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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: Nationwide, Close Brothers, Gold

(Sharecast News) - Nationwide will announce a £2bn gain on its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money in its half-year results, this Wednesday, likely triggering a windfall for its customers. The building society will also turbo-charge investment in the combined business on top of its recently begun 500 person hiring spree. As well, millions of members are in line for more 'fairer share' perks. - Financial Mail on Sunday There is speculation in the markets that Close Brothers may need to sell assets, perhaps including Winterflood Securities. Some even believe that the firm itself might become a takeover target. Car loans account for a fifth of total lending, or about £2bn. But what once was a booming sector has turned sour. Hence, the lender may now be forced to divest assets in order to meet compensation claims. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Endeavour Mining boss Ian Cockerill is a strong believer in gold as a "store of value". He of course has an interest in inciting gold buying. Nonetheless, Cockerill points to how the yellow metal has fulfilled precisely that role over the past four or five millennia. - The Sunday Times

Recruiters have seen a flood of new job applications from workers angry over a flurry of return-to-office mandates at large companies. Two-thirds of recruiters have seen such applications increase, the results of a survey show. Three-quarters of recruiters meanwhile had observed candidates turning down rules that did not include hybrid working. - Guardian

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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
Monday newspaper round-up: Service charge, BP, Heathrow, Elon Musk
(Sharecast News) - An increasingly complex tax system is burdening the government and businesses with hundreds of millions of pounds more in administration costs, Whitehall's spending watchdog has warned. The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) also said "poor levels of service" meant some taxpayers and their representatives were "finding it more difficult to deal with their tax matters and are losing trust in HM Revenue & Customs [HMRC]". - 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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