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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.

Monday newspaper round-up: Renewable energy, BlackRock, Frasers Group

(Sharecast News) - A development company that sells off land no longer needed by Thames Water has paid out a £14m dividend despite warnings that it could become engulfed by the water group's financial woes. Accounts filed at Companies House show Kennet Properties paid out a £14.5m dividend in the year to 31 March 2023 despite the difficulties faced by the wider group, which is facing going into administration. - Guardian A permanent shift to higher interest rates could add billions of pounds to the UK's renewable energy transition, a leading thinktank has warned. Borrowing costs have soared since the easing of pandemic lockdowns and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the world's leading central banks raised interest rates to tackle inflation - pushing up the costs of investment in infrastructure across advanced economies including for green power generation schemes. - Guardian

BlackRock spent nearly $800,000 (£647,000) last year on security for its chief executive Larry Fink following a backlash by activists over the company's "woke" stance on investing. The world's biggest asset manager spent $564,000 upgrading security systems at Mr Fink's home and $217,000 on bodyguards in 2023, according to a filing earlier this month that was first reported by the Financial Times. - Telegraph

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has refused to allow the Financial Reporting Council to publish the key findings of a review into the retail group's latest annual report. Frasers, which has a history of corporate governance controversies, has withheld consent for the regulator to issue a case summary after entering into "substantive inquiries" with the company. - The Times

Only 1 per cent of local government accounts were audited on time last year and there are now almost 800 accounts awaiting an audit opinion, with the delays affecting the sign-off of the accounts of several government departments. Since 2015, when the Audit Commission which used to manage the auditing of English councils' accounts was abolished, audit appointments have been contracted out to the private sector, with every account being reviewed by either Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, Mazars or BDO. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Post Office, Spirit AeroSystems, Flutter
(Sharecast News) - The Post Office is expected to announce the closure of dozens of branches and cut up to 1,000 head office jobs as it seeks to reduce costs to secure its financial future. There are about 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK, of which 115 are wholly centrally owned. The rest are operated by independent post office operators under contract and partners such as WH Smith and Tesco. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Bluesky, British Steel, FRC
(Sharecast News) - Social media platform Bluesky has picked up more than 700,000 new users in the week since the US election, as users seek to escape misinformation and offensive posts on X. The influx, largely from North America and the UK, has helped Bluesky reach 14.5 million users worldwide, up from 9 million in September, the company said. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Hospitality, wind generation, Vertical Aerospace
(Sharecast News) - Great Britain "lags behind" Europe on measures to restrict betting adverts, according to a report released days after official data showed a sharp increase in the number of children with a gambling problem. Restrictions on ads by bookmakers and casinos are increasingly becoming "the norm" across Europe in response to public health concerns, according to a report commissioned by GambleAware, the UK's leading gambling charity. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: AI, Bentley, News Corp
(Sharecast News) - Dozens of health and children's groups have urged ministers to tackle obesity by imposing taxes on foods containing too much salt or sugar. New levies based on the sugar tax on soft drinks would make it easier for consumers to eat more healthily by forcing food manufacturers to reformulate their products, they claim. - 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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