Skip Header
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.

Monday newapaper round-up: P&O Ferries, Sainsbury's, Hinkley Point C

(Sharecast News) - Grant Shapps is writing to the chief executive of P&O Ferries urging him to announce a U-turn on the decision to sack 800 workers without notice, as unions pledged to "ratchet up the fight" after a weekend of protests. The transport secretary is expected to present a package of legislation on Wednesday to close loopholes and ensure ferry companies running regular services to and from the British Isles pay their crew the UK minimum wage. - Guardian Major investors have launched a campaign calling for Sainsbury's to help tackle the cost of living crisis by becoming the first supermarket group to pay all its workers the "real living wage" of £9.90 an hour. Legal & General Investment Management, Nest (National Employment Savings Trust), which is Britain's largest workplace pension scheme, and several MPs have formed a coalition to push for the change after reports that increasing numbers of supermarket workers are having to turn to food banks to feed themselves and their families. - Guardian

The UK's £23bn new flagship nuclear power plant is at risk of becoming more expensive and being plagued by delays as its developer EDF blamed challenges including the conflict in Ukraine. EDF is carrying out a "new comprehensive review" of the costs and timeframes of Hinkley Point C, which it is building in Somerset with updates expected in the summer. - Telegraph

JP Morgan threw down the gauntlet to the UK retail banking industry by launching an instant-access savings account paying over 50 per cent more interest than existing accounts. The American bank said that customers of Chase, its new British app-based operation, would get a 1.5 per cent return on up to £250,000, but savers must also sign up to its current account. - The Times

The pension funds and investments of more than a million people are to be disinvested from the tobacco industry after Scottish Widows announced it would sell shares and bonds worth £1 billion in cigarette companies. It is screening out any investment in firms where tobacco accounts for more than 10 per cent of sales, so it will divest itself of firms including British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco. - The Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

Friday newspaper round-up: OBR, franchise agreements, GoCardless
(Sharecast News) - MPs have launched an inquiry into the role and performance of the Office for Budget Responsibility. The all-party Commons Treasury committee will spend until the end of next month investigating the independent agency's forecasting performance and impartiality. The panel will consider whether reforms are needed 15 years after the OBR was set up by George Osborne when he was Tory chancellor. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Youth employment, SpaceX, EY
(Sharecast News) - Britain is slipping down the global league table for youth employment amid a dramatic rise in worklessness that is putting a generation's future at risk, research has warned. Sounding the alarm over a worsening youth jobs crisis, the report from the accountancy firm PwC said Britain's economy was missing out on £26bn a year because of sharp regional divisions in youth joblessness. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: UK borrowing costs, Channel 4, Anduril
(Sharecast News) - The "premium" that the UK pays to borrow money compared with its international peers may be coming to an end as markets grow more confident about the government's plans, a thinktank has suggested. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that the chancellor Rachel Reeves's announcement in the autumn budget that she would be more than doubling the UK's financial headroom by 2030 from £9.9bn to £22bn had begun to assure bond markets about Labour's fiscal approach. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: household spending, British Library, Jamie Dimon, WPP
(Sharecast News) - UK households cut back on spending at the fastest pace in almost five years last month as consumers put Christmas shopping on hold, according to a leading survey. Adding to concerns that uncertainty surrounding the budget has helped dampen consumer confidence, Barclays said card spending fell 1.1% year on year in November - the largest fall since February 2021. The bank said retailers still enjoyed their busiest day of the year so far on Black Friday, with transaction volumes 62.5% higher than the average day for 2025. - 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.

Award-winning online share dealing

Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.

Expert insights into investing your money

Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.