A federal judge denied the US competition regulator’s attempt to block Microsoft’s $75bn purchase of Activision Blizzard, ruling that the Federal Trade Commission had failed to show the deal would harm competition in the video game market. Shares in Activision rose more than 5 per cent. “The FTC has not shown it is likely to
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Andrew Bailey, Bank of England governor, will warn on Monday that the “unexpected resilience” of Britain’s economy has exacerbated wage and demand pressure that is fuelling stubbornly high inflation. He is due to tell the annual Mansion House dinner in the City of London that current pay deals are unsustainable if the central bank is
The US and Germany are under intense pressure from other allies to show greater support for Ukraine’s eventual membership of Nato, just days before the military alliance’s leaders meet in Lithuania. Washington and Berlin have backed a form of words for the summit’s concluding statement that does not fully endorse a “pathway” to Nato membership,
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled out big pre-election tax cuts this autumn, warning he must “double down” on inflation and would not “pump billions of pounds of additional demand” into the UK economy. “We will not countenance tax cuts if they make the battle against inflation harder,” Hunt told the Financial Times, admitting that meeting
BP is in talks over a landmark insurance deal for its £30bn final salary pension fund as rising interest gives companies the chance to shift billions of pounds of liabilities off their books. Trustees for BP’s UK defined benefit scheme, which has more than 60,000 members, are in talks with multiple insurers over a so-called
Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin has been spending time in Russia, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said, despite a peace deal with Moscow under which he had agreed to relocate to Belarus. Prigozhin’s Wagner Group fighters had also not been transferred as the deal specified, Lukashenko claimed, while suggesting the mercenary leader was unlikely to face repercussions
The UK has paid the highest borrowing cost on two-year debt this century at an auction of £4bn of gilts, as the recent surge in bond yields feeds through to the government’s finances. Gilt prices have slumped in the past few weeks, pushing yields sharply higher, as stubbornly high inflation stokes expectations that the Bank
The average cost of five-year fixed-rate UK mortgages has hit 6 per cent for the first time since November, as banks are called to respond to concern that savings rates are lagging behind rises in borrowing costs. The residential mortgage rate reached 6.01 per cent on Tuesday, according to data provider Moneyfacts, as the Bank
Currency speculators have boosted bullish wagers on the pound to the highest level for nine years despite recent signs that sterling’s strong rally this year is flagging. The growing consensus among speculative investors, such as hedge funds, comes after sterling has already rallied strongly this year, driven by the Bank of England’s effort to lift
The world’s largest active bond fund manager says markets are too optimistic about central banks’ ability to dodge a recession as they battle inflation in the US and Europe. Daniel Ivascyn, chief investment officer at Pimco, which manages $1.8tn of assets, said he was preparing for a “harder landing” than other investors while top central
Rioting erupted across France for a fourth night in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver of North African origin as his family prepared to bury him on Saturday in his hometown of Nanterre. The interior ministry said 994 arrests were made overnight compared with 875 on Thursday night and suggested
Apple’s market valuation is set to surpass the $3tn mark again as shares in the US tech giant hit a fresh record in pre-market trading on Friday. Shares in the company rose about 1 per cent to $191.74 in pre-market trading in New York. Its market value has rebounded 45 per cent this year, adding
Yorkshire Water has raised £500mn from shareholders, the latest sign of the UK’s debt-laden water companies racing to shore up their balance sheets. Yorkshire Water, which serves 2.3mn households and 130,000 businesses, said in a statement that the equity injection, which came this week, was “better than anticipated”. The fundraising is part of a plan
The British government is on standby for the potential collapse of Thames Water and ministers are examining options including the temporary nationalisation of the debt-laden business. Defra, the environment ministry, is holding emergency talks with industry regulator Ofwat to examine contingency plans in case the country’s largest company is unable to raise private finance in
Russia dropped charges against participants in the Wagner paramilitary force’s armed insurrection and said the group had agreed to hand over its weaponry. The announcements on Tuesday came in the wake of the deal between the Kremlin and Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and appeared to mark progress towards resolving the stand-off. The FSB, Russia’s main
Russia has shown images of defence minister Sergei Shoigu visiting troops, the first time he has been pictured in public since warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin’s weekend insurrection against senior military leadership. The brief video, posted on Monday by the defence ministry, showed Shoigu inspecting a Russian command point and listening to a report from subordinates about
Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops were withdrawing from southern Russia on Sunday after reaching a deal with Moscow to end his armed uprising after the biggest crisis of Vladimir Putin’s presidency. Prizoghin himself maintained a rare silence after calling an end to his insurrection on Saturday evening, though the Kremlin said he would
Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces were “blockading” Rostov and marching on Moscow on Saturday morning, as armed, masked men with tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded government buildings in the southern Russian city. In what would mark the first coup attempt in Russia for three decades, Prigozhin appeared to have taken over a military
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is meeting bank leaders in Downing Street to address the growing mortgage crisis caused by rising interest rates. Hunt is urging banks and building societies to examine the state of the mortgage market and see what additional help they can give those struggling to deal with surging monthly payments on their home
The Bank of England has stepped up its fight against persistent inflation with a surprise half-point rise in interest rates to 5 per cent, the highest level since 2008. Voting seven to two in favour of the larger-than-expected increase, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was responding to “material news” in recent economic