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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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Tuesday newspaper round-up: NDAs, Amazon, wealth tax, Seraphine
(Sharecast News) - Bosses in the UK will be banned from using non-disclosure agreements to silence employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination in the workplace as part of the government's overhaul of workers' rights. Ministers will on Monday night table amendments to the government's employment rights bill to prohibit the widespread practice of using legally enforceable NDAs to conceal unacceptable behaviour at work. - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - Donald Trump has said that his administration plans to start sending letters on Monday to US trade partners dictating new tariffs, amid confusion over when the new rates will come into effect. "It could be 12, maybe 15 [letters]," the president told reporters, "and we've made deals also, so we're going to have a combination of letters and some deals have been made." - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - Brussels is heading into a critical week, with just two to go to clinch a trade agreement with the US or face a 50% levy on its exports. At stake are €1.6trn in transatlantic trade. Germany is down as favouring a quick deal akin to that inked by the UK so as to avoid a full-blown trade war. Paris on the other hand believes that the EU should hold out if too quick a deal is "imbalanced" - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - Ed Miliband has unveiled plans to make it easier for homeowners to install wind turbines in their gardens as part of a mass expansion of green power. The Energy Secretary has announced a consultation on relaxing planning rules governing the construction of turbines on residential and commercial properties. - Telegraph

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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