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(Sharecast News) - The UK is "dangerously" dependent on China for critical raw materials needed for the military, renewable energy infrastructure and AI, a parliamentary investigation has found. MPs on the business select committee called for an urgent centralised policy and the creation of a "critical minerals finance facility" to help fund rare earth and other critical mineral mines, and deploy grants, equity and debt to accelerate a diversification programme. - Guardian
The British state should create and subsidise paid jobs for thousands of disabled young people as part of an "opportunity revolution" aimed at reversing years of labour market discrimination, the Milburn review of youth employment will recommend. The review, due to report this month, will say the government should introduce "flexi-jobs" alongside employment subsidies and intensive skills support to make it easier for disabled and chronically ill 16- to 24-year-olds to get work. - Guardian
Andy Burnham is poised to ban drilling for new oil and gas in the UK to end exploration in the North Sea. The Prime Minister has backed an energy bill that would put into law a permanent prohibition on new drilling, a move to make it harder for ministers to reverse the ban in future. Energy exploration in the UK is subject to the temporary moratorium originally imposed by Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary, but this could be lifted by a future energy secretary. - Telegraph
The prime minister has called on the owners of Poundland to "sit down" with the government and find a solution, marking his latest intervention into efforts to prevent one of the biggest retail collapses of the last decade. Gordon Brothers, the American investment firm that acquired the discount chain for £1 last year, has come under huge political pressure this week after filing a notice of intent to appoint administrators, putting as many as 12,000 Poundland jobs at risk across 600 stores in the UK and Ireland. - The Times
Funds labelled as ethical accounted for about three quarters of the money pulled by investors from equities since the start of this year amid concerns about greenwashing. Strategies centred on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aims suffered £754m in outflows last month, taking the total to almost £4.4bn so far this year, according to the latest funds flow index from Calastone. - The Times
