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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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Monday newspaper round-up: hospitality businesses, rail passengers, Battersea Power Station
(Sharecast News) - Hundreds of UK hospitality businesses, backed by celebrity chefs including Angela Hartnett and Heston Blumenthal, have asked Andy Burnham to lay out plans to lower VAT for the sector, urging him to make good on his previous pledge. More than 800 businesses have written an open letter to the prime minister as part of the #VATsTheProblem campaign, to warn that without a "fairer tax burden for hospitality", there will be more closures and job losses, and fewer opportunities for young people. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, triple lock, ONS data crisis
(Sharecast News) - Consumers will pay higher energy bills unless the UK government speeds up work on a vast programme of upgrades to the electricity grid to enable the switch to renewables, the public spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that without faster action the extra costs associated with managing the ageing power network, which are ultimately passed on to the public, could reach £7.8bn a year by 2030. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Migration, air traffic control, triple lock
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham must overhaul Shabana Mahmood's migration reforms or risk overstretching social care and fuelling far-right sentiment, the TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, has warned. Speaking ahead of the TUC's annual congress in Brighton next week, Nowak welcomed the "sense of optimism" around Burnham's fledgling government, but he urged the PM to act in a series of areas, including migration and the cost of living. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Air traffic control breakdown, Bet365, consumer finance claims
(Sharecast News) - Flight delays and cancellations were expected to continue into Wednesday at UK airports after another air traffic control failure kept planes grounded for hours, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. At least 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday to and from UK airports had been cancelled, plane tracking site Flightradar24 said, "nearly all at London Heathrow". More than 1,000 were cancelled by about 8pm on Tuesday. - Guardian

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