Chancellor to discuss food prices with CMA high prices Today the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will meet with food manufacturers to discuss the cost of food and explore ways to ease pressure on households. The government says Hunt will raise concerns about high prices of food in the UK and discuss measures the government and industry could put in place to help households. Hunt said: [...]
UK must solve labour issues and cut red tape to help ease food inflation, lobby group warns INFLATION The UK government must address labour shortages and make sure regulations don’t weigh food producers down to help ease food price inflation, an industry lobby group has warned. Downing Street hosted a Farm to Fork event at No10 with retailers, traders and producers invited, as Rishi Sunak announced greater protections for farmers in future trade [...]
Restart game? EU approves Microsoft’s $69bn Activision bid weeks after UK rejected deal TECH Microsoft’s $68.7bn bid for Activision Blizzard has been approved by EU regulators today, just weeks after the UK’s competition agency blocked the deal. The EU decided to approve the deal after remedies were put in place to address competition concerns, with the European Commission saying Microsoft offered 10-year free licensing deals to customers. “These licenses [...]
Lord Pannick: Activision hires top KC for £55bn Microsoft takeover legal challenge May 10, 2023 Computer Games company Activision Blizzard has hired Boris Johnson’s former lawyer to represent it in a £55 billion legal battle with the competition watchdog. Lord David Pannick KC, who represented the ex-prime minister through the partygate hearings, will be representing the games giant at a Competition Appeal Tribunal, the Financial Times reported. It comes after [...]
Activision deal: Survey says CMA wrong to block Microsoft tie-up May 8, 2023 A quarter of the public thought the UK competition watchdog was wrong to block Microsoft’s $70b deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, a new poll has found. One in four of the public were opposed to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block the deal, while a further 16 percent thought it was [...]
UK antitrust agency probes AI market as calls for regulation grow louder May 4, 2023 The UK's competition regulator has launched a review into the advancement of artificial intelligence, it confirmed today, amid growing concerns over its unchecked power to potentially overhaul the jobs market and spread misinformation.
Google to change app store rules after UK competition agency flags concerns April 19, 2023 Google said it will allow app developers in the UK to use alternative payment options following an investigation by the UK’s competition regulator. The tech giant said it would present other payment options to Google Play’s billing system for in-app purchases “in a neutral manner” if its commitments are accepted by the UK Competition and [...]
Heathrow to appeal against CAA price cap as airport warns passengers will bear the brunt of ‘underinvestment’ April 19, 2023 Heathrow Airport has said it will launch an appeal against the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) decision on how much it can charge passengers until December 2026. The Competition and Markets Authority will review the airport’s grounds for appeal and decide if any can proceed. Last month the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that the cap [...]
Under a cloud: Dominance of Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure questioned as Ofcom considers CMA referral April 5, 2023 Ofcom has proposed referring UK cloud services to the competition regulator, citing concerns that key players Amazon and Microsoft could stifle competition. The communications regulator said it has proposed referring the sector to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after it identified features which make it harder for customers to switch or use multiple providers. [...]
CMA drops concerns over Microsoft takeover of Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard… for now March 24, 2023 The UK competition watchdog has provisionally dropped concerns that Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Call Of Duty developer Activision Blizzard would damage the UK console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month warned the 68.7 billion dollar (£56.7 billion) deal could result in higher prices, fewer choices or less innovation for UK gamers. [...]