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.

Sunday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Easyjet, Sky

(Sharecast News) - A group of investors in Hong Kong have jostled HSBC into a shareholder vote on its structure and strategy, including a possible spin-off of its Asian unit. The group was led by minority shareholder Ken Lui. Its argument was that the Asian unit was "effectively subsidising" the western business to the detriment of shareholders. It was not clear if Chinese insurer Ping An would back Lui's latest move. For its part, the board told shareholders in a notice sent ahead of its AGM on 5 May that such a spin-off would "significantly dilute" its strategy, result in a material loss of value and lead to lower dividends, The Sunday Times first reported. - Guardian

Easyjet chief executive officer Garry Wilson says the airline's holiday unit will become a £1bn business. His aim is to triple turnover at Easyjet holidays within the next few years. In 2022, the division, which lets clients book European hotels together with their flights, achieved £386m in sales. Wilson also said that customers were still making reservations for more expensive summer trips, notwithstanding the cost-of-living crisis. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

Sky is close to clinching a five-year deal with the ATP and WTA Tours to host live tennis starting from August. It comes amid disappointment on the part of the ATP with viewing figures on the Amazon Prime streaming platform. Now, ATP is said to be intent on reaching a larger audience through a mix of traditional broadcasting and streaming, via its deal with Sky. For its part, the broadcaster's goal is to secure long-term deals with sports other than football and has launched channels focused on Formula 1, cricket and golf. - The Sunday Telegraph

Short-sellers have increasingly been setting their sights on Ocado after the online grocer posted £501m of red ink. Over 6% of the company's shares were out on loan to short-sellers - the most in five years. The shares were also now at the top of the Financial Conduct Authority's list of 'most shorted' stocks. Nine outfits were short the company's shares with seven having raised their short positions since February. Among the short-sellers was Blackrock. Nevertheless, the current situation was far from that in 2016, when over 21% of its shares were on loan to hedge funds. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

Asda's billionaire owners are moving quickly to close the £12bn merger with EG Group's petrol stations in the UK. The aim is to reduce the latter's debt pile, although the former's level of net debt already stands at £4.7bn. EG Group will need to refinance £7bn of debt by 2025 in an environment in which interest rates have risen sharply. - The Sunday Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

Friday newspaper round-up: Barclays, BP, JPMorgan
(Sharecast News) - The UK government will "wait and see" whether tariffs announced by Donald Trump "actually come to pass", a senior minister said. The US president announced what he called "reciprocal tariffs" on all other countries on Thursday evening, claiming it was "fair to all". But it was unclear how this would apply to the UK, especially as Trump suggested his policy regarded VAT as a tariff. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: Solar panels, OBR, Chevron
(Sharecast News) - California's home-insurance safety net does not have enough money to pay all of the claims from damage caused by the Los Angeles wildfires and has asked private insurers to contribute $1bn toward those claims. All private insurers operating in California are required to contribute to the Fair plan, a plan of last resort established so all Californians would have access to fire insurance. More than 450,000 California homeowners got their insurance through the Fair plan in 2024 - more than double the number in 2020. As of 4 February, the plan had received more than 4,700 claims from the Palisades and Eaton fires, almost half of which were for "total losses". - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: British economy, Heathrow, FOS
(Sharecast News) - The British economy is on course to expand by 1.5% this year after the budget gave a boost to public spending but could be blown off course if Donald Trump goes ahead with threatened tariffs, a leading economic thinktank has warned. In a boost to Rachel Reeves after a bruising month of negative economic figures, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) upped its annual growth prediction from 1.2% to 1.5%. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: OpenAI, EVs, gas prices
(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk escalated his feud with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday. The billionaire is leading a consortium of investors that announced it had submitted a bid of $97.4bn for "all assets" of the artificial intelligence company to OpenAI's board of directors. The startup, which operates ChatGPT, has been working to restructure itself away from its original non-profit status. OpenAI also operates a for-profit subsidiary, and Musk's unsolicited offer could complicate the company's plans. The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed bid. - 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.