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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Rent controls, car makers, Elon Musk

(Sharecast News) - Sadiq Khan has called on ministers to grant him powers to freeze private rents in London, amid a push by Labour over cost of living issues which also saw the party reiterate its call for the scrapping of the planned increase in national insurance contributions. The mayor has previously called on the government to allow him to put in place rent controls in London as a way to ease fast-rising costs, but has been rebuffed by ministers. - Guardian Car manufacturers are facing soaring costs and supply issues after the price of nickel doubled to record levels in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices passed $100,000 (£76,000) a tonne - driven up by buyers racing to cover short positions - before the London Metal Exchange (LME) suspended trading in nickel for the day. - Guardian

Russia has suspended the sale of foreign currencies until September in a scramble to steady its economy, as rating agency Fitch indicated that a sovereign default is imminent. Citizens will not be able to buy foreign currencies in local banks but they will, however, be able to change them into the local ruble unit. - Telegraph

Elon Musk has claimed he was forced to sign a settlement with the US government that kept him in charge of Tesla, saying the deal was necessary for "the immediate survival" of the company. The world's richest man stepped up his campaign against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, asking a court to throw out the 2018 deal and accusing the agency of having a "vendetta" against him. - Telegraph

British companies posting messages for International Women's Day are having their gender pay gaps exposed by a Twitter bot, leading some to delete their posts. Companies such as Ryanair, Barclays and outsourcer Capita, as well as universities and government departments, have been called out by the Gender Pay Gap Bot, which states in its Twitter biography: "Employers, if you tweet about International Women's Day, I'll retweet your gender pay gap." - 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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