stuart mcintosh has chaired the inquiry for the competition and markets authority. y was that not enough? we have confirmed we will block the merger, in taking the decision we were very aware of the promises on pricing, which you have described, and a couple of things on that. one is that the price reductions were predicated and linked to savings and costs, which we looked at very closely during the course of the enquiry and we have concluded they we re enquiry and we have concluded they were unlikely to be realised. secondly, we considered it would be very difficult to verify and track these price reductions over time, more fundamentally, these price promises did not really address the fundamental competition concerns as a result of two of the larger supermarket chains in the country merging, reducing competition in supermarkets, online shopping and at filling stations. with the consequent impact on prices. and service quality. did you consider the buying power of the two together as well, when it comes to suppliers to this potentially huge player? we did, indeed, a

supermarkets had offered to sell up to 150 of their stores to facilitate the deal, but the competition and markets authorityrespondent victoria fritz. backin back in february the competition and markets authority gave a strong hint that it was going to do exactly what it has done today, block the merger. tell us why. yes, they did they put out a strong signal that this was going to not go ahead because it was going to not go ahead because it was going to not go ahead because it was going to break competition are also the competition markets authority is there to look at potential monopolies and abuse of monopoly positions which would be increased prices, reduced quality, reduced range for consumers. and this is what is being looked at, but what is interesting is that they went a lot further than what they said in february and now we are hearing an outright ban. they did not come across with any other alternatives to this. let's hearfrom stuart mcintosh, the guy in charge of the enquiry, about why they went ahead with this. those price reductions we re with this. those price reductions were predicated and li

and sainsbury‘s. the boss of sainsbury‘s says that the competition regulator has effectively taken £1bn out of customers' pockets. that was how much he claimed the combined retailer could cut prices. but the competition and markets authorityion told our business correspondent emma simpson that it was not a good deal for customers. we blocked this merger because we don't think it will be good for shoppers and motorists in the uk. it will lead to less competition in supermarkets and grocery shopping online, and petrol station. we think that will lead to higher prices and putter service. eubank in france by sainsbury‘s promised to cut prices by £8 billion over the years? no. we are obviously aware of the promise when we decided to block the merger. it is predicated on cost savings which we don't think i'd likely to be realised. secondly, actually verifying and tracking the implementation would be very difficult in practice to make sure it came about. more fundamentally, it came about. more fundamentally, it doesn't deal with a major competition problems associated with too much of the largest grocers in the uk merging. to aviation now and the budget airline norwegian has warned that it could make a loss this year because of

the competition and markets authority investigation is really positive. nk funeral directors will have to improve and compete and that will bring prices down it will bring the range of services much broader. but there was a huge education thing that needs to happen. if we go into death completely and educated, we will not be able to have the best choices, we will not be able to get the best deal —— completely uneducated. there are a lot of myths, as well as a lack of transparency about what things cost, about what you are supposed to do and what the rules are other big pa rt and what the rules are other big part of your business dispelling those so talk us through the most common. the place to start is to say we are blessed to live in a country where there are almost no rules about what you can or can't do. you must register the death, you must do something with the body, which is cremation or burial but apart from that you can do what you want. if you want to bury your mum in your back garden, you absolutely can and we did that for a family in suburban lo

a proposed £12 billion merger between sainsbury‘s and asda has been blocked by the uk's competition watchdog. the competition and markets authoritydeal over fears it would result in higher prices for shoppers and motorists, and cut the choice and quantity of goods. president putin of russia says the north korean leader, kim jong—un, needs security guarantees within a multnational framework if he is to end his nuclear programme. mr putin was speaking after his first ever summit with mr kim near vladivostok in russia's far east. it follows the breakdown of talks between the us and north korea in february. knife crime figures for england and wales have risen to record levels. last year, nearly 41,000 offences were recorded by police, a 6% increase on 2017. the figures — published by the office for national statistics — show there were more than 730 cases of murder and manslaughter — that's the highest number for a decade. but your chances of being a victim of violent crime are at their lowest level ever as our home editor, mark easton, explains. it is a horribly familiar scene — another teenager stabbed to death last night in birmin

the mergerfelt doomed after the competition and markets authority issued a damning set of initial findingsising a authority issued a damning set of initialfindings raising a catalogue of concerns and it has not changed its tune today, it went ahead and blocked the merger out right. it said it would lead to increased prices in stores, online and at many petrol stations across the uk, as well as reducing the quality of choice and products on sale. sainsbury‘s and asda insisted the deal would produce cost savings which would feed through to lower prices and went on to promise £1 billion of price cuts over three yea rs billion of price cuts over three years but it was not enough to satisfy the regulator. the big questions now is what happens to sainsbury‘s because the boss is under pressure for a plan b. the share price is down today, a 25 year low. he said publicly that this deal was necessary to fend off the like of aldi and lidl. sainsbury‘s needs to recover the ground it has lost over the last year as it tried to push through the merger, which is now dead. labour is pledging to reverse cut

if you have to pay deposit as the competition and markets authority of said, the rules need to be clearon line and getting the wrong dates. he was told by the travel provider, he didn't get a refund. it really does happen. most airlines, hotels, do have a refund possibly expect policy. there are complaint schemes for airlines and indeed other organisations. if you don't think you've been treated loudly or given a clear warning. if you booked it well in advance, you would say it's not cost that much money sea should get most of your money back. poor old sonia and derbyshire was supposed to go to egypt tomorrow but her husband is still poorly in hospital. she told the travel agent but because she is due to fly so soon, they said she can't get a penny back. it may well be this is the case and poor sonia, this is a nightmare situation. it's likely the travel agent has already the hotel orairline travel agent has already the hotel or airline company but i would basically give them a call and see, may be possible to transfer the holiday over if it's not too late but don't hesitate. always tak

competition and markets authority blocked the deal. who oversaw the investigation, concluded there is no effective way of addressing the concerns other than to block the merger. we will stay across that story. futures pointing a little bit higher. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ so with xfinity mobile i can customize each line for each family member? yup. and since it comes with your internet, you can switch wireless carriers, and save hundreds of dollars a year. are you pullin' my leg? nope. you sure you're not pullin' my leg? i think it's your dog. oh it's him. good call. get the data options you need and still save hundreds of dollars... do you guys sell other dogs? now that's simple, easy, awesome. customize each line by paying for data by the gig or get unlimited. and now get $100 back when you buy a new lg. click, call, or visit a store today. john: anna: welcome to europeang markets open." hits its dollar highest in four months as u.s. futures bounce following solid tech earnings. europe is pointing higher. cash trade is less than 30 min

a proposed £12 billion merger between sainsbury‘s and asda has been blocked by the uk's competition watchdog. the competition and markets authoritye and quantity of goods. president putin of russia says the north korean leader, kim jong—un, needs security guarantees within a multinational framework — if he is to end his nuclear programme. mr putin was speaking after his first ever summit with mr kim near vladivostok in russia's far east. it follows the breakdown of talks between the us and north korea in february. french president emmanuel macron has given a long—awaited response to the yellow vest movement. despite insisting that order must return, he acknowledged a "lack of trust" in the establishment. he promised new measures to address this including tax cuts, a reform of the civil service and the introduction of proportional representation. protests started in november over rises in fuel costs. these escalated into the gilets jaunes, or yellow vest movement, a national uprising against economic injustice. environmental protestors have targeted financial institutions across london on the eleventh day of demonstrations in the

the competition and markets authority were telling me, actually, we don't know how true that was goinga year of uncertainty, not knowing if jobs are been a year of uncertainty, not knowing ifjobs are safe in stores and depots, and all the small suppliers and farmers as well, i am sure they are breathing a collective sigh of relief. no one knew what the tm cs were sigh of relief. no one knew what the tmcs were going to look like when you are up against a goliath of the retail industry. —— t&cs. you are up against a goliath of the retail industry. -- t&cs. so everything looks the same? for the moment! thank you very much. the number of people in the uk who aren't vaccinated against measles is being called a "growing public—health time bomb". the nhs says the number of cases of measles, in england, almost quadrupled last year. while the children's charity unicef says more than half a million children in england haven't had the mmr jab. a few weeks ago we took a couple called victoria and mark who are expecting a new child and considering not having the baby vaccinated to meet medical expe

the competition and markets authority is expected to publish its proposals for a reform of the sectore got to show you this as well. this is romeo, once thought to be one of the world's loneliest frogs. until recently it spent ten years in isolation, but an aquarium, scientists at an aquarium have found him his own juliet scientists at an aquarium have found him his ownjuliet on an expedition toa him his ownjuliet on an expedition to a remote bolivian forest. i don't know which one is romeo and juliet. hold on, i think that became quite clear. laughter. didn't it? that was all good timing, wasn't it? when they were cleared for diseases they we re they were cleared for diseases they were introduced and clearly, as dan has said, they are getting on very well. a happy ending, not romeo and juliet ending. we wish them all the best. laughter. iwish i had juliet ending. we wish them all the best. laughter. i wish i had seen that before. laughter. awkward! anyway, hello. good morning, sally. shall ijust anyway, hello. good morning, sally. shall i just take anyway, hello. good morning, sally.

very much forjoining us, paul latham, director of strategy and communications at the competitions and markets authorityn brazil decided that vale, it can go ahead with its mining operations, it could have a knock—on effect of iron or. bhp billiton and rio tinto are down today. at the moment. thank you. schools across denver in the united states are shut today as police search for an armed woman said to be obsessed with the 1999 columbine massacre. officials say 18—year—old sol pais travelled from miami on monday night before buying a shotgun and ammunition. police describe her as being "extremely dangerous." we identified miss sol pais as having travelled from miami. she has made some concerning comments in the past. she has expressed an infatuation with columbine, and the shooting that happened there 20 years ago. because of that, we were concerned. so we started looking into her actions once she got here. we identified that she had departed the airport and went to a store, where she did procure a weapon. she obtained a pump action shotgun and ammunition. she was then taken to an area where she was la

and the competition market authority is saying that that is not the case and it has done some surveyem thought that it should be refunded, assuming that the company manages to resell the holiday, for instance. and of those people who had been through this, one in five say they were treated unfairly over the deposit, and that's not surprising given that the cma say 58% to businesses don't understand the rules. the deposit should be paid back, less expenses, assuming that the holiday has been resold. so in this situation how do you go about getting your money back? you badger the company or you go to citizens advice for help. in the final analysis, you could take them to court. it's not as hard as it sounds. you can do that online. and the money should have come back in one of two ways, automatically, and the holiday company will look at how many people tend to rebook afterwards, the ones they sell anyway, and give you that percentage back, orfailing that, they wait until they have resold it and then give you the money back, lest their expenses. thank you, simon. the ecuadorian preside

stuart mcintosh is the inquiry chair at the competition and markets authority and joins me london.ded the cost savings were unlikely to be realised. we were conscious it would be difficult to track these price changes but i must emphasise this. but more fundamental, the price policies do not mean that these two together would actually result in prices rising. typically on that pricing issue, you are suggesting that if sainsbury‘s and asda were both owned by the same company that would be little incentive to bring down prices? that is correct. sainsbury‘s say this morning they promise £1 billion worth of cuts. they say that the cma is today taking £1 billion out of customers pockets. what do you say to that? we do not agree with them. remember, we have looked at this in considerable detail. we have a good sense of what drives competition and the market, particularly for customers and we concluded that, as a result of that, there would be a reduction in competition and that would invite an incentive for the company over the longer term to increase prices or reduce other aspects of th

stuart mcintosh, the competition and markets authority inquiry chair, says those costs savings to customersead to less competition in supermarkets and groups because my grocery shopping online and at petrol stations. we think that is going to lead to higher prices and putter services. you were unconvinced by sainsbury‘s promised to cut prices by £1 billion over three years? note. we were obviously aware of their price promise by sainsbury‘s memory decided to block the merger. it is predicated on cost savings which we don't think are likely to be realised. secondly, actually verifying and tracking the implementation would have been very, very difficult in practice to make sure it came about. more fundamentally, it doesn't deal with the major competition problems associated with it of the lodges grocers in the uk merging. let's talk to catherine shuttleworth, chief executive of savvy. and your view, up with us ultimate? i think it is not a surprising call to make, but i don't think in the long term it is in the best interest of shoppers, but when stuart mcintosh talks about the retailer is co

the competition and markets authority is expected to publish its proposals for a reform of the sectors. it says it was told by one officer that fraud is not considered a priority because it doesn't "bang, bleed or shout". the national police coordinator says work is underway to address the problem. the us special envoy is in the afghan capital kabul meeting with representatives of the government. his trip comes ahead of a new round of peace talks with the taliban expected to begin later this month, which aims to bring an end to the almost 18—year long conflict. the southern province of helmand has the strongest presence of taliban in afghanistan. lyse doucet has been in the conservative stronghold of lashkar gah speaking to afghans about what they think of a possible return of the taliban as part of a peace deal. every afg ha n every afghan family has a story of loss. for this family, every afghan family has a story of loss. forthis family, every every afghan family has a story of loss. for this family, every wave of sadness breaks over another. he lost two son two in two us air strik