through a lot of new entrants, there is a very vigorous, competitive market there, and what we want to do is to expand that market. the competition authorityshed that at the moment there is insufficient competition in the standard variable tariffs. our aim is to expand the competitive part of the market, and in the meanwhile to provide some protection for those that are paying too much on the standard variable tariffs. the energy secretary greg clark. the fifth round of talks on brexit have concluded, with the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier saying that there had not been enough progress to move onto the next stage, trade talks, as the uk wants. he said there was new momentum in the process but there was still deadlock over the so—called divorce bill, which he said was disturbing. but the brexit secretary david davis insisted considerable headway had been made. back in the commons, mps were digesting a declaration by the chancellor, philip hammond, that taxpayers' money would not be spent on preparing for a no—deal brexit until the very last moment, a comment the prime minister appeared to contradict. theresa may said the government w

the competition and markets authority said it was concerned about clarity and accuracy on the sites.aims. the england cricket captain, joe root, has told the bbc that the team are preparing to be without ben stokes for the entire ashes tour. the all—rounder won‘t be leaving with the rest of the squad tomorrow morning, after being suspended following an incident outside a bristol nightclub last month. root also denied there was a drinking culture amongst the team — as our sports editor, dan roan, reports. his team—mate currently hold ashes tea m his team—mate currently hold ashes team currently holds the ashes but captainjoe team currently holds the ashes but captain joe root team currently holds the ashes but captainjoe root knows the team is about to be tested. here at lord‘s today, he said australia may have underestimated the tourists. today, he said australia may have underestimated the touristslj today, he said australia may have underestimated the tourists. i see a squad of players more than capable of going over there and giving it something special. you look around the dressi

getting discounts when maybe we are not, they are all going to be investigated by the competition and markets authorityke sure you can't get a better deal directly. complicated! you will need a break in a hotel room after booking it! senators in the spanish parliament will vote today on whether to impose direct rule on catalonia. the spanish government says it's the only way to calm the ongoing crisis but catalan leaders say they will respond by declaring an independent republic. our europe correspondent gavin lee is in barcelona. gavin, it has been a bit of a mess, this whole thing. are we going to get some clarity today? i hope that we will. you can hear the sound in the background, the sound of european cities, suitcases rolling everywhere. going back to the referendum, it has taken that long for the spanish government to legally put in the constitution in place, what they need to do to reassert control, in their view. the senate are voting on what is called article 115, which gives them the power to what we think will happen, they will remove the leaders from office, the separatist leaders of the c

competition and markets authority provisionally cleared a merger with hungry house a panel concluded that the acquisition of hungry house by just eat is unlikely to result in competition concerns. also sky sky added 160,000 new customers this quarter, up 51% from the same period a year ago the tv and telecoms industry posted a 5% increase and reaffirmed its full guidance out of back of the earnings. the performance was boosted by the game of throne series, which has become the highest rated show in the uk maybe i should get around to watching it. >>> let's talk about the fed the fed's december meeting is live, that's according to the latest minutes which suggest many participants support raising rates this year, despite the inflation picture is still troubling some fomc members. steve liesman has the details. >> reporter: fed officials thought in the september meeting that another rate height was warranted this year but had a problem with inflation being too low. the key issue is failure to hit the 2% target. some thought the resent softness of inflation was a decline in telecom pric

i am joined by a senior director of the competition and markets authority.t may not be the best deal for them and a full impression about the availability of the room. and can we be certain that the sites are offering the best deal? comparison cites generally very good. they are useful to save people and money. but they need to provide clear and accurate information. that is what this investigation is about. can you shed any light on how hotels are ranked, because they are given an order, which again may lead a customer to decide to put one over another? what customers may not know is that the ranking, or recommendations or the top picks, maybe influenced not only by the search criteria they have put in, about price or room availability, but also about commercial factors such as commission. that is not of interest to consumers but what they might do is hotel for them, thinking, great, that is the one that suits my needs because i put in that suits my needs because i put in that search criteria, and actually not know that it has been influenced by commission,

the competition and markets authority said that the rip off is about £1.a billion a year.lenty of other people too. billion a year. it is notjust me, it is plenty of other people toom asa it is plenty of other people toom as a result of privatisation? 0h, good lord no. if you looked at what happened in the last few years the level of investment in the energy market and the way that companies responded has been a huge success, but we have got this large chunk of the market which isn't competitive and we have got a0 or so rival companies, smaller scale competitors, challenger brands, who are doing a greatjob, and they snapping at the heels of big six, they are forcing them to shape up and to shaking them up as well,and that's the stuff which will put you and me and your viewers in the driving seat and as i said, make the customer king. that's what we expect in every other walk of life and that's what we should expect here. word on the prime minister's speech, very difficult, a coughing fit, a p rotesto r, very difficult, a coughing fit, a protestor, the set falling apart, wh

believe it or not, i have not told the competitions and markets authority or offcom or the british government't do i have not made recommendations. i feel obligated i have lot of information. 22 clients i believe in transparency. that's why i've asked fox to lift the confidentiality agreement so they could make an informed decision. i'm just part of the process i'm giving them information. they can do with what they feel appropriate. >> okay. based on your 22 cases and your 22 clients, what will you tell the regulators as far as the corporate governance at fox, whether the murdochs are fit and proper and whether the leadership pays close enough attention to issues like this which seem to be blowing up by the day. >> especially bearing in mind that they keep saying they've changed leadership there as well. because of this. >> they've made a lot of changes -- >> they said that, don't forget, after roger ailes was terminated and now we learn from "the new york times" piece this weekend is that in april of 2017, at the very same time that they're trying to convince the public that they changed th

the competition and markets authority are a bit concerned. they say they are concerned. ommissions. that's how these websites operate, so there is concern over that. alison wright is a travel writer and joins us. do you think they are right to investigate these sites so the clarity and accuracy? yes, it's good news for hotel guests and hoteliers. 70% of us use these sites and eight out of ten of the sites are owned by one ofjust two major companies. they are looking at hidden charges. does the headline price include local taxes and discounts. you often see a hotel will be £100 a night, and it is now £50 a night. how accurate is that discount? is that really its normal price? also discount? is that really its normal price ? also pressure discount? is that really its normal price? also pressure selling. often the sites will flag up a hotel and say we've only got one room left, to pressurise you into buying it. but if you contacted the hotel, do they really only have one room left or is itjust one room the internet really only have one room left or is it just one room the in

new entrants to this market, whereby consumers can go to one online platform and then order from a whole variety of restaurants and food outlets. the competition & markets authoritymost of those companies are actually dollar earning, so they benefit from a weaker pound. the ftse100 having a weaker pound. the ftse100 having a great day, the best rise of the european markets. thank you. the trial of an army sergeant accused of sabotaging his wife‘s parachute has been hearing from the man who packed the shoot. he denies the charges, as duncan kennedy reports. emile cilliers, on the left here, is accused of trying to sabotage his wife‘s parachute, so he could get an insurance policy pay—out and because he wanted a new life with another woman. the prosecution say he tampered with victoria cilliers‘s parachute by twisting chords on her main chute and removing kit from her reserve chute. alan westley was the man who packed victoria cilliers‘ reserve chute and was today cross—examined by the defence barrister, elizabeth marsh. this is one of our experienced ones, similar to the one involved. mr westley appeared in this video shown to the jury, to explain how reserve chut

authorities. now some criticize that lufthansa will have no competition and it needs to have a competitor. but if we look at other marketsthe situation will become similar to what we see. >> yes, but the situation here is a questin whether a dominant player becomes even more dominant. if you take where air berlin used to compete with lufthansa, with air berlin out of the picture lufthansa will be taking on euro wings. it does not sound like much come petition to me. so there is the fear of higher prices and a monopoly in germany, which are justified in my point of view. and we have to remember, this deal is not in the books yet. should the remains of air berlin, the ones that have not been snatched up by lufthansa, should they find no other buyer, not picked up by another bidder, then the whole deal may be blown. it may be taken off altogether. may be blocked by the competition, because these remains are not supposed to just disappear from the market, because that would give lufthansa even more strength. >> that is why the whole thing is controversial. the other controversy, the employees, because the union says lufthans

competition authorities might think the sale would make lufthansa too strong. you know the one in frankfurt and christopher over here in the studio thank you very much. russian authorities have agreed to regulate the crypto currency markets crypto currency such as bitcoin for example enable individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services bypassing banks and the mainstream financial system is a trend not just in big cities but also in small communities my colleague. found one not far from moscow. the village of call the noble a couple hours drive from moscow it's home to just seven families who would have thought that this town poses a threat to the world's financial system that's what the russian government is accusing this mayor of doing. like everyone else i had no money bank loans were too expensive and the government didn't help either there just wasn't any money so we thought about it and said let's print our own way. and that's exactly what he did the mayor named the currency the colli own after his village of call the noble as soon as moscow caught wind of what was happening it banned the currency but that didn't stop the mayor he simply digitized the call the on creating a new crypto cu

and market liquidity may be reduced. authorities say the new rules will help restore trust and strengthen consumer protections while fostering competitionng more independent research. what is the legislation and how big an impact could it have on firms in asia? which may not be fully prepared. joining us now is linklater's partner assume it in for -- sumit indwar. thank you so much for joining us. the clocks are taking, about 100 days left. are you seeing asia getting more inquisitive about mifid ii? what are you hearing so far? >> definitely. there has been an massive uptake in activity in the last three to six months. six months ago people were saying it is a european thing, we have until 2018. people have been spending more time and money in preparation. yvonne: are they ready to comply? >> getting there. we are seeing more effort deployed, but there is still a lot of work to do and less than 100 days left. yvonne: what is the question you get asked most? we have seen a lot of european firms headquartered in the block, preparing this for years. is it different when it comes to asian firms headquartered here in asia that have operatio

authorities now some criticize it. lufthansa will have no competition and that it needs to have a big competitor but if we look at other european markets the situation will become rather similar to what we see yeah but the situation here is a question whether an already very dominant player becomes even more dominant and if you take the example on routes where air berlin used to compete with loop tons of with ireland out of the picture you have tons of will take on its subsidiary you're owings now that doesn't sound like much competition to me to be honest so there is the fear of higher prices of a monopoly here in germany which are justified in my point of view and we have to remember this deal is not in the books yet should the remains of air berlin that are there the ones that have not been snatched up by everyone by by loved ones of for that matter should they find not no other no other buyers should they not be picked up by another bidder then the whole deal may be blown maybe maybe taken off altogether maybe blocked by competition watch stocks because these remains are not supposed to just disappear from the market because that w

negative balance of what they're looking at and actually tomorrow, fittingly enough, is the deadline for when people can make comments to the competition market's authorityet them know information that might be important for this deal. so it's really fitting that this story came out just this weekend, just before that deadline in the uk. >> sarah ellison, hadas gold, thank you so much to both of you. >>> next, the escalating feud between mitch mcconnell and steve bannon. bannon only backs republican candidates who lose elections. bannon has thrown his support behind roy moore in the alabama sena senate race and it shows roy moore tied with his challenger in a very conservative state. doug jones is joining me next. ♪ when heartburn hits fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast relief in every bite. crunchy outside. chewy inside. tum tum tum tum tums chewy bites. remember that accident i got in with the pole, and i had to make a claim and all that? is that whole thing still dragging on? no, i took some pics with the app and... filed a claim, but... you know how they send you money to cover repairs and... they took forever to pay you, right? no, i got pa

thee are waiting for authorities in china, and we should be ready to launch, depending on market condition, sometime between november and december. paul: australia's competition electricity pricing increase in the last 10 years is putting australian businesses and consumers under unacceptable pressure. it says the main cause of higher hills is a significant increase in network costs, and smaller retailers struggle to compete with larger players. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i'm paul allen, this is bloomberg. thank you. rex tillerson says the u.s. wants to continue diplomatic talks with north korea until "the first bomb drops." there is an expected missile launch from the north in response to u.s. wargames in the south. ross, great to see you. i saw you in washington before i left for new york. you have been watching this. there is a lot going on in this aher sphere, not so much focus. what did rex tillerson mean, what is he trying to say? ros: i think he may have been of phraseuse a turn appeared bill clinton once said he would stick with the american people until the last dog died.

authorities in china. we should be ready to launch depending on market conditions sometime between november and december. australia's competitionprice increases are putting australian businesses and consumers under unacceptable pressure. the main cause of higher hills is an increase in network costs ccc.rding to the a global news 24 hours a day powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. rishaad: investors and traders in japan on their lunch break. sophie kamaruddin, hong kong putting in a good showing. sophie: a pretty good showing. fifthkkei 22 rising for a -- 10th straight session. climbing for a sixth straight day, so cap and knees -- japanese stocks gains. tussle between the longs and shorts when it comes to the yen outlook. ground,ese yuan losing chinese stocks climbing, the hang seng 1% higher. debt on theinese back foot, easing the drop earlier. the 10 year yield at the highest level since april 2015. growth fornomic china showing signs of picking up. the kospi resuming gains despite geopolitical pickups. join navy drills with the u.s. today, fresh highs of foot for

cost of gas for some people and simply raising the price of those deals for people who have switched around? what the competition authority found was that there were two markets to move to very competitive supplies, that is highly competed over, but there is another pa rt competed over, but there is another part of a market where competition is very slow, in which the companies can and are overcharging customers. so what we want to do is to give some protection to those customers, while we drive competition through the whole market. that is greg clark, business secretary. let's talk to conservative mp john penrose. he's campaigned for a fuel cap and now says the government must implement it quickly. rebecca long—bailey is the shadow secretary of state for energy. lea shaw has been struggling to pay her fuel bills since her disability benefits were cut two years ago. rich towton, a married father of two, who struggles to keep up with his fuel bills. and ruth london is from the grassroots group fuel poverty action. thank you all very much for coming on the programme. john penrose, first of all, the five of the big six energy companies have recently put up their