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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: Regulated Utilities, Rolls-Royce, Fuel allowance

(Sharecast News) - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is among several international investors who have told the government that they will not look at opportunities in the UK regulated utility sector in the wake of crisis around Thames Water. It is understood that one person at the meeting said that the "UK is totally off our radar at the moment" due to regulators having become "too unpredictable". However, GIC was said to remain bullish on other UK investment opportunities notwithstanding their negativity towards UK regulated utilities. - The Sunday Times Rolls-Royce is near to inking deals to construct small modular nuclear power plants in Sweden and the Netherlands. The engineer has told The Mail on Sunday that the two deals would be signed by the end of 2024. The news follows the announcement during the previous week that Czech authorities had chosen Rolls-Royce as preferred supplier to its state-owned CEZ. - The Financial Mail on Sunday

No 10 is bracing for a potential setback in a vote on the Chancellor's cuts to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners at the Labour conference. Trade unions are expected to push for the decision to be reversed, although the timing of the vote has yet to be agreed. The vote however is not binding. - Guardian

Thames Water's creditors are looking to inject over £1bn before the end of 2024 in order to help the utility group right its finances. Several hedge funds and institutions who hold approximately £10bn of Thames Water's debt think that the company requires a stop-gap lifeline to help it until it is restructured. The utility has said that it has enough cash to operate until May. The stricken utility is sitting atop a £16.5bn debt pile. Yet any new investor will first want to know Ofwat's final decision on how much Thames can charge customers over the next five years. - The Sunday Times

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(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
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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
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(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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