UK competition chiefs set to approve Microsoft’s $69bn Activision deal – latest updates

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Retail sales have rebounded in August after a wet July put a damper on the high street. Elsewhere, the Competition and Markets Authority has completed an initial review of Microsoft’s $69bn takeover of Activision. Meanwhile, eyes are on gas prices after Chevron workers agreed to halt strikes at plants in Australia. Here is everything else you need to know this morning:

5 things to start your day 

1) The moments that made Rupert Murdoch | The succession of newspapers – and wives – that defined the media mogul

2) Wall Street chief dragged into court battle over Mike Ashley’s trades | Retail tycoon pursues case against investment bank over bets on Hugo Boss stock

3) 10,000 fewer heat pump grants available to households after Rishi Sunak’s net zero overhaul | While the Prime Minister increased the incentive to £7,500 it has now emerged that the £150m overall cap on the scheme has not been changed

4) Billionaire Mike Bloomberg vows to give financial data empire to charity | Announcement follows speculation around future of US company

5) Warner Bros announces £200m expansion of Watford studio where Barbie was filmed | Originally a World War II airfield, Leavesden’s aircraft hangars have also been used to film James Bond’s Goldeneye and House of the Dragon

What happened overnight 

Most stock markets fell on Friday morning as Asian investors fear interest rate rises. The Bank of Japan is set to maintain its negative rates policy as new inflation data released on Friday showed it came in higher than expected in August.

Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington all fell, though Hong Kong and Shanghai enjoyed a much-needed bounce on bargain-buying.

Wall Street stocks fell sharply on Thursday as investor risk appetite was dampened by concerns that interest rates will remain higher for longer. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.1pc at 34,070.42.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.6pc to 4,330.00, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8pc to 13,223.98.

 

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