UK watchdog threatens Ticketmaster with legal action over way Oasis tickets were sold

The UK competition watchdog has written to Ticketmaster threatening legal action over the way it sold more than 900,000 tickets for Oasis’s reunion tour, days before the start of what is expected to be the most popular, and profitable, run of gigs in British history.In March, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published concerns that Ticketmaster may have misled fans, some of whom paid more than £350 for tickets with a face value of £150, in the way it priced tickets for the band’s comeback gigs when they went on sale last August.In response, Ticketmaster said it had made changes to “some aspects” of its ticket sales process. However, the CMA said that they were not sufficient to address its concerns.The CMA told Ticketmaster the voluntary undertakings it would accept to address its concerns

A first-class service by Royal Mail again | Brief letters

Following my letter (23 June) complimenting the Royal Mail on delivering a letter from another reader to me with no house number, street or postcode, this week I received another addressed in exactly the same way from Peggy, who writes “Just checking whether Royal Mail can do it twice. Maybe first time was a fluke.” Evidently not. Perhaps it’s my fame as a beyond-“genius” Word Wheel player that’s helped locate me?Kevin WardQuorn, Leicestershire “What would British culture be like if Oasis had never existed?”, asks Dorian Lynskey (theguardian.com, 1 July)

UK financial watchdog expands bullying rules to 37,000 City firms

The UK’s financial watchdog is expanding bullying and harassment rules to more than 37,000 City firms, in an effort to crack down on “rolling bad apples” who avoid consequences by hopping from firm to firm.It means that “serious, substantiated cases of poor personal behaviour” by senior managers at a range of firms including hedge funds, insurers and pension firms will have to be reported to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as well as future employers who are assessing whether new hires are fit and proper for the job.Previously, only banks were required to report bad behaviour to the watchdog. The rules will now apply to tens of thousands of other firms across the City that are bound by the so-called senior managers and certification regime (SM&CR) that is meant to hold senior bosses accountable for wrongdoing at their firms.The regulator said the expanded rules would help “prevent ‘rolling bad apples’ – people moving from firm to firm without appropriate action being taken or without past serious non-financial misconduct being disclosed”

If AstraZeneca goes to the US, it will be a major blow for London and Labour

Three years ago Pascal Soriot received the ultimate accolade for turning around AstraZeneca – a knighthood for services to UK life sciences and leadership in the global response to the Covid pandemic.Soriot, who fended off a takeover from the US predator Pfizer in 2014, has grown AstraZeneca into Britain’s most valuable company, thanks to an astute eye for promising medicines and developing one of the first Covid vaccines.Now the 66-year-old trained equine vet is looking at his own US adventure. He has reportedly discussed moving AstraZeneca’s stock market listing, and perhaps even its corporate base, to the US.The company declined to comment on the bombshell report, but it sent shockwaves through Britain’s scientific community

Santander takeover of TSB is boost to Reeves as she fights to keep City’s trust

Santander’s takeover of TSB will be music to Rachel Reeves’ ears: sparing the under-pressure chancellor the potential embarrassment of having to explain why a major high street lender had given up on Britain.On Tuesday night, Spanish-owned Santander said it would buy TSB from its fellow Spanish owner, Sabadell, for £2.65bn, ending months of speculation over the future of the British bank – and reaffirming Santander’s commitment to the UK.Rumours had emerged in January that Santander UK could pull out of high street banking, potentially reversing gains made in stepping up its British presence with the acquisition of Abbey National two decades earlier. Bosses had started slashing 2,000 jobs months earlier, fuelling speculation that it was trying to create a leaner business that could lure potential suitors

UK bond yields rise sharply amid speculation over future of Rachel Reeves

UK government borrowing costs have risen sharply amid speculation over Rachel Reeves’s position as chancellor, as City investors warned Labour’s welfare U-turn had blown a multibillion-pound hole in the public finances.After Keir Starmer failed initially to give his full backing to a tearful chancellor at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the yield on 10-year UK government bonds, also known as gilts, was on course for the biggest jump in a day since Liz Truss was in No 10, while the pound slumped.The yield – in effect the interest rate – rose by as much as 0.2 percentage points to trade close to 4.7%, climbing by the most in one day since October 2022 when investor confidence in Britain remained shaken after Truss’s mini budget