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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Fuel duty, Post Office, ECB

(Sharecast News) - Retaining the fuel duty cut in the budget is a regressive policy that benefits the wealthiest in society, who will save £60 a year, while those who earn the least will save just £22, according to analysis. Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce an extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty brought in during 2022, a proposal that has won him plaudits across the rightwing press. - Guardian The Post Office's finance chief has been on sick leave for almost a year after clashing with its chief executive, The Telegraph can disclose. Alisdair Cameron, the chief financial officer, has been signed off work since last April and has not attended a single board meeting since then. He is still listed as sitting on the Post Office board and the company, which is taxpayer owned, refuses to reveal his interim replacement. It is alleged that chief executive Nick Read asked the Government to authorise a pay-off for Mr Cameron but that request was declined. - Telegraph

Christine Lagarde is facing growing backlash from staff at the European Central Bank (ECB) over its "one-sided" views on climate change policies. In a letter seen by The Telegraph, the ECB's staff committee complained that remarks by a board member on the need to "reprogramme" employees failing to embrace the bank's climate policies had an "undeniable authoritarian note". - Telegraph

High interest rates and falling corporate real estate prices pose a serious risk to the US banking system, the International Monetary Fund has said, as it warned of the prospect of looming bank failures. On the anniversary of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the IMF has rung the alarm bell over the risks of another round of bank failures triggered by the worst fall in commercial property values in half a century in the world's largest economy. - The Times

The shipyard that built the Titanic has been named as the preferred bidder for a £120 million contract to build a new port for the Falkland Islands. Belfast-based Harland & Wolff was selected by the Islands' government for the project. Subject to agreeing the final contract pricing and concluding commercial negotiations, work on the two-year project is expected to begin later this year. The manufacturing group will construct, transport and install four floating pontoons, measuring 90 metres each to the South Atlantic. - 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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