Greece makes further euro integration unavoidable – with big risks for the UK July 13, 2015 After months of wrangling, Eurozone leaders and the Greek government finally seem to have reached an agreement on a third bailout deal. EU politicians and the markets may breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of some short-term stability being restored. But even if this new deal manages to stave off Grexit in the [...]
CMA launches Net-A-Porter merger inquiry July 10, 2015 Those on the frow* may consider themselves are the forefront of fashion – but it turns out the UK's competition regulator is the ultimate arbiter of style. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised a question mark over the merger between it and Yoox, an Italian competitor. The €1.3bn (£936m) merger between Net-a-Porter, the [...]
Ryanair share price up after approving IAG’s offer for Aer Lingus stake July 10, 2015 Ryanair’s board has voted unanimously to sell its 29.8 per cent stake in Aer Lingus to International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways. Despite attempts by the low-fare airline to keep hold of its stake in its Irish rival, it was ordered to sell it by competition regulators in 2012. After months of [...]
July Budget 2015: From the pensions expert to the PwC economist, reactions to the chancellor’s statement July 9, 2015 THE BUSINESS GROUP Confederation of British Industry director general John Cridland Firms will welcome measures to boost investment but will be worried about paying living wage. “This is a double edged Budget for business. Firms will welcome measures to balance the books and boost investment, but they will be concerned by legislating for wage increases [...]
Booker’s sales rise as it awaits green light for Londis takeover July 8, 2015 BOOKER Group, which owns food wholesalers including Makro, yesterday unveiled a 0.4 per cent rise in first-quarter sales, while it awaits regulatory clearance to complete its takeover of Budgens and Londis. The FTSE 250 firm said its cash and carry division Makro and its delivered wholesale businesses Booker Direct, Chef Direct, Classic and Ritter all [...]
David Cameron backs transitional price cap as part of energy market shake-up after CMA report July 7, 2015 David Cameron said yesterday that he supported plans for a “transitional” energy price cap. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for changes to be made to companies’ standard variable, or default, tariff – the tariff that energy customers pay if they have not made an “active decision” to change. The CMA said [...]
Competition and Markets Authority sets out its plans to increase competition in the energy markets, sending Centrica and SSE share prices down July 7, 2015 Shares in energy providers dipped in early trading, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) outlined a raft of measures aimed at increasing competition in the energy market. Shares in SSE fell 0.5 per cent to 1,566p while London-listed Centrica shares dropped 0.6 per cent to 265.9p, after a wide-ranging report attacked the UK's "Big [...]
CMA vs Ofgem: Competition watchdog to report findings from energy market review July 5, 2015 The Competition watchdog will publish the provisional findings of its energy market investigation tomorrow, in which it is expected to slam rival regulator Ofgem over a failure to promote competition in the market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began looking at the UK energy market in June last year, after a referral by [...]
House builders’ reports will be corporate focus – London Report July 5, 2015 THE EMERGENCY Budget on Wednesday will see chancellor George Osborne pressing ahead with major cuts to welfare and government departmental spending. However, economists have said that the Budget is unlikely to bring with it any major change in economic policy. Instead, the main focus of Osborne’s speech on Wednesday will be around the £12bn of [...]
Fellow watchdog to slam Ofgem over tariffs policy July 2, 2015 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to slam Ofgem’s policy on electricity tariffs when it publishes the preliminary findings from its energy market review next week. The report, which is likely to be released on 7 July, will highlight the “four tariffs” rule that Ofgem imposes on energy firms as being bad for [...]