British Gas to pay out £500,000 for mis-selling gas and electricity July 1, 2014 British Gas is set to pay out around £500,000 in compensation to customers for mis-selling gas and electricity in face to face sales. The UK’s biggest energy provider is understood to have referred itself to the regulator Ofgem after discovering it had overestimated potential savings customers could make, according to a Sky News report last [...]
There is a problem in the UK’s energy market – but it’s the regulator’s fault July 1, 2014 OFGEM has referred the retail energy market for investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This is the right decision, for the wrong reasons. Most of Ofgem’s concerns are insubstantial. The real source of the problem is Ofgem’s policy, described in its annual report issued the same day as “Simpler, clearer, fairer. Three words [...]
The crisis isn’t over: The Eurozone’s laggards still need disciplining July 1, 2014 THE POLISH banking and financial elite gathered last week at a conference in the Baltic seaside resort of Sopot. The proceedings were enlivened by the presence on the platform of Jacek Rostowski, one of the senior Polish politicians recently caught on tape badmouthing David Cameron, in very colourful terms, for his failure to stand up [...]
As BNP Paribas receives a $8.9bn fine, can US authorities be accused of protectionism? June 30, 2014 John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, says Yes. BNP Paribas has pleaded guilty to significant wrongdoing. But while US authorities may have levied large fines on US banks, by suspending BNP’s ability to handle some US dollar clearing, they have removed a major competitor from the market. The US Justice Department has fined non-US based [...]
Bitcoin now legal alternative to US dollar in California June 30, 2014 The governor of California has signed assembly bill 129, which gives Bitcoin and other digital currencies the status of legal money. Jerry Brown's signature has finally clarified Bitcoin as valid form of payment in the golden state after AB-129 was passed in February by the California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee by a 7-1 [...]
Big six energy firms face probe over claims of profiteering June 26, 2014 Energy watchdog Ofgem has referred the big six energy suppliers to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), over claims of profiteering. Ofgem fired the starting gun on the investigation yesterday after politicians and consumers raised repeated concerns that the big six companies are not competitive enough and have been failing to offer their customers fair [...]
What Keynes can teach us about England’s World Cup failure June 25, 2014 SO FAREWELL, then, England! Yet another failure by our boys at the highest levels of football. Despite their stupendous salaries, our players were once again unable to exhibit the necessary skills, a point which seems to exercise many fans of the game. Tens of thousands, if not millions, of words have been written about the [...]
Spire seeks £1bn in London float June 24, 2014 One of Britain’s largest hospital chains, Spire Healthcare, is to list on the London Stock Exchange in a float estimated to be about £1bn, Reuters reported. Spire, which is owned by private equity firm Cinven, owns 38 hospitals and will be publishing its formal intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. It was recently [...]
Social media: The new talent spotter June 24, 2014 Social media has already transformed the way we communicate, and it is now beginning to change the way we work. Enterprise social networks, such as Yammer and Chatter, have created an internal business role for social media, influencing how organisations interact, and how they share and develop ideas. These tools can be instrumental in harnessing [...]
Shares: The greedier the CEO, the lower the value June 24, 2014 Avaricious CEOs are bad for business, according to a report published by the Journal of Management. Called “When More Is Not Enough: Executive Greed and its Influence on Shareholder Wealth”, it examines the effect of a CEO's greed on share value for over 300 publicly traded firms. Professor Katalin Takacs Haynes and her team at [...]