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Friday newspaper round-up: Reddit, water suppliers, Britishvolt

(Sharecast News) - The billionaire businessman Mike Ashley has claimed he was the victim of "abuse" by Morgan Stanley amid a high court dispute over the investment bank's decision to impose a near $1bn (£790m) cash demand. Ashley's Frasers Group is taking legal action against the US investment bank Morgan Stanley and Denmark's Saxo Bank over the May 2021 move linked to bets placed on shares in the German retailer Hugo Boss. - Guardian Reddit set the stage for its highly anticipated stock market debut, preparing investors for the largest initial public offering by a major social network in four years. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday disclosed the financial performance of the social media group, and revealed that Sam Altman, the OpenAI founder and CEO, is its third-largest shareholder, with an 8.7% stake. - Guardian

Water suppliers such as Thames Water are at risk of collapsing into administration if they are fined for bad behaviour, MPs have warned, potentially landing taxpayers with a multi-billion pound bailout bill. In a letter to Ofwat, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee indicated that the watchdog has been rendered powerless to crack down on misdemeanours because of suppliers' financial instability. - Telegraph

Telefonica has written down the value of its stake in Virgin Media O2 by €1.8bn (£1.5bn) as the telecoms company grapples with soaring debt costs. The Spanish mobile giant said it had booked a €1.8bn goodwill impairment in its 50pc stake in VMO2, blaming rising interest rates and "broader macroeconomic conditions in the UK". - Telegraph

Administrators for the collapsed battery factory project Britishvolt have said they are still chasing money from the Australian buyer of the site and are considering other potential deals. Recharge Industries is still "in default" a year after it agreed to buy the site in Cambois, Northumberland, where Britishvolt had previously said it wanted to build a factory, according to EY. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: CMA, Riverford, Lloyds, Arm Holdings
(Sharecast News) - The appointment of the former boss of Amazon UK to lead the competition watchdog poses a threat to its independence and pledge to hold big tech to account, according to a group including tech companies and the former business secretary Vince Cable. The group - which includes the News Media Association, the Firefox developer Mozilla, the consumer group Which? and the Future of Technology Institute - has written to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to raise concerns about the appointment of Doug Gurr as the interim chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Johnson & Johnson, BoE
(Sharecast News) - Thames Water may need as much as £10bn in debt and equity investment to repair its finances, according to a representative of creditors hoping to lend the struggling utility another £3bn. London's high court heard evidence on Tuesday that suggested the UK's largest water company may need significantly more resources than the roughly £6.3bn it has previously indicated. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Zero-hours contracts, Barclays, Asos
(Sharecast News) - Hundreds of thousands of British workers are on zero-hours contracts despite being with the same employer for years, according to analysis from the TUC. The majority of zero-hours contract workers have been with their employer for more than 12 months, while one in eight have not been granted regular employment rights after more than a decade working in the same place, the organisation said. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Apple, Daily Mail, OpenAI, Homebase
(Sharecast News) - Apple slightly beat analysts' expectations in its first-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025 on Thursday. The iPhone-maker's revenue rose by 4%, coming in at $124.30bn, barely above estimates of $124.12bn. Earnings per share were $2.40, just ahead of analysts' expectations of $2.35. Shares rose more than 8% in extended trading after CEO Tim Cook indicated in an earnings call on Thursday that Apple is on the trajectory for revenue growth next quarter. - 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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