The 2018 insolvency led to years of agonising by accountancy firms, with as yet no explanations or ways to avoid a repeatBankruptcies happen gradually, then suddenly, an Ernest Hemingway character famously deadpans in The Sun Also Rises. Yet the afterm…
China is cutting its tech giants down to size. Should the west learn from this? | John Naughton
Xi Jinping has grasped a fundamental truth in his quest to win the technology race – that internet companies are all ultimately disposableThis is story of two parallel universes. Over in the western one, neoliberal capitalism rules. In the other – the …
Regulator drops BA and Ryanair lockdown flights refund case
Competition and Markets Authority ends four-month investigation saying it cannot justify expenseCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe competition regulator has dropped its investigation into whether British Airways and Ryanair…
Social media firms serve as gateway for scammers, says finance watchdog
FCA threatens action unless platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do not toughen up against fraudstersSocial media sites such as Facebook and Instagram serve as a “gateway” for fraudsters, the City watchdog has warned, as it demanded they t…
Banks must treat victims of scams more fairly, says UK complaints body
Number of people asking ombudsman for help rose by 66% between April to end of JuneBanks need to do more to treat people fairly when they are the victim of scams, according to the UK financial sector’s official complaints body, which is finding in the …
The surge in ‘buy now pay later’ – and why we should be worried
Fintech firms are jostling to offer millennials interest-free payment plans as they shop online. Retailers love it of course, but all this unregulated lending is ringing alarm bellsShoppers tempted by Boohoo’s bestselling satin skater dress are bombard…
Thousands of leaseholders freed from doubling of ground rents
CMA says it will take further action against developers which do not remove such terms from contractsThousands of people who bought leasehold homes from the housing developer Countryside Properties will be freed from costly contract terms, following an…
UK orders national security review of graphene firm’s takeover by Chinese scientist
Watchdog to look at potential takeover of Wales-based Perpetuus Group by Dr Zhongfu Zhou or Taurus InternationalBusiness secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered a national security review of a takeover by a Chinese academic of a small Welsh manufacturer o…
UK insurers unready for stricter rules on price hikes, watchdog says
FCA says many firms unlikely to be prepared for changes coming into force in OctoberInsurers could face disciplinary action after the City watchdog said UK firms were not ready for stricter rules on price hikes on car and home insurance.The Financial C…
‘Taper tantrum’ by stock markets points to gaps in the easy recovery story | Nils Pratley
Cheap money, the Delta variant and China’s sluggish performance add up to tough times aheadFinancial markets these days react to any whiff of tighter monetary policy in the US, so a little drama on Thursday was par for the course after the US Federal R…