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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Avon, AstraZeneca, Google

(Sharecast News) - Anti-sewage campaigners have warned of "extreme anger" if the Labour government does not radically reform the water regulator. Sources at the Environment Agency (EA) and in the Labour party have told the Guardian that while Labour had spent time considering reforms of the EA and Ofwat in order to fix the sewage crisis, some stricter options that had been proposed were now off the table. -Guardian The owner of the beauty brand Avon in the UK, Europe and Latin America has filed for bankruptcy as it tries to off-load more than $1bn of debt, including millions of dollars in liabilities linked to lawsuits alleging that talc in its products caused cancer. Avon Products Inc (API), a subsidiary of Brazil's Natura which bought Avon's non-North American trading businesses in 2020, has filed for Chapter 11, the American version of administration. - Guardian

AstraZeneca has become Britain's first £200bn company following a 20pc rally in its share price since the start of the year. Shares in the pharmaceutical business rose 1.1pc yesterday to value the company at £200.3bn. AstraZeneca's stock has surged so far this year amid strong sales of its roster of cancer and rare disease ­medicines. The drug company jumped ahead of Shell in April to become the most valuable business on the FTSE 100. - Telegraph

A growing number of people have cut corners on their travel insurance since the start of the cost of living crisis, research suggests. Some withhold information to obtain cheaper cover, while others are selective about the medical information that they declare, according to AllClear Travel Insurance. - The Times

Google could be ordered to break up its operations after a judge ruled that the company has an illegal monopoly over online search, according to a report. The US Department of Justice is considering ordering Alphabet, Google's owner, to divest parts of the search business, which could include the Android operating system and Google's web browser Chrome, Bloomberg reported. - The Times

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Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit border checks, Evri, UK bond sales
(Sharecast News) - A lack of social mobility is costing the UK £19bn a year, a report produced by the cross-party thinktank Demos and the Co-op has found. The Social Mobility Commission, which advises the government, defines social mobility as "the link between a person's occupation or income and the occupation or income of their parents". - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Sellafield, HBOS, retail investors
(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves has been urged not to carry out mooted funding cuts for nuclear sites including Sellafield amid safety concerns, as it emerged that the number of incidents where workers narrowly avoided harm had increased at the Cumbrian site. The GMB union has written to Reeves, the chancellor, before Wednesday's budget to raise safety concerns after rumours emerged that the budget for the taxpayer-owned Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) could be reduced, which could result in cuts at nuclear sites including Sellafield and Dounreay in Scotland. - Guardian
Sunday newspaper round-up: Unsustainable, Inheritance Tax, Payslips
(Sharecast News) - The government's debt pile is set to soar to "unsustainable" levels, the Chancellor's new fiscal rules not withstanding, official data reveal. During the previous week, Rachel Reeves binned the old methodology used to measure public debt, which will allow her to foist enormous additional liabilities on future generations of Britons. The new rules will let her borrow £50bn yet claim that she can balance the books. - The Financial Mail on Sunday
Friday newspaper round-up: Tax rises, WiseTech Global, heat network zones
(Sharecast News) - City firms are only rarely docking pay and bonuses in cases of bad behaviour including sexual harassment, bullying and drug use, according to the industry's watchdog, which recorded a 40% rise in complaints about non-financial misconduct last year. The findings are the result of the City regulator's first survey looking at the issue, which was launched in the wake of high-profile allegations of sexual harassment, including those against individuals at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) lobby group. - 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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