Business
Ticketmaster agrees to give fans better price information after Oasis investigation
Chi Chi IzunduInvestigations correspondent and
Mark SavageMusic correspondent
ReutersTicketmaster will have to give music fans more advance information about ticket prices, after complaints about the system used for Oasis’s reunion tour last year.
The Competition and Markets Authority says the company has agreed to tell fans 24 hours in advance if a tiered pricing system is being used, as it was for Oasis tickets, and give more information about ticket prices during online queues.
It comes after the CMA said Ticketmaster “may have misled Oasis fans” with unclear pricing last year.
Platinum tickets sold for almost two-and-a-half times the standard price, but Ticketmaster did not explain to consumers that they came without extra benefits.
As a result of the CMA investigation, Ticketmaster will have to provide more information about prices during online queues, helping fans anticipate how much they might have to pay.
It will also have to use accurate labelling, to ensure the site does “not give the impression that one ticket is better than another when that is not the case”, the CMA said.
The company will also have to regularly report to the CMA over the next two years to ensure it is adhering to the new compliance.
PA Media“Fans who spend their hard-earned money to see artists they love deserve to see clear, accurate information, upfront,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
“If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
The CMA also said it had not made any findings about whether consumer law was infringed.
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster said in a statement: “We welcome the CMA’s confirmation there was no dynamic pricing, no unfair practices and that we did not breach consumer law.
“To further improve the customer experience, we’ve voluntarily committed to clearer communication about ticket prices in queues.
“This builds on our capped resale, strong bot protection, and clear pricing displays – and we encourage the CMA to hold the entire industry to these same standards.”
‘No dynamic pricing’
The launch of Oasis’s highly-anticipated reunion tour last year descended into chaos, as fans found themselves paying hundreds of pounds more than they expected.
Many expressed outrage over allegations that Ticketmaster used “dynamic pricing” – where ticket prices rise and fall according to demand – prompting the CMA to launch an investigation into the sale.
However the CMA said it had “not found evidence” that such an algorithmic pricing system had been used to adjust the price of Oasis tickets in real time.
The confusion seems to have arisen because identical or adjacent tickets were often sold for wildly varying prices, a practice known as tiered pricing.
Although these fees were set in advance, the cheaper ones naturally sold first, leaving only the more expensive ones – leading to an impression that the prices were being hiked due to demand.
Even Oasis appeared to believe that dynamic pricing had been employed, issuing a statement saying they had not agreed to the practice in advance.
However, the boss of Ticketmaster UK told MPs that prices did “not move during the on-sale period”.
“There’s no technology-driven change to those prices,” said Andrew Parsons, appearing before the Business and Trade Select Committee this February.
“They are the prices which humans have agreed to. There’s not a computer or a bot behind it.”
Fans ‘feel let down’
Consumer magazine Which? welcomed the CMA putting pressure on Ticketmaster to make its prices clearer, but said the settlement didn’t go far enough.
“While it’s positive that Ticketmaster has agreed to follow the rules moving forward, it is disappointing that the CMA is not using its power to demand refunds for fans,” said Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert for the magazine.
“Those who felt ripped off when buying Oasis tickets last year will undoubtedly feel let down that Ticketmaster hasn’t been held to account for its past behaviour.
“Since this incident the CMA has been given stronger powers. It needs to show that it is willing to use them to create a meaningful deterrent for breaches of consumer law.”
Getty ImagesThe CMA’s action comes as Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation face legal action in the US over allegations they allowed brokers to buy up millions of dollars of tickets and resell them at higher prices.
The lawsuit was filed in California by the Federal Trade Commission and seven US states, and accused Ticketmaster of deceptive practices, including advertising lower prices that were actually unavailable.
The lawsuit also alleged that, in one instance, a broker had been able to purchase more than 9,000 tickets for a single concert during Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance tour.
When some of those tickets were resold on Ticketmaster at a higher price, the company was able to collect additional fees, the lawsuit alleged.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have yet to respond.
Meanwhile, Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino has said he thinks concert tickets are underpriced.
Speaking at the Game Plan conference in Los Angeles last week, Rapino compared rock and pop shows to sporting events, telling Rolling Stone: “In sports, I joke it’s like a badge of honour to spend $70,000 for a Knicks courtside [seat],” but “they beat me up if we charge $800 for Beyoncé.”
The average price of a concert ticket rose 23.3% globally last year, according to data from the live industry trade publication Pollstar, reaching a record high of $130.81 (£104.36).
But Rapino said there was “a lot of runway left” in terms of price increases.
“When you read about ticket prices going up, the average concert price is still $72. Try going to a Laker game for that, and there’s 80 of them. The concert is underpriced and has been for a long time.”
Business
India’s Forex Reserves Surge $4.36 Billion To $693 Billion, Gold Holding Rises $2.6 Billion
Last Updated:
India’s Latest Forex Reserves: The value of the gold reserves jumps $2.623 billion to $110.365 billion during the week ended December 19.
India’s Latest Forex Reserves.
India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged $4.368 billion to $693.318 billion during the week ended December 19, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The value of the gold reserves jumped $2.623 billion to $110.365 billion during the week.
The overall kitty had increased by $1.689 billion to $688.949 billion in the previous week.
For the week ended December 19, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $1.641 billion to $559.428 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ data.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by $8 million to $18.744 billion.
India’s reserve position with the IMF was up by $95 million to $4.782 billion in the week, according to the RBI data.
The price of the safe-haven asset gold has been on a sharp uptrend over recent months, perhaps amid heightened global uncertainties and robust investment demand.
After the last monetary policy review meeting, the RBI had said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to cover more than 11 months of merchandise imports. Overall, India’s external sector remains resilient, and the RBI is confident it can comfortably meet external financing requirements.
In 2023, India added around $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of $71 billion in 2022. In 2024, reserves rose by just over $20 billion. So far in 2025, the forex kitty has increased by about $47-48 billion, according to data.
Foreign exchange reserves, or FX reserves, are assets held by a nation’s central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies such as the US dollar, with smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.
December 27, 2025, 08:17 IST
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Business
Irdai fines Reliance General Insurance over ‘commission’ – The Times of India
MUMBAI: The Irdai on Friday, fined Reliance General Insurance Rs 1 crore in Hyderabad for routing unauthorised payouts through marketing and awareness expenses that amounted to disguised commissions. The penalty follows Irdai’s examination of transactions across FY19, FY20 and FY21. According to the regulator, the insurer channeled payments to brokers, agents, corporate agents and unlicensed entities under labels such as consumer awareness, marketing and advertising.
Business
Govt registers 144olive startups | The Express Tribune
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ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has registered 144 olive startups as part of a decade-long government initiative aimed at developing the olive sector.
Olive Promotional Programme National Project Director Dr Muhammad Tariq told Wealth Pakistan that the sector had recorded rapid growth over the past 10 years due to sustained government backing.
“Ten years ago, when the government started this programme, we had only one entrepreneur. Today, we have 144 startups and entrepreneurs. It is a very fast-growing sector,” he said.
Tariq noted that the government’s continued support had played a central role in transforming the olive sector into a viable agro-industry. The federal minister for national food security has also taken steps to strengthen the sector by pursuing Pakistan’s full membership at the International Olive Council. “Hopefully, there will be progress within three months,” he said.
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