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Friday newspaper round-up: Housebuilding, BT, Deutsche Bank

(Sharecast News) - Housebuilding in London is "grinding to a halt", housing associations have warned the government, with the number of affordable homes being built plummeting by three-quarters in the last 12 months. In a letter to the housing secretary, Michael Gove, the G15, which represents the capital's 11 largest housing associations, said his policies did not go far enough to increase supply and called for an injection of billions of pounds into an affordable homes building programme. - Guardian The Independent is in talks to take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK and Ireland, as part of a "strategic partnership" that aims to boost the fortunes of two strikingly different players in the UK media landscape. BuzzFeed UK was once looked upon with envy by legacy publishers who coveted its reach with younger audiences, but its star has faded after huge losses at its parent company. Free online news publishers are facing a torrid financial time as social networks such as Facebook are no longer sending as many readers, while advertisers are cutting spending. - Guardian

BT has been accused of failing to invest enough money into the UK's full-fibre broadband network by the boss of a rival telecoms company. Rajiv Datta, chief executive of Nexfibre, which is building its own full-fibre network, accused BT of behaving like a "typical monopoly" by failing to invest quickly enough in the next generation of broadband technology. He said: "When you have somebody that has the dominant market share and has had the benefits of being the incumbent all these years, not investing in that core infrastructure is a typical behaviour of a monopoly." - Telegraph

Deutsche Bank has become the latest big company to crackdown on working from home, ordering managers back to the office four days a week. The German investment bank, which employs around 6,000 people in London, has told staff they will need to be in the office at least two-thirds of the time. More senior employees will need to be in four days a week. - Telegraph

Global investors turned their backs on so-called ethical funds last year, withdrawing more than $10 billion amid claims of greenwashing. Between 2020 and 2022, investors set aside six times more capital for funds claiming to support companies with high ethical, social and governance (ESG) standards than for traditional equities. But the tide turned on the sector last year, according to data from Calastone. - 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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