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Monday newspaper round-up: BT, Vodafone, Issa brothers

(Sharecast News) - British businesses are slowing down hiring just as the number of people looking for work rises, according to data that suggested "lingering uncertainty" over the economic outlook. The availability of candidates for new jobs rose in June at the sharpest rate since the height of the UK's coronavirus restrictions in December 2020, according to the latest report on jobs by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. - Guardian Britain is returning to the gloom of the 1970s as customer satisfaction collapses at the fastest pace on record, new data shows. Energy and water companies were the worst performers in the country as high inflation and staff shortages triggered the sharpest year-on-year drop in customer satisfaction since the Institute of Customer Service began tracking the data in 2008. - Telegraph

BT is on high alert for a takeover spearheaded by its major shareholder Deutsche Telekom, in what would be a crucial test of Britain's approach to European investment post-Brexit. The former state monopoly has intensified work with advisers from Robey Warshaw and Goldman Sachs on its defence in recent months amid strengthening rumours that its German counterpart, a 12pc shareholder in BT, was preparing an approach. - Telegraph

The UK chief executive of Vodafone has warned that investment in digital infrastructure will be cut and it will be unable to deliver on the government's goals if it is prevented from merging with Three. Ahmed Essam said the business was not making the returns needed to cover its cost of capital and without the deal "we won't be able to invest as much and we won't be able to deliver the 5G ambition that's coming in the wireless infrastructure strategy from the government. It will just slow us down." - The Times

The billionaire brothers who own Asda are bankrolling a fledgling zero-emission lorry company and plan to create Britain's first network of hydrogen fuel stations to support the decarbonisation of Britain's 300,000 heavy goods vehicles. HVS, founded in Glasgow as Hydrogen Vehicle Systems in 2017, is testing and developing a lorry running on hydrogen fuel cells at the automotive industry's Mira proving ground at Nuneaton, Warwickshire, after winning £21 million of taxpayer-funded grants. - 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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