RBS’ mis-selling fine is certain to highlight American hypocrisy, Worldpay’s bid invitation and no rush for the new Ofcom chair July 7, 2017 It was hard to suppress a laugh last week at the sanctimonious angst of corporate America at the fine doled out by Brussels over Google’s anti-competitive behaviour by favouring its shopping service over those of rivals. Those Europeans, came the wailing from across the Atlantic, are extracting money from flagship US companies with little justification. [...]
Royal Mail retires pensions scheme: The what, why and how of delivering a credible deal for postal workers May 14, 2017 The Royal Mail will deliver its full-year results on Thursday, three and a half years after the London listing of 501-year-old firm. Perhaps the biggest millstone around the company’s neck is its gigantic final salary pension plan that services 90,000 of Royal Mail’s 160,000 employees. In January Royal Mail revealed plans to shut down the [...]
Will the Football League’s iFollow platform usher in a streaming revolution that reaches the Premier League? May 8, 2017 We can now watch Hollywood films without ever having to buy a DVD or go to a cinema, listen to music without owning a single CD, and keep up to date with the news without ever stepping into a newsagent. The advent of smartphones and streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify have revolutionised consumer [...]
Why a red tape bonfire won’t help fintech: The FCA’s Christopher Woolard talks to City A.M. about regulation testing March 20, 2017 Regulation arguably doesn’t have the best reputation in the cutting-edge tech sector. Critics slam red tape for stifling creativity, while the regulators themselves get stick for failing to keep pace with ever-changing markets. This contempt creates dilemmas in the field of fintech, an industry which melds the fast-paced world of technology with the highly-regulated field [...]
21st Century Fox £12bn takeover of Sky has been referred to regulators Ofcom and the CMA by culture secretary Karen Bradley March 16, 2017 The bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to take over Sky has been referred to regulators by the culture secretary. Karen Bradley confirmed her decision this morning after already announcing she was “minded” to do so. Broadcast regulator Ofcom will examine “public interest considerations” and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “jurisdiction issues”. Read more: Sky takeover [...]
Manx Telecom share price rises after revealing “solid” annual figures March 15, 2017 Manx Telecom, which operates the Isle of Man's telecoms network, today revealed it is generating annual sales equivalent to almost £1,000 per person living on the island. Shares rose one per cent in the wake of the news. The figures Revenue rose by 1.5 per cent to £81m, with underlying earnings of £28m, the same [...]
Will legally separating BT and Openreach be enough to give broadband customers a better deal? March 10, 2017 Kate Devine, head of home communications at MoneySuperMarket, says Yes. Legally separating BT and Openreach should be seen as a victory for broadband customers. It will offer a better deal for many, built on the promise to treat all customers equally in terms of repairs and services, in comparison to the current system, which is [...]
BT needs to be able to “hire and fire” Openreach board and had to get the deal done before starting pension negotiations March 10, 2017 BT chief exec Gavin Patterson has said having the ability to “hire and fire” the Openreach board was a red line that the telecoms giant couldn’t cross in agreeing a deal with Ofcom over the future of its infrastructure arm. And breaking the deadlock with regulators over Openreach’s independence was imperative before entering into negotiations with [...]
BT Openfudge? Four things you need to know about the Ofcom deal… and what the regulator says about them March 10, 2017 BT's settlement with regulator Ofcom has been championed as a significant step towards making its Openreach broadband division a separate entity, after months of debate over the subject. Today's agreement isn't quite a spin-off. Although the two will be legally separated, Openreach, the company responsible for running the majority of the UK's telecoms infrastructure, will be forced to consult [...]
BT and Ofcom’s Openreach deal: Here’s how City analysts, competitors and consumer groups reacted March 10, 2017 BT and telecoms regulator Ofcom this morning announced that they'd settled their differences over the future of Openreach, the company that owns the majority of Britain's telecoms infrastructure. It's been a long road for both parties, and it did appear that Ofcom was going to be forced into going to European authorities to force through [...]