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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.

Thursday newspaper round-up: Housing market, Tata Steel, electric cars

(Sharecast News) - The housing market has had some "respite" in recent weeks as activity picked up amid easing mortgage rates after a challenging 2023, according to surveyors. Inquiries from new buyers are approaching a flatter trend, after falling in recent months, according to the December report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). - Guardian Concern is mounting that Tata Steel will confirm plans to shut down much of its production at the Port Talbot steelworks during a crunch meeting with trade unions, putting thousands of jobs at risk. Three sources said they believed that Tata, owned by the Indian billionaire Ruia brothers, was on the brink of confirming plans to close Port Talbot's two blast furnaces, ending more than a century of making steel from scratch in south Wales. - Guardian

Electric cars lose as much as half of their value after just three years on the road, new figures show, as the rate of depreciation far outstrips conventional equivalents. Research from Auto Trader said there were "unsustainable levels of depreciation" in the electric car market, with used prices of battery-powered vehicles dropping by 23pc in the last year alone. - Telegraph

Chinese brands will launch a price war and will capture a sixth of the UK electric car market by 2030, according to Auto Trader. With BYD, China's largest electric car manufacturer, having overtaken Tesla as the world leader in zero-emission vehicles and with Shanghai Automotive's MG brand already out-selling Volkswagen and BMW in the segment in Britain, a new order is coming, according to the online car-buying platform's latest The Road to 2030 report. - The Times

Britons doubled their spending on bowling in December compared with the same month a year ago, according to Lloyds Bank. People also spent more on booking holidays last month, with demand for cruises up by more than a quarter compared with December 2022, the high street lender said. - The Times

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Thursday newspaper round-up: Shorter working week, Microsoft, EY
(Sharecast News) - Nearly 1,000 British workers will adopt a permanently shorter working week, after the latest trial of a four-day week and similar changes to traditional working patterns. All 17 British businesses in a six-month trial of the four-day week said they would continue with an arrangement consisting of either four days a week or nine days a fortnight. All the employees remained on their full salary. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Prax Lindsey, Santander/TSB, pensions, Qantas
(Sharecast News) - The married couple behind the Prax Lindsey oil refinery awarded themselves at least $15.9m (£11.5m) in pay and dividends in the years leading up to its collapse, it has emerged, as the government urged the company's boss to "put his hand in his pockets" to help workers. Winston Soosaipillai, who goes by his middle names Sanjeev Kumar, jointly owned the refinery with his wife, Arani, until it plunged into insolvency on Monday. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: King Charles, Google, offshore companies
(Sharecast News) - King Charles is set to receive official annual income of £132m next year, after his portfolio of land and property made more than £1bn in profits thanks to a boom in the offshore wind sector. Profits at the crown estate - which partly funds the monarchy - were flat at £1.1bn in its financial year to the end of March but more than double their level two years ago, at £442.6m. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Cyber attacks, Asda, Lloyds IT outages
(Sharecast News) - Shiploads of Minis, Aston Martins and Range Rovers will set sail for the US on Monday as the UK-US trade deal kicks in, but British farmers say they have been used as collateral to save the car industry. Auto shipments across the Atlantic were down more than half in May after Donald Trump's imposition of a 25% tariff on 3 April on top of an existing 2.5% levy. - 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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