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Tuesday newspaper round-up: BNPL, Unilever, oil prices

(Sharecast News) - The Trades Union Congress has accused the Tory government of promoting a "greed is good" culture among bankers, who it said would be able to "cash in on unlimited bonuses" after a cap on payouts was lifted on Tuesday. The TUC said that while ministers had repeatedly called for pay restraint for most workers, they had been "silent over excess in the City". - Guardian The City regulator has taken action after finding that customers of two leading buy now, pay later providers were "at risk of harm" because of potentially unfair and unclear small print. The US-based online payments group PayPal and the TV shopping channel QVC have changed the terms of their contracts after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expressed "concern" over the impact to customers. - Guardian

Unilever is freezing its chief executive's salary until 2026 as it tries to calm frustration among shareholders unhappy with the performance of the company which owns Marmite and Ben & Jerry's. Hein Schumacher, who took over from Alan Jope in July, will not get any increase to his fixed pay packet of €1.85m (£1.62m) in 2024 or 2025, Unilever said. - Telegraph

MPs have accused Britain's biggest high street banks of seeking "to do as little as they can get away with" on raising savings rates for customers. The Commons' Treasury select committee stepped up its pressure after quarterly trading reports from banks over the past week and amid continued scrutiny from the financial regulator over their practices. - The Times

Oil prices could surge to a record high of more than $150 a barrel if the Israel-Gaza war escalates into a regional conflict, the World Bank has warned. Brent crude, the global benchmark price, rose from less than $85 a barrel before Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel to exceed $93 a barrel on October 18, amid fears that escalation could result in supply disruption. Prices have receded slightly since and yesterday Brent was 1.7 per cent lower at $86.49. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Höfner, Sotheby's, Christie's
(Sharecast News) - Ministers and senior MPs have warned that the UK's agreements with Donald Trump are "built on sand" after the Guardian established that the deal to avoid drug tariffs has no underlying text beyond limited headline terms. The "milestone" US-UK deal announced this month on pharmaceuticals, which will mean the NHS pays more for medicines in exchange for a promise of zero tariffs on the industry, still lacks a legal footing beyond top lines contained in two government press releases. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Grangemouth ethylene plant, Warner Bros, ChatGPT
(Sharecast News) - Jim Ratcliffe's chemicals company Ineos has been granted £120m of government funding to help save the UK's last ethylene plant at Grangemouth, in a deal expected to protect more than 500 jobs. The investment in the Scottish plant was necessary to preserve a vital part of the country's chemicals infrastructure, the UK government said. The ethylene produced there was essential for medical-grade plastics production, water treatment and in aerospace and car-building, it added. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Nissan, Morrisons, Ford
(Sharecast News) - Nissan has started the production of its latest electric car in Sunderland, a crucial step in the UK automotive industry's transition away from petrol and diesel. The Japanese manufacturer will launch the third generation of the Leaf on Tuesday, which was the first mass-market battery electric car to be built in the UK. Nissan has made 282,704 Leaf models at the north-east England plant so far. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Cryptocurrencies, jobs downturn, Cycle Pharma
(Sharecast News) - Cryptocurrencies will be regulated in a similar way to other financial products under legislation coming into force in 2027. The Treasury is drawing up rules that will require crypto companies to meet a set of standards overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Ministers have sought to overhaul the crypto market, which has ballooned in popularity as a way of investing money and making payments. Cryptocurrencies have not been subject to the same regulation as traditional financial products such as stocks and shares, which means that in many cases consumers do not enjoy the same level of protection. - 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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