Brussels’ economy chief has warned that Europe will need to step up its response to Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act as the US programme to finance the industrial green transition is set to be larger than expected, the Financial Times reports.

The paper reports a story about Microsoft’s slated $75bn (£57.3bn) purchase of Activision Blizzard, something which has involved a long-running battle with Sony over the Call of Duty video game title. It reports Microsoft has made regulatory breakthroughs in the deal, and is “on the brink of clinching victory”.