PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - July 15

- Blackstone Group Inc has agreed to buy a $5.1 billion portfolio of rent-controlled apartments geared towards low-income families in its second big bet on the U.S. housing market in less than a month. - The prevalence of online fraud in UK has spiked during the pandemic as people have relied more on the internet for everyday tasks, with 2.3 billion pounds ($3.19 billion) lost by consumers last year.

The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines

- Football's online racists to be banned from attending matches https://on.ft.com/36zBm23 - Toyota's self-driving unit buys U.S. mapping start-up in software push https://on.ft.com/3hHe40C

- Blackstone doubles down on U.S. housing with $5 bln deal https://on.ft.com/2UcDdXN - Online fraud up by a third in the UK during the pandemic https://on.ft.com/3B3Ch8J

Overview - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged on Wednesday to toughen measures against online racist abuse of soccer players following torrents of abuse directed at members of England's team in recent days.

- Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it acquired U.S.-based Carmera, a provider of maps and data for driverless vehicles, marking the Japanese car maker's latest investment in autonomous technology. - Blackstone Group Inc has agreed to buy a $5.1 billion portfolio of rent-controlled apartments geared towards low-income families in its second big bet on the U.S. housing market in less than a month.

- The prevalence of online fraud in UK has spiked during the pandemic as people have relied more on the internet for everyday tasks, with 2.3 billion pounds ($3.19 billion) lost by consumers last year. ($1 = 0.7216 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)