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Friday newspaper round-up: Unilever, civil servants, Wegovy

(Sharecast News) - Unilever could face a potential row with shareholders after it emerged that the new boss of the consumer goods company can earn up to €17.4m (£14.9m) this year if he hits maximum targets. Hein Schumacher, who joined the owner of Marmite, Domestos and Dove in June last year, took home €3.9m for his first six months as chief executive. He earned a €1.86m annual bonus on top of his €1.4m in basic pay and benefits, which included €292,492 to help cover his relocation to the UK, according to Unilever's annual report published on Thursday. - Guardian Thousands of people in the UK are being deemed incapable of any work every month due to mental health problems, figures have shown. According to official data published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), at least 20,000 incapacity benefit claims are for mental health problems - making up more than two-thirds of the total. - Guardian

Ministers are planning to crack down on telegraph poles following a community backlash over unsightly broadband infrastructure. Data minister Julia Lopez has written to network operators including BT's Openreach and Virgin Media O2 urging them to curb the installation of new telegraph poles as they expand full-fibre services. - Telegraph

Civil servants at Britain's official statistics body have threatened to go on strike after being asked to work in the office for two days a week. More than 1,000 employees at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are being balloted over strike action after bosses told them to stop working from home full time. - Telegraph

Surging demand for Wegovy has helped the Danish economy to dodge recession, with the country's growth last year almost entirely driven by Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceuticals group behind the weight-loss jab. Official figures from Denmark's statistics agency show that the country's drugs industry, which is dominated by Novo Nordisk, powered the economy's 1.8 per cent growth in 2023, helping Denmark to avoid the stagnation that has affected most European economies. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Aviva Investors, HSBC, car finance
(Sharecast News) - One of the UK's biggest pension funds has lost more than £350m on a series of "calamitous" investments in incinerator power plants that are expected to go bust in the coming days. The Guardian understands that Aviva Investors will put three incinerators into administration this week after pouring millions of pounds into what has been described as the country's "dirtiest form of power generation". - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Starling Bank, Asos, Morrisons
(Sharecast News) - Staff have resigned at Starling Bank after its new chief executive demanded thousands of workers attend its offices more regularly, despite lacking enough space to host them. In his first major policy change since taking over from the UK digital bank's founder, Anne Boden, in March, Raman Bhatia has ordered all hybrid staff - many of whom were in the office only one or two days a week, or on an ad-hoc basis - to travel to work for a minimum of 10 days each month. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, Black Friday, Lloyds Bank, Sephora
(Sharecast News) - Household energy bills across Great Britain are set to rise at the start of next year, analysts predict, putting more pressure on household finances. Officially, the price cap for January-March 2025 will be set on Friday morning by regulator Ofgem, limiting what energy providers can charge in England, Scotland and Wales. - Guardian
Sunday newspaper round-up: Kursk, AstraZeneca, BAE Systems
(Sharecast News) - America's President has authorised Ukraine to employ long-range ATACMS supplied by the US to strike targets inside Russia. More specifically, Kyiv will now be allowed to strike targets within the Kursk region, the New York Times reported. Speculation may increase that permission from Britain, the US and France to do the same with Storm Shadow missiles could follow. Joe Biden's decision is said to have been triggered by the appearance of North Korean troops in the Kursk region. - The Sunday Telegraph

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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