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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.

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Retail sales, Google, Warren Buffett

(Sharecast News) - The late arrival of warm summer weather drove a recovery in retail sales last month, industry data shows, despite continuing signs of consumers holding back on big ticket purchases amid the cost of living crisis. Figures from the British Retail Consortium showed that UK total retail sales increased by 0.5% year on year in July, a recovery from the washout month of June when colder weather deterred shoppers from spending on the high street. - Guardian Google violated antitrust laws as it built an internet search empire, a federal judge ruled on Monday in a decision that could have major implications for the way people interact with the internet. Judge Amit Mehta found that Google violated section 2 of the Sherman Act, a US antitrust law. His decision states that Google maintained a monopoly over search services and advertising. - Guardian

Warren Buffett's stock empire has lost at least $15bn (£11.75bn) on its biggest holdings amid a global stock market sell-off. The money was wiped from the paper value of Berkshire Hathaway's stock portfolio on Monday as Apple, Bank of America and Mitsubishi plummeted in value. The decline comes despite Mr Buffett's investment company building up major cash reserves in recent months by slashing its stock market positions. - Telegraph

Sensitive British military projects face disruption from the threatened closure of one of the country's last remaining microchip factories. Coherent, a US semiconductor company, ceased taking orders at its facility in County Durham and said the 310,000 sq ft site may have to be sold after Apple dropped the business as a supplier. It can now be revealed the factory's customers also include Leonardo, the Italian defence giant that makes radar systems, electronic warfare devices and helicopters in the UK. It is understood the plant has previously supplied chips used for radar power amplifiers in Typhoon jets and other British military platforms. - Telegraph

A global scramble by opportunistic hedge funds to exit a well-trodden cheap borrowing gambit has been blamed for the share sell-off that shook financial markets on Monday. Japan suffered a fully fledged flight from shares with stock prices falling by 12 per cent and the jitters reverberated round the world, with share prices in London and then Wall Street falling sharply amid a stampede to reduce risk in portfolios and raise hard cash. - The Times

Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out changing a measure of the UK's debt pile, in a move that could free up billions of pounds for the chancellor at her forthcoming autumn budget. Speaking on a trip to New York and Toronto, Reeves said she would set out the "precise details" of her fiscal rules in her maiden budget, amid speculation that the government will change its debt-to-GDP measure to exclude losses made by the Bank of England's bond-buying programme. The tweak could free up to £17 billion in headroom for the government, according to calculations from City analysts. - 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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