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Sunday newspaper round-up: Inflation, Taiwan, National Grid

(Sharecast News) - Former Bank of England chief economist, Andy Haldane, believes that it is "pretty much nailed on" that inflation will halve over the next six months as energy price increases slow down. But in remarks to Sky News, Haldane cautioned that hikes in Bank Rate had yet to impact borrowing costs for many borrowers, especially those on fixed-rate mortgages. "The effects of the tightening so far haven't been fully felt. That would give me cause for pause. I'd think, hang on, the economy is still on unsteady legs right now. Much of the tightening that has already happened hasn't hit people's bank accounts. Perhaps now is the time to press the pause button and see what happens." - Guardian

China's mid-April military manoeuvres around Taiwan were a timely reminder of the risk of a conflict that could destabilise a fragile geopolitical situation even more. They also came amid increasing concern that a war in the region would upend supply chains globally. British companies are being urged to react. "It is imperative that British companies begin a thorough review of their supply chain resilience strategies as they relate to China and Taiwan," said Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs committee. - The Sunday Telegraph

National Grid has abandoned plans to develop carbon capture and storage in the UK, a setback for the government's ambitions to reach net zero. The company no longer intends to develop new pipelines in the Humber region to transport carbon dioxide emissions to the North Sea. It was also in negotiations to divest its onshore pipeline project to partners, having already opted out of another phase of the project. Instead, National Grid said it wanted to focus on its electricity networks so that they can cope with the rise of wind farms, electric cars and heat pumps. - The Sunday Telegraph

GE-Hitachi will face off against Rolls-Royce in the race to build small modular reactors in the UK. The nuclear power specialist has entered the government-run competition to choose a design for SMRs. The government was scheduled to meet SMR suppliers during the following month and choose the winners by the autumn. GE-Hitachi boss, Jay Wileman, highlighted that the company was already building its first SMR in North America, which would allow it to obtain global economies of scale that could be leveraged. - The Sunday Times

HSBC boss Noel Quinn faces a revolt from shareholders due to the lender's alleged links to human rights abuses in Hong Kong. Investor adviser Pirc has told backers ahead of HSBC's 5 May annual meeting to vote against Quinn's re-election to the board. The lender has been criticised in the past for having frozen the bank accounts of activists in Hong Kong and blocking the pension payouts of Hong Kong citizens who fled to the UK. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Shorter working week, Microsoft, EY
(Sharecast News) - Nearly 1,000 British workers will adopt a permanently shorter working week, after the latest trial of a four-day week and similar changes to traditional working patterns. All 17 British businesses in a six-month trial of the four-day week said they would continue with an arrangement consisting of either four days a week or nine days a fortnight. All the employees remained on their full salary. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Prax Lindsey, Santander/TSB, pensions, Qantas
(Sharecast News) - The married couple behind the Prax Lindsey oil refinery awarded themselves at least $15.9m (£11.5m) in pay and dividends in the years leading up to its collapse, it has emerged, as the government urged the company's boss to "put his hand in his pockets" to help workers. Winston Soosaipillai, who goes by his middle names Sanjeev Kumar, jointly owned the refinery with his wife, Arani, until it plunged into insolvency on Monday. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: King Charles, Google, offshore companies
(Sharecast News) - King Charles is set to receive official annual income of £132m next year, after his portfolio of land and property made more than £1bn in profits thanks to a boom in the offshore wind sector. Profits at the crown estate - which partly funds the monarchy - were flat at £1.1bn in its financial year to the end of March but more than double their level two years ago, at £442.6m. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Cyber attacks, Asda, Lloyds IT outages
(Sharecast News) - Shiploads of Minis, Aston Martins and Range Rovers will set sail for the US on Monday as the UK-US trade deal kicks in, but British farmers say they have been used as collateral to save the car industry. Auto shipments across the Atlantic were down more than half in May after Donald Trump's imposition of a 25% tariff on 3 April on top of an existing 2.5% levy. - 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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