Friday newspaper round-up: RMT strike, Elon Musk, Apple, Boeing

More than 20,000 rail workers in England have begun a 24-hour strike that will cancel half of services on affected lines as part of a long-running dispute with train operators over jobs, pay and conditions. The stoppage by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) – the second of three by rail unions to hit the network this week – will affect most operators in England and some cross-border services into Scotland and Wales. – Guardian

Elon Musk is being accused of insider trading in a proposed class action lawsuit by investors. They say the Tesla CEO manipulated the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, costing them billions of dollars. In a Wednesday night filing in Manhattan federal court, investors said Musk used Twitter posts, paid online influencers, his 2021 appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and other “publicity stunts” to trade profitably at their expense through several Dogecoin wallets that he or Tesla controls. – Guardian

Apple has denied allegations that it helped US authorities spy on Russian iPhone users. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Thursday claimed it uncovered a US National Security Agency (NSA) operation which hacked several thousand iPhones using sophisticated surveillance software. The US intelligence agency was allegedly able to use specifically-designed “software vulnerabilities” to infect Apple’s phones with previously unknown malware, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. – Telegraph

Activity in mergers and acquisitions in Britain is at its lowest level in seven years as dealmakers remain cautious about the economic outlook. The total value of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies has more than halved to $89 billion in the first five months of the year and the number of deals announced has dropped by 29 per cent, according to the deals intelligence team at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). – The Times

Boeing is bracing itself for another 18 months of instability in its supply chain as it moves to increase production. Dave Calhoun, the group’s chief executive, acknowledged that it had suffered because of failures and shortfalls across its “very large, very fragmented” base of suppliers. – The Times