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: Subway, Waitrose, Royal Mail

(Sharecast News) - Fast-food chain Subway has put itself on the menu - announcing on Tuesday it is exploring a possible sale of its business after 58 years of family control. After years of rapid growth, rising costs and mounting competition from rivals have taken their toll on the company in recent years, but it still has more than 37,000 restaurants in over 100 countries - making it one of the largest chains in the world. - Guardian It has long had the reputation as Britain's most luxurious supermarket. But even Waitrose customers are being squeezed by the cost of living crisis, leading to the store slashing the prices of some of its own-brand basics. Almost a third of items in the high-end grocer's Essential range will have their costs cut - including coffee, carrots and butter. - Guardian

Royal Mail spurned an "absurd" £66m ransom demand from a gang of Russia-linked hackers, a cache of online chats has revealed. Directors rejected an ultimatum from the Lockbit ransomware group after it blocked international mail shipments by breaking into Royal Mail's software, according to information that the gang has released on the dark web. - Telegraph

Two former record label executives with private equity backing have launched a rival to Hipgnosis Songs Fund and have snapped up the rights to tracks by artists including Robbie Williams and LeAnn Rimes. Bella Figura Music was set up last year by Alexi Cory-Smith and Neelesh Prabhu, who previously worked at BMG UK, the music publisher and record label. - The Times

Workers outside London who have shorter commutes on public transport are returning to their offices more frequently. Regional Reit, which owns 156 office buildings from Eastleigh to Glasgow, said that virtually all its tenants were back in their offices for at least part of the week. Of the company's 1,042 tenants, only 12 had not bothered to start working from their offices again. Two of those were Scottish government departments, it said. - The Times

Share this article

Related Sharecast Articles

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.

Award-winning online share dealing

Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.

Expert insights into investing your money

Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.