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Tuesday newspaper round-up: Retail sales, Royal Mail, energy suppliers, Mango

(Sharecast News) - Consumers are cutting back on purchases amid growing pressure on the Bank of England to tame inflation. Retail sales increased 5.2% on a like-for-like basis in April compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from the British Retail Consortium and the consultancy KPMG. - Guardian

Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson is expected to step down within weeks, after a turbulent two-year stint at the helm. The chief executive has been accused by unions of inflaming the bitter industrial dispute, and his credibility was put in question after a Commons select committee appearance. - Guardian

Britain's tourist tax has left Heathrow with empty shops that it is struggling to fill, the airport has claimed, as pressure mounts on Rishi Sunak to reverse his raid on travellers. The UK's largest airport said eighteen stores, including those run by British luxury designer Mulberry, jewellery company APM Monaco, watchmaker Rolex and currency exchange business Travelex, had been shut "as a direct response" to the tax. - Telegraph

Energy suppliers should renegotiate tariffs signed at sky-high prices last year or risk the future of more than 90,000 small businesses, a leading lobby group has warned. The Federation of Small Businesses said that more than a tenth of small businesses had fixed their energy prices during the peak of the market in the second half of last year. - The Times

The boss of Mango has been spurred on to open more shops in Britain after being handed an award from the UK embassy in recognition of its expansion in the country. Toni Ruiz, chief executive of the Spanish retailer, is aiming to open 13 new shops in the UK by the end of this year in locations including Bristol, Brighton, Stratford in east London and Manchester. - The Times

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(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk escalated his feud with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday. The billionaire is leading a consortium of investors that announced it had submitted a bid of $97.4bn for "all assets" of the artificial intelligence company to OpenAI's board of directors. The startup, which operates ChatGPT, has been working to restructure itself away from its original non-profit status. OpenAI also operates a for-profit subsidiary, and Musk's unsolicited offer could complicate the company's plans. The Wall Street Journal first reported the proposed bid. - Guardian
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(Sharecast News) - An increasingly complex tax system is burdening the government and businesses with hundreds of millions of pounds more in administration costs, Whitehall's spending watchdog has warned. The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) also said "poor levels of service" meant some taxpayers and their representatives were "finding it more difficult to deal with their tax matters and are losing trust in HM Revenue & Customs [HMRC]". - 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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