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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.

Wednesday newspaper round-up: PwC, house prices, JLR

(Sharecast News) - More than 1,000 partners at the UK division of the "big four" accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 this year, a slight fall on last year's record payout as profits fell despite rising revenues. Unaudited accounts released by the company showed that PwC's UK profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn in 2022, although last year's figure was boosted by a £139m gain from the sale of its global mobility business. - Guardian PwC has been a significant beneficiary of Saudi Arabia's global spending spree as the Gulf state looks to grow its economy beyond oil and gas. Strong demand for its advice from Middle Eastern clients helped drive a 30pc jump in the "Big Four" company's consulting revenues last year, new accounts show. - Telegraph

High interest rates are putting indebted businesses under the most pressure since 2009, the Bank of England has warned. Half of all businesses with borrowings will be struggling to meet debt payments by the end of this year, the Bank said, up from 45pc last year. - Telegraph

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax. - Sky News

The UK's largest carmaker has announced plans to use old car batteries to store energy the national grid can't use and return it to the network at peak times. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is turning its used car batteries into what it says will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. - Sky News

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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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