Boeing is facing possible delays to the production of some planes after machinists at the troubled aircraft manufacturer voted to go on strike. Tens of thousands of workers at Boeing have voted to reject a new contract, which would have raised their pay by 25% over four years, and to go on strike instead – the first walkout in 16 years. The move puts pressure on the aircraft manufacturer to offer more generous terms, and is a fresh blow to Boeing as it tries to raise quality after problems with its manufacturing processes. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said 94.6% of voting workers rejected a new contract and 96% approved the strike — easily surpassing a two-thirds requirement. IAM District 751 represents more than 30,000 Boeing workers in Washington state. The strike was set to begin today in the US. The Boeing chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, had pleaded with workers not to go on strike, warning it would put the company’s “recovery in jeopardy”. Optimism that the US central bank would finally start cutting interest rates next week has helped to push the gold price to a new all-time high. Spot gold has hit a record high of $2,570.03 an ounce this morning, adding to strong gains on Thursday. Bullion has gained about 3% so far this week, and 25% so far this year. The gold price was pushed up by a weakening US dollar, which is close to its lowest level of 2024. The dollar slipped as investors ponder how aggressively the US Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs. A cut – the first in the current cycle – next week is widely expected but traders are split between anticipating a small, quarter-point cut or a larger half-point reduction to the federal funds rate. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned this morning that Vodafone’s $19bn merger with Three UK could hurt customers. The deal could lead to “tens of millions of mobile customers having to pay more” for their services, the CMA said, as it set out its provisional view on the merger. On the other hand, it also said that the merger could improve the quality of mobile networks. The CMA has provisionally concluded that the merger would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK – in retail and wholesale mobile markets. That is potentially a blow to Vodafone and Three’s hopes. But this is not a final decision – the CMA is going to consult, and see what commitments could be made to address its concerns. But it retains the option to prohibit the merger if it is not satisfied. The agenda • 8.30am: eurozone finance ministers hold a Eurogroup meeting in Budapest • 9.30am BST: Bank of England/Ipsos inflation attitudes survey • 10am BST: eurozone industrial production data for July • 3pm BST: University of Michigan’s US consumer confidence report We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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