This is the start of a new democratic space race – and Britain is at its head July 16, 2014 Yesterday's announcement that the government has shortlisted eight potential sites for a UK spaceport, and enabled a regulatory regime for manned spaceflight, is a breakthrough moment for our £11bn space sector. While the industry has already enjoyed Bric-style growth rates in recent years, we are now on track to remove crucial blockages to UK leadership [...]
Entire wholesale banking sector faces probe for unfair behaviour July 9, 2014 Every aspect of the wholesale banking market faces a new round of scrutiny, the City watchdog warned yesterday. From corporate banking to asset management, and investment banking to market infrastructure, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is appealing for complaints over a lack of competition. It is gathering evidence over the next three months to see which [...]
Banks bite back after red tape onslaught July 8, 2014 Poorly thought-out regulations are damaging Britain’s banks and hurting developing countries by cutting off access to finance, the head of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) warned last night. The sector has been flooded with new regulation since the crisis, and is at last standing up to challenge it, with BBA chief Anthony Browne highlighting the [...]
Starting a bank costs less than a flat in Chelsea July 7, 2014 New banks now require just £1m of capital to kick-start their establishment, the Bank of England and the City watchdog said yesterday, down from £5m under the previous rules. Regulators have slashed the amount of red tape involved in setting up a new lender in a bid to boost competition in a sector, after decades of [...]
Bitcoin under fire from European Banking Authority July 4, 2014 The European Banking Authority (EBA) has launched a scathing attack on cryptocurrency Bitcoin, warning that the potential benefits of digital currencies will be outweighed by a host of risks, reports the FT's Sam Fleming. In an address to lawmakers, the EBA argued that the problems associated with Bitcoin could only be addressed by a regulatory [...]
MPs demand probe into share fixing July 2, 2014 Share traders routinely fiddle prices at the end of each day’s trading to boost bonuses and profits, influential MPs claimed yesterday, demanding a full probe from the City watchdog. The probe could set the scene for a scandal far larger than Libor manipulation, as stocks are held widely by the general public and in pension [...]
MPs demand probe into market manipulation July 2, 2014 Share traders routinely fiddle prices at the end of each day’s trading to boost bonuses and profits, influential MPs claimed yesterday, demanding a full probe from the City watchdog. The probe could set the scene for a scandal far larger than Libor manipulation, as stocks are held widely by the general public and in pension [...]
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 [...]