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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.

Thursday newspaper round-up: Microsoft, energy price cap, benefits

(Sharecast News) - Microsoft has filed an appeal against the UK competition watchdog's decision to block its $69bn (£56bn) acquisition of the Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard. The US tech company confirmed that it had formally lodged an appeal against the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) verdict against the deal last month. Its case will be argued before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). - Guardian The founder of Monzo has quit London in favour of San Francisco as he said the US was "much more accepting" of tech companies than Britain. Tom Blomfield, who co-founded the banking app in 2015 and left the company in 2021, said Britain was "not always favourable to ambitious founders who want to do something unusual". - Telegraph

Nearly 4 million people are being paid jobless benefits without ever having to look for work following a surge in claims of mental health and joint pain during lockdown. Around 3.7 million of the 5.2 million people currently claiming out of work benefits have been granted an exemption from finding a job, meaning that taxpayers face bankrolling their benefits indefinitely. - Telegraph

Energy bills will fall by 17 per cent to an average of £2,074 a year for a typical household from July, Ofgem has announced. Households have been paying record high prices since October - equivalent to £2,500 a year based on typical usage - under the government's energy price guarantee. - The Times

A lawsuit against the former boss of Barclays alleging that he hid what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein while working at a US bank has been allowed to proceed by a New York judge. Jes Staley, 66, faces a claim that could run to tens of millions of dollars from JP Morgan, the US bank where he filled senior roles between 1999 and 2013, before joining Barclays in 2015. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Heatwaves, AI data centres, CoreWeave
(Sharecast News) - Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June's unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn. Updating its assessment to include last month's high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: consumer confidence, easyJet, Thames Water
(Sharecast News) - Consumer confidence hit its highest level in almost two years in July, according to research that indicated the closing stages of the men's football World Cup and more people holidaying in the UK lifted summer spending. A truce in the Middle East conflict in June and the arrival of a new prime minister in No 10 also gave a lift to consumers after a long period of heightened uncertainty. A long-running monthly consumer spending survey by Barclays showed that 30% of those surveyed felt confident about the strength of the UK economy in July - representing a 21-month high and a six-percentage-point improvement on June. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Harvey Nichols, Heathrow, Lloyds Banking Group
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has promised a series of measures to tackle the cost of living, including a ban on fake discounts and making it easier for people to escape unwanted subscriptions. The crackdown on "rip-off" business practices is expected to benefit consumers to the tune of £400m a year and will be the first in a range of "everyday fixes" to be implemented in the coming months. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Gas power stations, Apple, Raleigh
(Sharecast News) - Trains across parts of north-west England have ground to a halt after a power failure hit the signalling centre controlling the railway in the region. Passengers awaiting Northern and TransPennine trains have been advised not to travel, with widespread cancellations and other services delayed by more than an hour already. - 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.