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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.

Wednesday newspaper round-up: PwC, house prices, JLR

(Sharecast News) - More than 1,000 partners at the UK division of the "big four" accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 this year, a slight fall on last year's record payout as profits fell despite rising revenues. Unaudited accounts released by the company showed that PwC's UK profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn in 2022, although last year's figure was boosted by a £139m gain from the sale of its global mobility business. - Guardian PwC has been a significant beneficiary of Saudi Arabia's global spending spree as the Gulf state looks to grow its economy beyond oil and gas. Strong demand for its advice from Middle Eastern clients helped drive a 30pc jump in the "Big Four" company's consulting revenues last year, new accounts show. - Telegraph

High interest rates are putting indebted businesses under the most pressure since 2009, the Bank of England has warned. Half of all businesses with borrowings will be struggling to meet debt payments by the end of this year, the Bank said, up from 45pc last year. - Telegraph

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax. - Sky News

The UK's largest carmaker has announced plans to use old car batteries to store energy the national grid can't use and return it to the network at peak times. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is turning its used car batteries into what it says will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. - Sky News

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Thursday newspaper round-up: WPP, Jerome Powell, Elon Musk
(Sharecast News) - The advertising agency WPP has been asked to work up ideas for a government-endorsed advertising blitz to urge more consumers to invest in stocks through a "Tell Sid"-style campaign expected to cost tens of millions of pounds. Plans for the nationwide push were announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on Tuesday at her Mansion House speech, as she unveiled a fresh deregulation drive meant to increase financial risk-taking across the UK to help spur growth. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Red tape, billionaires, diesel emissions
(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves has claimed that rules and red tape are acting as a "boot on the neck" of businesses and risk "choking off" innovation across the UK without bold reforms. In a speech to City bosses attending the Mansion House dinner at London's Guildhall on Tuesday evening, the chancellor heaped further pressure on regulators to allow for more risk in order to boost economic growth. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Rachel Reeves, electric cars, Marks & Spencer
(Sharecast News) - Rachel Reeves will claim that cutting red tape for City firms will have trickle-down benefits for households across Britain, as she tries to drum up support for a new financial services strategy. A raft of regulatory reforms are due to be announced by the chancellor on Tuesday, in what the Treasury says will be the "biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade". It will come before her Mansion House address to City bosses during a dinner at Guildhall in London on Tuesday evening. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Pubs, country houses, Severn Trent
(Sharecast News) - The boss of the pub chain Greene King has called for changes to business rates to remedy "unfairness" that he said added to financial pressures on the struggling pubs industry. Nick Mackenzie, Greene King's chief executive, said the business rates system of property taxes should be changed to a tax on profits. - 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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