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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.

Tuesday newspaper round-up: Apple, UK house sales, Evergrande, Blackberry

(Sharecast News) - Apple became the first US company to be valued at over $3tn on Monday as the tech company continued its phenomenal share price growth, tripling in value in under four years. A pandemic-era surge in tech stocks has driven the major US tech companies to new highs, pulling US stock markets with them. Apple became the world's first trillion dollar company in August 2018, passed $2tn in 2020 and hit its new high as trading began after the holidays and its shares passed $182.80 a piece before dipping lower to end the day valued at over $2.9tn. - Guardian

The number of UK first-time homebuyers has hit its highest level since 2002, according to a new estimate. Despite the uncertainty generated by the pandemic and strong house price growth, the number of first-time buyer transactions in 2021 is estimated to be 408,300, according to Yorkshire Building Society. That would be a 35% increase on the 303,000 transactions in 2020, and more than double the levels in the years following the global financial crisis of 2007-08. - Guardian

Shares in Evergrande were suspended on Monday amid increasing uncertainty about the stability of the debt-ridden Chinese property behemoth. Evergrande said that trading in Hong Kong had been halted ahead of the release of "inside information", but declined to give further details. It came after the company, which is struggling under the weight of $300bn (£222bn) of loans, missed a debt payment last week. Chinese media reports over the weekend said Evergrande had been ordered to demolish an illegally-built development in Hainan, a southern island region in China. - Telegraph

They were once the height of mobile technology, with thousands of emails and messages typed out by suited executives and teenagers alike on their reassuring physical keyboards. But the world's last few BlackBerry users will find their phones begin to stop working on Tuesday as support for the devices' software is finally switched off. The Canadian technology company behind BlackBerry, known at the peak of its powers more than a decade ago as Research In Motion, said devices running its operating system will "no longer reliably function" as of Jan 4. - Telegraph

A quarter of working parents in Scotland said they were likely to take on work or avoid taking time off at Christmas because of a rise in living costs. A survey for the charity Action for Children in Scotland found that almost 74 per cent were concerned about rising energy bills and prices in shops. Of these 25 per cent said that they would work extra hours or not take time off and nearly 90 per cent were prepared to miss out on family gatherings. - The Times

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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
Sunday newspaper round-up: EU tariffs, Begbies Traynor, Burberry's
(Sharecast News) - The US President announced that imports from the EU and Mexico would both be taxed at 30% commencing on 1 August. The announcement was a surprise for both Brussels and the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, as both believed that they had reached a deal that would be acceptable to both sides. EU trade ministers' previously scheduled Monday meeting will now see them come under pressure to show a "tough" reaction. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Speciality Steel UK, Canada tariffs, X and Meta
(Sharecast News) - Ministers are considering options to step in to save another major steel plant if its parent company collapses into administration after a key court case next week. The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is understood to be looking at what the government can do to support Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) - part of the Liberty Steel Group owned by Sanjeev Gupta - should it be faced with possible closure after Wednesday's insolvency hearing. - 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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