Market Failure
3 articles tagged with this topic.
Dramatic fall in London’s levels of deadly pollutants after Ulez expansion
A Greater London Authority report finds London’s air pollution has fallen markedly since the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was expanded to all boroughs in August 2023. Roadside NO2 is down 27% across London since 2019, PM2.5 in outer London is 31% lower than without the 2023 expansion, 99% of monitoring sites show improvement, and 97% of vehicles are now compliant, with notable benefits in deprived areas and reductions in CO2.
Why did the government take control of British Steel?
The UK government took emergency control of British Steel's Scunthorpe plant to prevent its closure and secured a £500m deal for train tracks with Network Rail. This intervention occurred after current owners, Jingye (China), threatened to cease operations due to annual losses and "challenging market conditions," posing a risk to UK economic security as the plant is the last to produce virgin steel. The government is attempting to find a long-term private sector partner.
Eight firms under investigation over online pricing
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched investigations into eight companies, including StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, and Wayfair, over potentially misleading online pricing practices such as "drip pricing" and misleading time-limited sales. This is the first action taken under new consumer protection powers, allowing the CMA to issue fines up to 10% of global turnover and order compensation without court proceedings.