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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.

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Fiscal rules buffer, rent freeze, Next boss

(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves should aim to run a "significantly larger" buffer against her fiscal rules, according to a report from a House of Lords committee that says the UK's public debt is on an unsustainable trajectory. The chancellor raised taxes at last year's budget in order to more than double the "headroom", or buffer, against her fiscal rules to £22bn - some of which is expected to be eroded by the impact of the Iran war. - Guardian Britain has the third-highest rate of young people not in work or education among Europe's richest countries because of rising ill-health and a failing system of benefits and job support, a report has warned. The Resolution Foundation thinktank said the UK was facing a "crisis" in youth jobs amid a dramatic rise in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neets) to almost 1 million - the highest level in more than a decade. - Guardian

Rachel Reeves is considering freezing rents in an attempt to soften the fallout from the Iran war on household budgets, according to reports. The Chancellor's proposals would see landlords in England banned from raising rents for a year as part of a package of measures which are being considered in Government, The Guardian reported. - Telegraph

The UK has backed a British scientist's "self-learning" AI start-up that is promising to leapfrog rivals in the race to superintelligence. Ineffable Intelligence, founded by the former Google DeepMind executive David Silver, has raised a record $1.1bn (£810m) in a deal backed by the taxpayer. - Telegraph

The boss of Next has described Britain's planning system as the "single biggest drag on prosperity" and called for its abolition. In a keynote speech at the Margaret Thatcher Conference on prosperity on Monday, Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise criticised previous failed attempts at reform, instead calling for "something more radical, that we abolish planning because planned economies don't work". - The Times

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Monday newspaper round-up: Trade bazooka, shoplifting epidemic, John Lewis
(Sharecast News) - UK business leaders have called on the government to build an EU-style "trade bazooka" to protect Britain's economic interests in response to the latest tariff threats from Donald Trump. As transatlantic tensions rise, the British Chambers of Commerce said the UK's "inadequate economic security" was putting growth and jobs at risk. The lobby group, which represents thousands of firms, urged Keir Starmer to take the lead in protecting Britain from external crises, saying there had been "years of neglect by successive governments". - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Essar Energy, M&S, Intertek
(Sharecast News) - Days after the first wave of Russian tanks surged over the border into Ukraine in March 2022, dockers at a port in northern England took a stand. Appalled by Vladimir Putin's brutality, workers at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire vowed never to unload any Russian oil destined for the nearby Stanlow refinery, a major hub for UK fuel supplies. As the spotlight fell on Essar, the Indian-owned conglomerate that is Stanlow's parent company, it also acted fast, ceasing all imports of Russian fuel. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Medicine prices, ticket touting, Ryanair
(Sharecast News) - The war in Iran has pushed up the price of widely used medicines in England, including painkillers and hay fever medication, leading pharmacists have warned. Community chemists are charging customers 20-30% more for paracetamol than they did in February, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and many have run out of certain strengths of aspirin and co-codamol. - 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.

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