HSBC needs to re-learn its ABCs, or better still, its KYCs February 18, 2015 PLAC, CRD-4, the FCA and the PRA: but for HSBC, the most important acronym in the banking lexicon right now is KYC (Know Your Customer). Since inheriting the reins of Europe’s largest bank four years ago, Stuart Gulliver has rarely been out of his firefighter’s overalls. On many of those occasions it was the bank’s [...]
Energy bills: Customers are missing out on up to £234 savings from big six energy suppliers February 18, 2015 The majority of people are missing out on big savings by not switching energy supplier. An investigation into the dominance of the big six energy firms – Centrica, EDF, NPower, SSE, E.On and RWE- has found customers are missing out on hundreds of pounds of savings. The interim findings from the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Ryanair claims breach of human rights as it appeals to top court February 12, 2015 RYANAIR is taking its legal challenge over Aer Lingus to the UK Supreme Court, yesterday claiming it is a human rights issue. The budget airline had previously been told by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to sell off its 29 per cent stake in Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus, reducing its stake to no [...]
Criminal cartel agreements: Businesses need to know what they’re getting into February 12, 2015 You would not be alone in not knowing that there is such a thing as a criminal cartel, let alone how it is defined in UK law. But a significant change to this definition last year will mean that something few were aware of will now be increasingly on the radar of British businesses, who [...]
Ryanair takes Aer Lingus challenge to UK Supreme Court as a human rights issue February 12, 2015 Ryanair is taking its legal challenge over Aer Lingus to the UK Supreme Court, claiming it is a human rights issue. The budget airline had previously been told by the Competition and Markets Authority to sell most of its 29 per cent stake in Aer Lingus, reducing its holding to no more than five [...]
Balls: Markets alone won’t deliver for UK February 9, 2015 INTERVIEW Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls discusses markets, exports and business backing with David Hellier IT’S BEEN a bit of a bruising few days for those in the Labour Party charged with finessing its relationship with the UK’s top business leaders. But that won’t stop Ed Balls relishing the prospect of speaking at the British [...]
Ed Balls talks business: Markets alone won’t deliver for the UK, says shadow chancellor February 9, 2015 It's been a bit of a bruising few days for those in the Labour Party charged with finessing its relationship with the UK’s top business leaders. But that won’t stop Ed Balls relishing the prospect of speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual conference tomorrow in front of hundreds of business leaders. [...]
How fierce competition could be making us more self-centred February 6, 2015 Over the last 150 years, people have become more interested in themselves than in the progress of society as a whole, a new report suggests. As the job market becomes more difficult to penetrate, competition heats up and we apparently find ourselves working harder than our parents for the same returns. Perhaps unsurprisingly, [...]
Poundland agrees conditional deal to buy 99p Stores for £55m February 6, 2015 If you had £55m you could walk into Poundland and fill your boots. Or, you could do what Poundland is considering and buy the 99p Store. For that £55m, enough for 55,555,556 items from its rival, Poundland will get 99p Stores’ 251 branches, which together produce £370.4m in annual sales and serve around two million [...]
Competition authorities could weigh on Ball’s bid to buy out rival can firm Rexam February 5, 2015 The scale of the potential merger between can-making giants Rexam and Ball could lead to problems with competition regulators. US giant Ball is only slightly larger than FTSE 250 firm Rexam, and comprise the two largest businesses in the sector globally. The proposed £4.3bn buyout could make sense in extending Ball’s reach globally. [...]