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Sunday newspaper round-up: Bank of England, Water companies, Nationwide

(Sharecast News) - Hopes that the Bank of England will cut interest rates again just before Christmas have been all but expunged due to concerns that Labour's tax-and-spend Budget will stoke inflation. Traders are assigning a chance of just one-in-eight that rates will be cut when policymakers at Bank meet this week. In particular, rate-setters worry that the £25bn rise in companies' National Insurance contributions will be passed onto customers. - The Financial Mail on Sunday Water companies need to spend more to help out vulnerable customers, consumer groups argue. The warning comes ahead of a steep rise in bills expected to be announced during the coming week. Ofwat is expected to unveil the increase for the next five years, starting from April, on Friday. The Consumer Council for Water is arguing that Ofwat should make companies boost their support. - Guardian

Nationwide has had to inject £650m into Clydesdale Bank, owned by Virgin Money, in order to maintain its financial strength. It follows the £2.8bn takeover of Virgin Money which will turn it into Britain's second-largest savings and loans group. The purchase saw Nationwide book a £2.8bn gain, leading to criticism that Virgin Money was sold on the cheap. However, it has now become known that it had to funnel £650m into Clydesdale Bank in order to allow Clydesdale's accounting methods to be brought into line with its own. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Port Talbot has inked is first "green steel" deal with JCB, the company that manufactures diggers. JCB will receive steel made with a newly installed electric arc furnace. Output of the steel is scheduled to begin in 2027. The new furnace means that the UK will be less reliant on importing millions of tonnes of iron ore and coal from around the globe. Carbon emissions linked to steel production meanwhile will be slashed by 75-90%. However, critics say it is a threat to national security as the UK will be left with no capability to produce so-called "virgin steel". - The Sunday 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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