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Tuesday newspaper round-up: Inflation, Thames Water, Randox

(Sharecast News) - Britain's next government is poised to benefit from easing pressure on household finances after a slowdown in inflation in stores and a fall in fuel prices, but costs remain "too expensive" for many families. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that annual UK shop price inflation cooled last month to 0.2%, down from 0.6% in May - the slowest pace since October 2021 - as retailers cut the prices of many of their key products, including butter and coffee. - Guardian Thames Water has been urged to show greater transparency over its finances and accused of "financial chicanery" after it emerged its board had approved a £150m dividend hours before its shareholders U-turned on providing emergency funding. The Guardian revealed last week that the board of the struggling water supplier agreed to the payout at a meeting on 27 March. - Guardian

A husband and wife duo who built an outdoor theatre on the grounds of their Suffolk farm estate have been catapulted into Britain's rich list after netting £2bn from the sale of their financial data business. Mark and Lindy O'Hare, who own a Grade-II listed farmhouse and 350-seat theatre, have struck a deal to sell their data group Preqin to fund giant BlackRock for £2.5bn. - Telegraph

The future of a major British aerospace plant is in doubt with up to 2,400 jobs at risk following a carve-up of owner Spirit AeroSystems between Boeing and Airbus. A chunk of Spirit's operations at the facility in Belfast have been left without an owner, putting the long-term future of the entire factory in danger. Boeing is to buy Kansas-based Spirit for $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in order to gain control of a key supplier to its troubled 737 Max jet, while offloading operations that provide components for Airbus to its European rival. This means Airbus will be taking control of a part of the Belfast factory that oversees wing and fuselage production for the Airbus A220 regional jet. - Telegraph

Randox plunged from Covid-era annual profits of £190 million to a loss of £40 million in 2023. The Northern Ireland-based health diagnostics firm, which sponsors the Grand National, said the losses had been expected as it had needed to restructure its operations after the pandemic. - The Times

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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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