Competition in the office: Does it boost results? October 15, 2014 Infighting can be distracting, but helps keep a company nimble. City firms are no strangers to internal competition. The leading investment banks and Big Four accountancy firms reportedly allocate year-end bonuses in part through staff ranking each other’s performances, while numerous companies (elite strategy consultancies included) have adopted some variant of the “rank and [...]
Payday loans opened up to comparisons October 9, 2014 PAYDAY lenders will have to sign up to price comparison websites to increase transparency and prove they are competing fairly, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed yesterday. The watchdog fears that the incoming cap on interest rates will lead to that rate being the standard across the industry, cutting competition between lenders. Lenders will [...]
Carl Icahn tells Tim Cook: Apple share price dramatically undervalued October 9, 2014 Infamous activist investor Carl Icahn has published in full a letter to Apple urging Chief Tim Cook and board executives to buyback shares. Icahn tweeted yesterday about the letter to Cook hinting "Believe it will be interesting." In the letter, Icahn said Apple was "dramatically undervalued in today's market" and that "the more shares repurchased [...]
Payday lenders like Wonga face new regulation as CMA proposes price comparison websites and clearer fees October 9, 2014 Payday lenders are facing a major shake-up after the competition watchdog laid out plans to curb the costs of loans for consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said lenders should make their products available on price comparison sites to increase competition among firms amid a number of proposals for reforming the payday loan market. [...]
Arbitrarily criminalising banking is a reckless way to reform British finance October 8, 2014 THE RADICAL plan to prosecute bank bosses for reckless misconduct in the management of a bank is ringing alarm bells across the City, with a slew of top bankers now threatening to join the duo from HSBC in quitting the industry in protest. The political allure of the proposal is clear. Since the financial crash [...]
As Wonga profits slide, will regulatory pressure squeeze payday lenders out of the market? September 30, 2014 John Lamidey, senior partner at Arminius Associates and former chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association, says Yes. The Competition and Markets Authority says that 83 per cent of payday lending customers have taken out a loan online, and 29 per cent have done so on the high street (12 per cent use both). The [...]
Motor insurance shake-up drives mixed reviews September 24, 2014 THE UK motor insurance sector is in for a major shake up after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) yesterday revealed a range of measures to promote competition. The CMA proposals included a ban on exclusivity deals between car insurance firms and price comparison websites, preventing the firms from offering lower prices elsewhere. However, while this [...]
Get more for your money when buying overseas September 24, 2014 With summer at an end and autumn closing in you might understandably be dreaming of owning your own place in the sun. And now could be the time to buy. With the pound’s strength against the euro and property prices in both France and Spain still relatively low, your budget might go further than you [...]
Insurers and price comparison sites face shake up after car insurance market investigation September 24, 2014 Insurers are facing sweeping changes to the way car insurance is sold after a two-year investigation by the competition watchdog. Measures such as banning agreements between insurers and price comparison websites, and increased scrutiny of how add-ons to car insurance policies are sold to customers have been recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority. The [...]
Life is sweet for British Sugar September 23, 2014 BRITISH Sugar yesterday avoided a watchdog investigation into its market practices,after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it would not look into a complaint by a rival that it was abusing its dominant position in the market. Rival Napier Brown claimed that British Sugar was charging higher prices for its sugar and that this [...]