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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: Strikes, Klarna, small business borrowers

(Sharecast News) - Ministers have approved controversial plans to allow agency workers to replace striking workers, voting through the regulations on Monday night by 289 votes to 202. While the business minister, Jane Hunt, said the change, which was accelerated as a result of the ongoing rail strikes, was needed to remove the "outdated blanket ban" on using agency workers to cover official industrial action, critics say the measure is akin to a "scab charter". - Guardian Klarna, the "buy now, pay later" fintech darling that was once Europe's most valuable private tech company, has seen its valueK slashed by 85% to less than $7bn in its latest round of fundraising. The company, which enjoyed stellar growth while also being criticised for potentially leading shoppers into unsustainable debt, announced the valuation after the conclusion of a difficult $800m funding round as investors continued to question the true worth of many tech businesses. - Guardian

A major microchip factory is to be built in France with taxpayer money as Emmanuel Macron scrambles to reduce dependence on Chinese imports. The facility is being constructed by STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries at an existing site in Crolles, near Grenoble, increasing its capacity from 10,000 to 22,000 wafers per week. - Telegraph

The City regulator has ordered bank boards to step in and improve the way struggling small business borrowers are handled after uncovering widespread mistreatment of companies across the banking industry. A Financial Conduct Authority review of 11 banks' handling of borrowers who are in financial difficulty, including those struggling to repay taxpayer-backed pandemic loans, found "repeated instances of poor customer outcomes and failures to treat customers fairly". - The Times

A pioneering workplace savings scheme for refuse collectors and other lower-paid workers in Britain has produced a remarkable level of take-up, which experts say could one day transform the way people save. Suez, the waste recovery and recycling group, has recorded a 66 times higher take-up rate compared with other employers by making its scheme opt out rather than an opt in. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Amazon, dividends, Weardale Lithium
(Sharecast News) - Amazon profits soared once again in the first quarter of 2024, the company announced on Tuesday - the latest in a series of robust earnings reports for the retail giant. The company attributed the boost to artificial intelligence and advertising sales. Amazon reported overall revenue of $143.3bn in the first three months of the year - up 13% from the same period in 2023 and surpassing Wall Street expectations of $142.65bn. The e-commerce giant reported an increase of more than 200% to $15bn, with net income more than tripling to $10.4bn from $3.17bn at the same time in 2023. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Meta, ExxonMobil, Very Group
(Sharecast News) - The Federal Communications Commission on Monday fined the largest US wireless carriers nearly $200m for illegally sharing access to customers' location information. The FCC is finalizing fines first proposed in February 2020, including $80m for T-Mobile; $12m for Sprint, which T-Mobile has since acquired; $57m for AT&T, and nearly $47m for Verizon. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Brexit, Babylon
(Sharecast News) - Senior Whitehall officials fear Thames Water's financial collapse could trigger a rise in government borrowing costs not seen since the chaos of the Liz Truss mini-budget, the Guardian can reveal. Such is their concern about the impact on wider borrowing costs for the UK, even beyond utilities and infrastructure, that they believe Thames should be renationalised before the general election. Officials in the Treasury and the UK's Debt Management Office fear that, unless the UK's biggest water company is renationalised as soon as possible, "prolonged uncertainty" about its fate could "damage confidence in UK plc at a sensitive time", with elections in the UK and the US later this year. - Guardian
Sunday share tips: Centrica, Lancashire Holdings
(Sharecast News) - The Sunday Times's Lucy Tobin told her readers to book their profits in Centrica and 'sell'.

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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