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Sunday newspaper round-up: Tesco, National Grid, Morrisons

(Sharecast News) - Tesco's pension fund lost £9bn in value and fell into a deficit after multiple safe investments went sour. In particular, the fund is heavily exposed to so-called Liability Driven Investments. Those LDIs came unstuck in 2022 following a sharp rise in interest rates that left pension funds nursing heavy losses. Yet the grocer had no plans to pay more into the pension plan with a spokesman saying that the scheme was "in a strong position", "well-funded" and employing a different measure for estimating contributions then it was in fact "in surplus". - The Financial Mail on Sunday National Grid boss John Pettigrew believes there is "no time to lose" to carry out the complete revamp that the electricity network requires in order to achieve net zero targets and cut the UK's exposure to gas prices. The planning system also required changes to speed up construction, he argued. Nearly five times as many pylons and underground lines as had been built over the past three decades needed to built by 2030. And rewiring the grid would cost "tens of billions of pounds" which meant higher household bills. - The Sunday Times

GMB national officer Gary Carter urged ministers to intervene if Macquarie went ahead and took full control of National Grid's gas transmission and meter business. The former operated over 4,000 miles of gas pipes in the UK. "Macquarie's reputation is one of maximising profits and stripping assets, often at the expense of investment as well as employees, pay and pensions. This government must not sit idly by when energy security is at stake." - Guardian

Morrisons has promised clients that they will see many "deflation dividends" over the next few months as the grocer went ahead with a fourth wave of price reductions since the start of 2023. Starting from Monday, white, wholemeal and granary rolls would cost 56% less, coffee prices were cut by 27% and those of cornflakes by 46%. A few days before industry chiefs were called to a meeting at the Treasury to explain why the cost of the weekly shop remained high and what measures they were taking to address the situation. - Sunday Telegraph

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Thursday newspaper round-up: CMA, Riverford, Lloyds, Arm Holdings
(Sharecast News) - The appointment of the former boss of Amazon UK to lead the competition watchdog poses a threat to its independence and pledge to hold big tech to account, according to a group including tech companies and the former business secretary Vince Cable. The group - which includes the News Media Association, the Firefox developer Mozilla, the consumer group Which? and the Future of Technology Institute - has written to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to raise concerns about the appointment of Doug Gurr as the interim chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). - Guardian
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

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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