Britain Financial News

Nasdaq futures signaled further gains in US tech shares after Monday’s rally, while the sector also outperformed in Europe and Asia. 

Microsoft has submitted a new proposal to Britain's competition regulator for the acquisition of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard, the watchdog said Tuesday, after a previous version of the deal was blocked. Xbox-owner Microsoft launched a bid for Activision Blizzard early last year, seeking to establish the world's third biggest gaming firm by revenue after China's Tencent and Japan's PlayStation maker Sony. But the $69 billion deal for the purchase of the owner of game titles including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush has faced significant scrutiny by regulators. Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has «opened a new phase 1 investigation into a new, restructured deal by Microsoft to buy Activision». It added that the new deal follows confirmation by the regulator that «the original deal would be blocked to protect innovation and choice in cloud gaming». Under the new proposed deal «Microsoft will not acquire cloud rights for existing Activision PC and console games, or for new games released by Activision during the next 15 years (this excludes the European Economic Area),» the CMA said. Instead these rights will be divested to French game developer Ubisoft Entertainment prior to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision, according to the CMA. Ubisoft will in particular have «the ability to supply Activision's gaming content to all cloud gaming service providers (including to Microsoft itself)». «This will allow gamers to access Activision's games in different ways, including through cloud-based multigame subscription services,» Sarah Cardell, the CMA chief executive, said. — Confidence — Cardell added that «this is not a green light». «Our goal has not changed — any future

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, announced Tuesday it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year — exceeding figures for the same period in 2019 as travelers return to the air after the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic. The airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates in skyscraper-studded Dubai, long has served as a barometer for the aviation industry worldwide. The new figures at the airport known as DXB reflect figures offered by the International Air Transport Association that traffic worldwide is at 94% of pre-COVID levels. «As we recover with our (half-year) traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we continue to remain committed to ensuring every guest who travels through our airport leaves with a smile,» Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement announcing the figures. The 41.6 million passengers is up some 50% from the 27.9 million recorded the same time last year, as airlines now have more planes and routes running again. Passenger traffic this year largely has been driven by the airport's standard travel destinations — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

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Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., following a substantial alteration to the proposed merger by the tech giant. This move, as reported by Bloomberg effectively resets the acquisition process to its initial stages, as announced by the country's antitrust watchdog on Tuesday. In an uncommon development, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) declared that it was reevaluating Microsoft's offer after the company indicated its intention to sell the rights of all present and future Activision games for the next 15 years to Ubisoft Entertainment SA.

The new head joins from LifeX Aps, a residential operator and technology platform, where he was head of real estate strategy and chief investment officer.

Nearly 100% (99.98%) of votes, or 558,771,343 votes per share, were cast in favour of the investment policy changes, with only 0.02% voting against and 13,519 votes withheld.

The board reiterated that there was still “no certainty at this time that a sake of the company’s property portfolio will take place”, with none of the final terms, or price agreed yet. Credit: Photo Mix

The investment policy of the fund will also be updated to provide greater clarity of how ESG considerations are incorporated into its investment approach.

GAM’s board argued that the level of funding needed to stabilise the firm was “significantly higher”, and likely to be in excess of CHF 100m (£89.1m).

For further recommendations, try our annual round-up of the best books, films, TV, music, podcasts and more. Budapest. By Victor Sebestyen. W&N; 432 pages; £25 Forever caught between East and West, the capital of Hungary encapsulates the drama of central Europe in its wonders and horrors.

One way to demonstrate your language proficiency in English and gain a competitive edge is by taking the Pearson Test of English (PTE), which is now recognized and accepted by Australia, Canada, the US and the UK across all visa categories. PTE is a computer-based English language test for those who wish to study, work or migrate abroad. It tests the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills of the candidates in a single two-hour assessment. It offers candidates a fast fair and flexible way of proving their English language proficiency. Here’s five ways in which English language proficiency can improve your life:

Golden Maknae seems to have landed in trouble! K-pop sensation Jungkook, whose debut single ‘Seven’ created history by grabbing top slots in the Global Spotify Chart, UK Singles Chart, and US Billboard Chart, is now facing accusations of plagiarism. A mere month after the romantic summer bop landed atop the US Billboard 100 chart, K-pop producer Yang Joong Young has alleged that ‘Seven’ is eerily similar to ‘Time Of Mask’ a song he composed for the girl group Fin.KL. According to a Koreaboo report, the melodic tone of both songs has more than a passing resemblance. As the news went viral on X (formerly named Twitter), many ARMYs came to Jungkook’s defense, pointing out that the two songs sounded nothing similar. Some fans claimed that ‘Time Of Mask’ resembled a Spice Girl single ‘Say You Will Be There’. “You know what's more intriguing besides the songs not being anything alike? is that the said song they claim was plagiarized is identical to «Say You'll Be There» by Spice Girls,” wrote a Twitter user.

American streaming platform Netflix has announced that the fourth season of its comedy drama Sex Education, will premiere on 22 September. It stars Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, and Aimee Lou Wood. Viewership of international content on over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms in India has nearly doubled in 2022 as audiences took to original and dubbed versions of English, Turkish, Spanish and Korean shows and films.

rise of English has made that less necessary. But most people—at least seven of the world’s eight billion—still do not speak English. That leaves options like pantomime, a willingness to be surprised by what arrives at dinner—or, increasingly, technology.

EcoSoul Home aims to accelerate the movement towards a sustainable lifestyle by tapping Earth’s most renewable sources. With a diverse range of products in kitchenware, dinnerware and cutlery, the brand claims to drive the 3As of sustainability — awareness, availability and affordability.

Also read: Wildfire spreads on Spain's Tenerife island, forces thousands to flee homes "Some records could be broken, notably on Tuesday in the Rhone valley with 40-42C expected," said the national weather service Meteo France. The heatwave is described as "intense and long-lasting" and arriving "particularly late in the season." This weather phenomenon results from a period of high pressure that has created a "heat dome" over the country. In 2022, following a suffocating summer of record temperatures and forest fires, France, for the most part, experienced a typical holiday period this year, avoiding the intense heat that scorched southern Europe in July.

All standard homeowner and tenant insurance policies cover damage caused by wildfires, and also provide coverage to help with the cost of mass evacuations, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

Gas prices in Europe have surged due to concerns over possible strikes at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia. The Offshore Alliance union has issued a warning about a potential strike at Australia's North West Shelf facility, scheduled to begin as soon as September 2 if salary negotiations remain unresolved. Bloomberg reported a roughly 10% increase in benchmark gas prices for the European Union and the United Kingdom on Monday. While gas prices had surged following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, they had subsequently decreased. Apprehensions revolve around the North West Shelf facility's role in supplying LNG globally as Australia is a prominent supplier. Alongside this facility, Chevron-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone offshore LNG plants are also undergoing strike votes, with outcomes expected on Thursday. These three plants constitute approximately 10% of the global LNG supply. Ben McWilliams, an associate fellow at Bruegel, a think tank, cautioned that these strikes could have repercussions on worldwide LNG prices. As a response to Russia's reduction in natural gas supplies during the Ukrainian conflict, countries sought alternative energy sources, with LNG being a prominent choice. Australia, alongside Qatar and the United States, is a major global LNG exporter. Cornwall Insight, a research firm, has predicted that the uncertainty surrounding Australia's gas supply could lead to significantly higher gas prices and contribute to a substantial rise in Ofgem's price cap by January. It anticipated a rise in the price cap from £1,925.71 in Q4 2023 to £2,082.56 for a typical annual household bill in Q1 2024.

(Reuters) — Arm, the British chip designer owned by Japan's SoftBank (TYO:9984) Group, on Monday disclosed its financial details in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.

Australia’s largest integrated provider ofcancer care, Icon Group, backed by private equity firm EQT, is expanding its services into the UK after penning a new deal with Nuffield Health, the nation’s biggest healthcare charity.