Skip Header
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.

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Prepayment meters, The Telegraph, Vertical Aerospace

(Sharecast News) - London is capturing an ever-bigger share of the UK's record service sector exports and government action is needed to ensure other big cities keep pace with the capital, a report says. The Resolution Foundation said London accounted for almost half of the UK's service sector exports, with its share of the total rising from 38% to 46% between 2016 and 2021. - Guardian More than 2 million people across the UK will be cut off from their gas and electricity this winter because they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meters, according to Citizens Advice. The charity said it had made the estimate for what is expected to be its busiest winter ever for helping people who cannot afford to top up, after last year 1.7 million people were disconnected at least once a month. About 800,000 people went more than 24 hours without gas and electricity, unable to make a hot meal or take a warm shower, because they could not afford to top up. - Guardian

The leader of the Abu Dhabi-backed bid for The Telegraph has attended a Conservative networking lunch alongside the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary, as they prepare to decide whether the takeover can go ahead. Jeff Zucker, the head of RedBird IMI and former CNN chief, was among guests at the Conservative Friends of Israel's annual business lunch at the InterContinental Park Lane in London. - Telegraph

Vertical Aerospace, the electric flying taxi business, has been handed $50 million by its founder to keep it airborne. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the Northern Irish entrepreneur who is behind the household supplier Ovo Energy, will inject $25 million of equity capital in the first instance at $10 a share, with a further $25 million by the end of July at an undetermined price. This will be reduced if the company secures equity funding from alternative sources. - The Times

A start-up that can clone people's voices has been valued at more than $1 billion in its latest funding round, with investment from Silicon Valley stalwarts including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. ElevenLabs uses artificial intelligence to convert written words into speech that sounds as if it is being read by real voices and "renders human intonation and inflections with unrivalled fidelity", according to the business. - The Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

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
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, North Sea workers, tobacco companies, John Lewis
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company. In an early test of his promise to bring "the essentials of life" under public control, the prime minister is urging his advisers to go back to the drawing board and create a new list of policies for the utility. One option being looked at is to convert about £100m of outstanding fines into a government stake in the company, saving its creditors money but giving ministers some say in how it is run. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Profit warnings, British steelmakers, Microsoft
(Sharecast News) - The number of profit warnings from UK-listed companies has risen to the highest level in two years, as the war in the Middle East triggers a surge in costs for businesses before the budget. With less than a fortnight before John Healey's tax and spending statement to the Commons, the consultants EY-Parthenon said companies quoted on the London stock market had issued 65 warnings in the three months to the end of September. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Banks, Meta, John Lewis, Big Four accountancy firms
(Sharecast News) - John Healey is poised to tax Britain's banks in his 28 October budget, to help offset the damage inflicted on the public finances by war in the Middle East, the Guardian understands. The chancellor is in Bangkok, where the International Monetary Fund has praised the UK's progress towards balancing the books, urging him to "stay the course". To keep the Treasury's deficit reduction plans on track in the face of rising government borrowing costs, the Guardian understands Healey has decided to tap the financial sector for additional revenue. - 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.