PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - June 24

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

UK construction groups accused of 'bid rigging' in 150-million-pound contracts https://on.ft.com/3NjilDZ UK 'minded to accept' conditions on 2.6-billion-pound deal for defence specialist Ultra https://on.ft.com/3OhvSwV

Stellantis invests 50 million euros in lithium start-up to secure car battery metals https://on.ft.com/3HRtsD4 UK explores 5% pay rises for public sector workers https://on.ft.com/3zZTkdO

Overview Several cartels involving ten construction suppliers conspired to rig bids for contracts worth 150 million pounds ($184.02 million) and cheat clients including Selfridges and Oxford university, the UK competition regulator has found.

The British government said it was "minded to accept" remedies to address national security concerns raised by the 2.6-billion-pound acquisition of defence specialist Ultra Electronics Holdings by rival Cobham. Stellantis NV will build a 50-million-euro ($52.61 million)stake in Australian start-up Vulcan Energy Resources as it seeks to extract lithium from deposits in Germany and become the first European carmaker to make a substantial direct investment in the extraction of raw materials for batteries.

Pay settlements for UK public sector staff could involve rises of up to 5 per cent this year, according to government insiders, as ministers try to avert widespread strikes by key workers. ($1 = 0.8151 pounds) ($1 = 0.9505 euros) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

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