Is there a role for leadership in flat organisations? June 3, 2015 Time-sensitive and strategic decisions are best left in expert hands. For some time now, companies like Google and online retailer Zappos have championed flat organisational structures – where authority is widely distributed, everyone works together in a large space, and employees are encouraged to collaborate. This has certainly transformed leadership and management styles, [...]
Energy suppliers defend pricing despite government criticism June 1, 2015 Energy secretary Amber Rudd has told the “big six” energy companies to cut bills for consumers, saying the firms can no longer claim they are burdened by the promise of a Labour-led price freeze. Rudd sent letters to the six suppliers – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.On UK, npower, Scottish Power and SSE – on [...]
Retailers’ relationships with suppliers go under the microscope in wake of Tesco profit overstatement May 29, 2015 The relationship between grocers and their suppliers will go under the microscope next year, as regulators attempt to stamp out the sort of behaviour that led to Tesco overstating its profits by £263m. The Financial Reporting Council, which monitors auditing and accountancy in the UK, said it would spend next year paying particular attention [...]
RBS could be ordered to beef up new lender Williams and Glyn May 28, 2015 George Osborne yesterday asked the competition authorities to look into the RBS spin-off Williams and Glyn to make sure it is big enough to challenge other banks in the market. Bailed-out giant RBS has to carve the unit out of its existing branch and customer network, under terms imposed by the European Commission at the [...]
IMF tells China to let currency trade freely May 26, 2015 China’s government is being urged to liberalise more of its economy, and let markets operate more freely in its finance sectors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday urged the authorities to let its currency, the renminbi, trade freely, and asked the government to target a free-floating exchange rate in the next two to three years. [...]
Ryanair share price jumps as profit soars following new customer service programme May 26, 2015 Ryanair's share price soared this morning as it celebrated its 30th birthday with a 66 per cent increase in net profit for the year – beating analysts' expectations. The figures The low-cost carrier reported net profit of €867m (£614m) in the 12 months ended March 31 from €523m at the same period last year. Revenue rose more steadily [...]
Malone-backed Charter swoops for Time Warner May 25, 2015 John Malone-backed cable group Charter is poised to win the race to snap up media giant Time Warner in a $55.1bn deal to create America’s second largest cable and broadcasting company. The billionaire executive, who chairs Liberty Global, has helped engineer a $195 a share stock and cash deal for Time Warner. The takeover, which [...]
Choice, transparency and M&A: FCA outlines terms for investment banking probe May 22, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says it will focus on wide-ranging subjects when it launches a study into the investment and corporate banking market. In a statement today, the FCA said its investigation, which will build on a wholesale sector competition review published in February, will look at "choice, transparency, bundling and cross-subsidisation in debt [...]
CMA updates the market on banking review May 21, 2015 THE COMPETITION and Markets Authority (CMA) will focus on difficulties customers face when trying to switch personal and business current accounts in its banking market investigation. The government body yesterday provided an update on its inquiry so far, and said it was focusing on three specific areas, the first being a look at the problems [...]
How energy subsidies are teaching the EU an invaluable lesson in competition May 20, 2015 Of all the functions performed by the EU, competition policy is arguably the most important – and where it could stand to do the most good. Unfortunately, many of the Commission’s attempts at trust-busting have been misguided. Last month, for instance, its authorities issued formal charges against Google. And last week, we found out that [...]