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Tuesday newspaper round-up: Customer service complaints, floating windfarms, Halifax

(Sharecast News) - Customer service complaints have hit their highest level on record and are costing British businesses more than £9bn a month in lost staff time, research has found. As firms struggle to cope with global supply issues and a staffing crisis, the Institute of Customer Service found more consumers were experiencing service issues than at any point since its customer satisfaction index began in 2008. - Guardian

Floating windfarms could be built off the coasts of Cornwall and Pembrokeshire after the Queen's property manager identified a clutch of sites in the Celtic Sea that could host them. The crown estate, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, has published five "areas of search" that will be narrowed into development plots to host wind power generation. - Guardian

Boris Johnson must give approval for a pioneering Rolls-Royce mini nuclear reactor project in the next six months or risk delaying a project vital to his green energy revolution, the company has warned. Rolls will be unable to meet a target of deploying its first reactor by 2029 unless ministers place an order before the end of the year according to Tom Samson, the project's chief executive. The company's small modular reactors (SMRs) are expected to play a key part in the Prime Minister's plans for an energy revolution. - Telegraph

A furore about the use of pronouns on staff badges at Halifax has failed to result in a customer exodus, The Times has learnt. Halifax became embroiled in a row last week after it said on social media that customers who disagreed with its policy of allowing employees to display their chosen pronouns were free to close their accounts. - The Times

More than one in three UK company directors disqualified over a two-month period had abused the government's coronavirus loan or job support schemes, according to an analysis of official data. The Insolvency Service banned 37 directors in April and May for fraudulent claims. The disqualifications represented almost 35 per cent of the directors struck off and compares with 140 directors who were banned for abuse of Covid schemes in the year to the end of March: 17 per cent of the total. - 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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