CMA Slaps Eight-Week Delay on Adobe’s £16bn Figma Takeover!
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has hit pause on Adobe’s massive $20 billion (around £16bn) acquisition of the cloud-based design platform Figma. The original probe, due to wrap by December 27, now drags on until February 25, 2024.
Why the delay? Adobe refused to offer any concessions, sparking fears over stifled competition in product development, growth, and market expansion. A crack team of independent experts is tearing through the evidence as tensions mount. Adobe snagged Figma back in September 2022, shaking up the software world with this blockbuster buyout.
Lloyds Predicts House Prices to Take a Hit—But Bounce Back by 2025
Lloyds Banking Group, owner of Halifax, is warning of a short-term slump in UK house prices. They expect prices to fall 4.7% through 2023 and slide another 2.4% in 2024. Ouch. Higher interest rates, now at a 15-year peak of 5.25%, are making mortgages pricier and slowing down sales.
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. The average house price remains well above pre-pandemic levels, and Lloyds forecasts a steady recovery kicking off in 2025, with a modest 0.6% rise by 2027. Worth noting: Over 30% of buyers pay cash and aren’t counted in these stats.
On-Demand Buses in Danger as Councils Struggle to Fund Services
England’s County Councils Network has thrown a spotlight on the shaky future of “on-demand” bus services. These tech-savvy rides aim to cover routes abandoned by commercial operators, but most councils say they’re running at a loss.
The Department for Transport has chipped in millions and capped fares at £2 to keep them afloat. Yet plunging passenger numbers and pandemic fallout are biting hard. The network warned that these bookable buses mustn’t replace proper investment in regular commercial bus routes.
