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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Friday newspaper round-up: Income tax, Ineos, Virgin Atlantic

(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves is set to abandon a plan to raise income tax in her budget with the chancellor reportedly "ripping up" the main measures in the wake of turmoil in the party. A source told the Guardian that plans to break the manifesto pledge on income tax had been ditched by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the chancellor. - Guardian The carmaker owned by the billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe will make hundreds of job cuts across the company's global workforce as his heavily indebted empire comes under increasing pressure. Ineos Automotive did not specify an exact number of losses from its 1,700-strong workforce, saying only that it would shed "several hundred" head office staff across multiple locations, including the UK and parts of Europe. - Guardian

It made pith helmets for young Englishmen heading off to the jungle. It supplies the Royal family and almost every child at a pony club wears its protective headgear. But after 114 years, family-owned riding helmet manufacturer Charles Owen has called time on production in the UK. Dave Derby, the chief executive of the Wrexham-based company, said in a note sent to customers this week that the company would have to cease production in mid-December following a row over its lease. - Telegraph

Households have slashed their energy usage to near record lows as bills soar. Domestic energy use has dropped by an average of 15pc in just a year, according to new figures released by Ed Miliband's officials. It suggests families and pensioners have cut back on things like heating, bathing and cooking. About a third of the decline was attributed to warm weather between April and June this year, meaning there was less need for things like heating. However, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said energy usage was still "near historic lows" when adjusted for changes in temperature and seasonality. - Telegraph

Virgin Atlantic has struck a deal with the US investment firm Apollo Global Management to borrow $745 million against the value of its landing slots at Heathrow Airport, using the extra cash to revamp its fleet of aircraft. The airline, which counts Britain's busiest airport as its primary hub, intends to use the additional funds to pay down debt, upgrade aircraft cabins and finance free on-board wifi, powered by Elon Musk's satellite venture Starlink. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Greenland, Morrisons, Cisco Systems
(Sharecast News) - Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president's envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year. Amid Trump's imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland's eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a "strong warning" from the government. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Heatwaves, AI data centres, CoreWeave
(Sharecast News) - Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows. Green thinktank Verdant had suggested June's unseasonally hot weather had an economic cost of £2.36bn. Updating its assessment to include last month's high temperatures, it finds a £4.4bn hit to output. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: consumer confidence, easyJet, Thames Water
(Sharecast News) - Consumer confidence hit its highest level in almost two years in July, according to research that indicated the closing stages of the men's football World Cup and more people holidaying in the UK lifted summer spending. A truce in the Middle East conflict in June and the arrival of a new prime minister in No 10 also gave a lift to consumers after a long period of heightened uncertainty. A long-running monthly consumer spending survey by Barclays showed that 30% of those surveyed felt confident about the strength of the UK economy in July - representing a 21-month high and a six-percentage-point improvement on June. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Harvey Nichols, Heathrow, Lloyds Banking Group
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has promised a series of measures to tackle the cost of living, including a ban on fake discounts and making it easier for people to escape unwanted subscriptions. The crackdown on "rip-off" business practices is expected to benefit consumers to the tune of £400m a year and will be the first in a range of "everyday fixes" to be implemented in the coming months. - Guardian

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.