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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Friday newspaper round-up: Rail strikes, homeowners, Activision/Microsoft

(Sharecast News) - A fresh round of rail strikes is expected to disrupt national networks during July, after the RMT union announced that 20,000 workers would stage three days of stoppages. The move dashes any hopes of an imminent resolution to a bitter labour dispute that has caused frequent disruption to rail lines across the country throughout 2023. - Guardian Poor countries will be able to pause their debt repayments if hit by climate disaster, under plans announced by the World Bank at the finance summit in Paris. The international development organisation said it would insert new clauses in any agreements with developing countries, allowing them to suspend debt payments in the case of extreme weather events, starting with some of the poorest and most vulnerable nations.- Guardian

Homeowners are facing three more years of mortgage pain after Andrew Bailey warned that price rises were "much more persistent" than the Bank of England predicted. The Governor of the Bank said decisive action was needed to keep a lid on inflation as policymakers surprised economists with a 0.5-point increase in interest rates to 5pc. Mr Bailey said: "The economy is doing better than expected, but inflation is still too high and we've got to deal with it." - Telegraph

Buying Activision Blizzard would hand Microsoft the ability and incentive to damage competition, America's top watchdog claimed at the start of a courtroom showdown. The technology company denied the allegation as it fights to save the $68.7 billion takeover, its biggest acquisition to date and the largest yet in the video games industry. It countered that the deal would be "good news for consumers". - The Times

The former boss of Vodafone who was ousted after failing to revive the struggling telecoms group and its share price was paid almost £4 million last year. Nick Read, 58, whose departure was announced in December after four years in charge, received almost £3.9 million last year, including a £900,000 annual bonus. He also was paid about £270,000 in the first three months of this year when he was an adviser to the board and will be paid more than £730,000 over the remainder of his 12-month notice period. - The Times

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Monday newspaper round-up: Four-day week, UK energy, Apple
(Sharecast News) - Fraudsters may have stolen £500,000 from a taxpayer-funded scheme aimed at accelerating the removal of dangerous cladding from buildings, the public spending watchdog has revealed. The National Audit Office said the government decision to prioritise speed in handing out money to building owners had increased its risk of losses from fraud. The warning came in an NAO report into the government's progress in remediating dangerous cladding from blocks after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Boeing, Amazon, Harland & Wolff
(Sharecast News) - Striking Boeing workers will vote on an improved contract offer on Monday, which includes a 38% pay rise over four years and a bigger signing bonus, their union said on Thursday. More than 30,000 factory workers who produce Boeing's strongest-selling 737 Max commercial jet and other planes have been on strike since 13 September and have rejected two earlier offers from Boeing. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft, car finance crisis
(Sharecast News) - The former cryptocurrency executive Nishad Singh, who once shared a $35m Bahamas penthouse with the FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was spared prison time by a judge on Wednesday for his role in the theft by his imprisoned former boss of about $8bn in customer funds from the now bankrupt exchange. The United States district judge Lewis Kaplan imposed the sentence during a hearing in Manhattan federal court. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Starbucks, Santander, Alphabet
(Sharecast News) - Starbucks office workers will risk losing their jobs if they fail to comply with the company's hybrid work requirement that employees are in the office three times a week. According to the Wall Street Journal an internal message sent to employees warns that an "accountability process" will start in January 2025. Consequences for non-compliance are "up to, and including, separation", according to the company message. - Guardian

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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