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Friday newspaper round-up: UK property, shops, Ford

(Sharecast News) - That buying a property - any property - in the UK is increasingly the preserve of the rich will come as no surprise to low-income households. But official data shows that the middle classes are increasingly squeezed, with only the cheapest 10% of houses now affordable (no more than five times a household's income according to the Office for National Statistics) to middle-income England. - Guardian The Charity Commission has closed a preliminary investigation into concerns about governance at a charity set up by the UK's richest person, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which helped fund a £16m luxury clubhouse for an exclusive French Alps club where he and his daughter have skied for years. The UK charity watchdog announced on Thursday that it had closed its "regulatory compliance case" into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation after finding that "the charity's activities further its purposes and that there is no further role for the regulator". - Guardian

Women are 50pc more likely than men to lose their jobs in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, according to a new study that predicts millions more roles will be automated by 2030. McKinsey said around 12 million jobs will be replaced by AI in the US alone over the next seven years. The management consultancy said women will be more affected by companies replacing staff with chatbots because they are more likely to hold "lower-wage jobs". - Telegraph

About 6,000 shops have closed across Britain over the past five years as vacancy rates reach "critical levels", new data shows. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said crippling business rates and the impact of the Covid lockdowns were a "key part of decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings", while rising interest rates and inflationary pressures were also to blame. - The Times

Ford Motor Company upgraded its annual profit guidance last night after beating expectations on Wall Street as supply chain issues continue to ease. Earnings at the American automotive group more than doubled in the last quarter amid robust demand for its vehicles and strong pricing of trucks and vans. - The Times

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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
Thursday newspaper round-up: Car production, UK retailers, water bills, KPMG
(Sharecast News) - The architect of a ban on newspaper takeovers by foreign states has demanded that an Abu Dhabi fund be forced to sell The Telegraph by Easter. Baroness Stowell, the Conservative chairman of the Lords communications and digital committee, said the Government should impose an ultimatum on RedBird IMI. It should be backed by the threat of regulatory action, she said, to strip the fund of control of what has been dubbed "the newspaper auction from hell". - Telegraph

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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