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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: IDS, Ocado, Foxtons

(Sharecast News) - Asset manager Redwheel told regulators they should reduce the UK postal service's legal obligations. The move followed a failed buyout attempt by Daniel Kretinsky for International Distributions Services, its parent company. The billionaire investor was said to be evaluating a possible improved bid. The company meanwhile has petitioned Ofcom to let it cut the number of days per week during which it must deliver second-class mail from six to two or three. That would save the company £300m and see it shrink its workforce by 1,000. According to Redwheel, as first reported by the Sunday Times, the enforced costs of its legal obligations left the company "vulnerable to corporate predators". - Guardian Ocado's shareholders are pushing the company to study the possibility of a New York listing as opposed to that in London. Indeed, the idea was discussed in detail with shareholders in recent weeks. Those discussions follow the 90% drop in the company's share price from its peak hit during lockdown. At one point, Ocado's market value had overtaken those of Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Morrison's combined. - The Sunday Telegraph

Foxtons has brought on NM Rothschild as advisers following pressure from some large shareholders for the company to delist and pursue a sale. But other big investors believe that the outfit is on the mend under its new boss, Guy Gittins, who was chosen in 2022. Michael Rapps from Converium Capital thinks Foxtons could fetch between 70p or £1 a share if sold. Among the potential buyers are Platinum Equity, Oakley Capital and European private equity outfit Emeria. - The Sunday Times

888, the owner of William Hill, has put aside over £100m to cover possible legal action overseas. A court in Austria has ruled that any companies doing business in the country have broken the law and must return players' losses. That is because Casinos Austria, which is backed by the state, has had a monopoly on gambling in Austria since 2016. Hence, some gamblers in Europe had moved to recover their losses. 888 however said that its "extensive" legal advice and opinion received left it "absolutely confident" of its legal and regulatory position. - Financial Mail on Sunday

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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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