(Sharecast News) – The UK’s biggest retailers have reported the first monthly fall in shop prices for two years, as stores tried to tempt in customers with big discounts during July’s unseasonably wet weather. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said its annual shop price inflation rate, compiled with the help of NielsenIQ, had declined to its lowest level of the year, sliding to 7.6% last month from 8.4% in June. – Guardian
The UK competition watchdog has said it will decide whether to clear or block Microsoft’s $69bn (£54bn) takeover of the video game developer Activision Blizzard by 29 August, as it gave fresh hope for the transaction by opening a new consultation on it. The Competition and Markets Authority, which had originally said in April it would block the deal to take over the owner of hit titles such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush, is seeking public contributions on whether it should clear it after a new submission from Microsoft. – Guardian
Vladimir Putin’s decision to block Ukrainian grain exports means British families will face higher food prices for longer than expected, the supermarkets trade body has warned. Inflation has been falling in recent months but prices on global food markets have shot up in the past fortnight as Russia rains missiles down on Ukrainian ports used to transport grain. – Telegraph
Aston Martin will tap investors for £210m in an effort to pay off its debt pile which is weighing on the luxury carmaker. Shareholders including Yew Tree, the investment vehicle owned by Aston Martin’s chairman Lawrence Stroll and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have agreed to subscribe to around £115m of the share placing, with the remaining stock made available to institutional investors. – Telegraph
WANdisco has demanded that two former executives repay $832,000 in bonuses to reflect a fraud scandal that has shattered the company’s value. The data software specialist has written to David Richards, its co-founder and former chief executive, and Erik Miller, the former finance director, to request the return of bonuses paid last year. – The Times
