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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.

Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Pret A Manger, THG

Thu 22 Dec 2022 07:24

(Sharecast News) - Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure to offer more help to older workers who have fallen out of the workforce due to ill health, as official figures show a sharp increase in the rates of long-term sickness in every region of the UK except London. Highlighting deep regional divisions, figures from the Office for National Statistics show economic inactivity due to long-term sickness has increased most among 50 to 64-year-olds outside the capital since the Covid pandemic. - Guardian More than three-quarters of firms say the government's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU has not helped them to expand their business in the last two years despite promises that it was an "oven-ready" deal. A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has prompted the business lobby group to present the government with five urgent recommendations for enhancing the agreement, which has left many exporters struggling to sell into the EU under the current terms. - Guardian

Pret A Manger is axing almost all of its vegetarian-only stores as the novelty of meat-free branches wears off. The sandwich chain is to shut or rebrand 75pc of its Veggie Pret stores six years after they first launched. - Telegraph

Sir Tom Hunter, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, has reaffirmed his commitment to THG, insisting that Matt Moulding's struggling beauty-to-nutrition retailer has been a "a real success story" (Greig Cameron writes). Hunter, 61, has had a business relationship with Moulding, 50, since 2009 and been a vocal supporter even as THG - formerly The Hut Group - has stumbled. - The Times

Sharan Pasricha, the wealthy entrepreneur behind Gleneagles and the trendy Hoxton hotel chain, has collected an estimated €260 million by selling the underlying assets of the hotels in Amsterdam and Paris. The near €1 million per room paid by Schroders, the buyer of the two properties, is thought to be the biggest per-room price ever paid in Europe for a hotel without suites. - The Times

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Mon 26 Oct 2026 07:23
Monday newspaper round-up: Pensioners and the Budget, interest rate expectations, Audi US factory
(Sharecast News) - The chancellor will use his Budget this week to protect pensioners and those saving for their retirement, as he announces plans to shield nearly 1m people from paying income tax. John Healey is expected to confirm on Wednesday that the full state pension will rise by £489 to £13,036 - equivalent to 3.9%. However, the rise will push about 1m people on low incomes who rely on the state pension above the £12, 570 personal allowance threshold, meaning they would be dragged into paying income tax. To retain the principle that the state pension is not taxable, Healey is expected to announce a rise in the tax-free allowance for low-income pensions to £13,036. The move will cost taxpayers £200m a year by 20230 - The Times
Fri 23 Oct 2026 07:20
Friday newspaper round-up: Elon Musk/Skydance, North Sea wealth fund, retiring entrepreneurs
(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk has reportedly invested approximately $1bn in Skydance, the new media empire led by David Ellison. The deal comes alongside fresh equity infusions from existing investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs's widow. Semafor first reported the news. The investment follows Paramount's recent $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, a huge acquisition that brought the media companies together under the Skydance name. At the head of the new media empire is David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison. - Guardian
Thu 22 Oct 2026 07:18
Thursday newspaper round-up: AI companies, Waitrose, gas standing charges
(Sharecast News) - AI companies have told ministers they have 12 months to head off public opposition to datacentres in the UK or risk US-style protests that could threaten their construction. Successive dry summers and rising energy bills are increasing public scrutiny of plans for the huge computer warehouses that are used to train and run AI models, says a submission to the Labour government from a group including the AI infrastructure companies Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco. - Guardian
Wed 21 Oct 2026 07:24
Wednesday newspaper round-up: SpaceX, NatWest, Anthropic
(Sharecast News) - The UK government has approved the controversial Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a widely expected move that will nonetheless dismay environmental campaigners and a number of Labour MPs. While Labour's 2024 election manifesto committed to a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea, the companies behind Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield project, which is being decided on separately, have sought environmental approval for existing licences. - Guardian

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