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.

Wednesday newspaper round-up: Climate crisis deal, fuel duty cut, EY

(Sharecast News) - EU countries clinched deals on proposed laws to combat the climate crisis in the early hours of Wednesday, backing a 2035 phase-out of new fossil-fuel car sales and a multibillion-euro fund to shield poorer citizens from the costs of carbon dioxide emissions. After more than 16 hours of negotiations, environment ministers from the 27 member states agreed their joint positions on five laws, part of a broader package of measures to slash planet-heating emissions this decade. - Guardian Rishi Sunak has promised to consider another cut to fuel duty amid claims that prices at forecourts are "pump fiction" as they fail to reflect wholesale costs. The chancellor said on Tuesday that he would examine whether to reduce the levy further after cutting it by 5p a litre in March. Sunak is under pressure to help motorists paying record prices at the pump while the cost of other household goods has also jumped. - Guardian

Electric cars face being fitted with tracking devices under proposals for a pay-per-mile road taxation system put forward by the Government's own climate advisers. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says the Government needs to find ways to cover the "significant hole" in the public finances left by the loss of fuel duty and other taxes when petrol and diesel cars are replaced by electric models. - Telegraph

EY is to pay a record $100 million fine to the US financial regulator after it found that the Big Four accountancy firm's audit staff had cheated in ethics exams by sharing answers. The US Securities and Exchange Commission also said the EY had hindered its investigation by telling inspectors that there had been no cheating, despite the issue having previously been raised with bosses. - The Times

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, says there is a "strong argument" for supporting the steel industry amid expectations that the government will extend import tariffs despite the risk of breaking international law. Yesterday he told the business, energy and industrial strategy committee that "free trade is all very well but if everyone else is supporting a strategic industry, I think there is a strong argument for us in this country to do so". - The Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Wealth tax, Paramount, UK pension funds
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham has announced a fresh tax cut to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October, a move that will funded from cancelling the Digital ID programme. The prime minister said in a statement: "Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with the cost of living. That needs to change. I said I wanted to give people breathing space, and that's what I'm announcing on my second day as prime minister." - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Pay gap, Thames Water, Boohoo
(Sharecast News) - The bosses of Britain's largest listed companies received record pay last year, fuelling the widest earnings gap with workers in eight years. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives hit £5.06m in the last financial year, according to data released by the High Pay Centre, an 8.6% increase on £4.66m the previous year and the highest level on record. Executive remuneration has been rising steadily since the pandemic, when CEOs took pay and bonus cuts as the lockdowns affected business performance. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: IMF warning, AI threat, Vodafone
(Sharecast News) - Britain cannot afford a fresh spending binge, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Andy Burnham. The Washington-based body said the UK Government should be "very selective in accommodating new demands" for spending and instead focus on reducing the deficit. It cautioned that the UK faces serious "challenges" from high debts, rising interest bills and the increasing costs of healthcare and pensions linked to an ageing population. - Telegraph
Thursday newspaper round-up: SpaceX, Stonegate, Utmost
(Sharecast News) - Andy Burnham must avoid another "summer of speculation" on tax and spend that would spook British business, the chief executive of the CBI has warned. As Burnham prepares to take up the Labour leadership on Friday, with a new cabinet to be announced on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith urged him to tread carefully. - 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.