, following the company’s third quarter results posted on Wednesday: We’re excited about creating [...]
Best of the Brokers for 21 October 2015 October 21, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com POUNDLAND Investec has initiated coverage of Poundland with a “hold” rating and a target price of 300p. The broker said near-term profit benefits from the integration of 99p Stores are expected to return Poundland to 20 per cent growth or more in 2017 [...]
Dairy Crest share price rises as CMA approves Muller takeover October 19, 2015 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared the £80m sale of Dairy Crest's dairy operations to Muller UK. The sale was referred to the CMA earlier this year over concerns there would be loss of competition to supply fresh liquid milk in the catchment area of Dairy Crest’s Severnside dairy, especially in the South West and Wales. Muller has [...]
Four steps to end the big banks’ market stranglehold forever October 15, 2015 We are now just days away from the start of what could be the biggest shake-up in banking for a generation. At least that’s what I am hoping. The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) investigation into banking offers a golden opportunity to turn the industry on its head and put customers in control at last. [...]
Football transfer system unfairly benefits top clubs and fails players argues economist Stefan Szymanski in new Fifpro study October 15, 2015 Football's transfer system fails all but a handful of elite clubs, a new study from sports economist Stefan Szymanski has found. The study commissioned by world players' union Fifpro concluded that Fifa's transfer system as it currently exists impedes on the free movement of players and fails to achieve its pro-competitive intentions. "The transfer system is [...]
Andrew Tyrie ramping up efforts to block George Osborne’s proposed new bank tax October 8, 2015 The chairman of an influential parliamentary committee is doubling down today on his efforts to block a new tax on banks. Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, has written to Andrew Bailey, deputy governor for prudential regulation at the Bank of England, about the effect of the so-called bank tax surcharge. The new tax, [...]
Is Theresa May’s claim that mass immigration has “close to zero” economic benefits a dangerous one? October 6, 2015 Philippe Legrain, senior visiting fellow at the LSE’s European Institute, author of “Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them” and founder of OPEN, an international think tank on openness issues, says Yes Theresa May is wrong. Foreign students subsidise Brits. Foreign doctors fill skills shortages. Young, hard-working immigrants do jobs that most Brits spurn, like care for [...]