Thursday newspaper round-up: Pub opening hours, Elon Musk, tax fears

(Sharecast News) - Pubs, clubs and restaurants will be able to open into the early hours as part of Labour's drive for economic growth, a move which critics say will lead to more drunken disorder. Ministers are pushing ahead with plans to allow premises that sell alcohol to extend their opening hours in order to boost "the British night out" and help the hospitality sector. - Guardian Elon Musk and X have settled with four former top executives at Twitter, including the former CEO, who accused the billionaire of failing to pay $128m in promised severance pay after he acquired the social media company in 2022 and fired them. The former executives say that Musk falsely accused them of misconduct and forced them out of Twitter after they sued him for attempting to renege on his offer to buy the company. The plaintiffs are Parag Agrawal, Twitter's former CEO; Ned Segal, Twitter's former chief financial officer; Vijaya Gadde, its former chief legal officer; and Sean Edgett, its former general counsel. Musk and X have denied wrongdoing and said the executives were fired over their performance. - Guardian

A record proportion of businesses are struggled with the tax burden as bosses brace for a fresh Labour raid in November. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) warned that confidence was in "freefall" ahead of the Rachel Reeves's second Budget on Nov 26, with bosses already cutting spending in anticipation. - Telegraph

Britain will import electricity from Europe to keep the lights on this winter as grid operators warn of tight energy supplies over the coming months. The National Energy System Operator (Neso), which manages the power system, said supplies would come under most strain in early December and mid-January, particularly on cold, calmer days, when output from wind farms falls. - Telegraph

An entrepreneur accused of a £5.7 million fraud on Nick Candy, the Reform UK party treasurer, enjoyed an "extravagant" lifestyle while convincing investors to back an app that "did not exist", according to claims made in a High Court battle. Candy, a property tycoon, was caught up in a "web of deceit" over an alleged fraudulent social network founded by Robert Bonnier, Candy's lawyer told the court on Wednesday. - The Times