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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Heating oil customers, benefit claimants, SoftBank chief

(Sharecast News) - Heating oil customers whose deliveries were cancelled when the war in the Middle East caused a price surge are to receive compensation of up to £350 each following an investigation by the UK competition watchdog. As the crisis unfolded, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was investigating heating oil suppliers after complaints that existing orders were being scrapped, with customers offered new deliveries at a significantly higher price. - Guardian Labour must stop "simply writing a cheque" for health and disability benefit claimants and will provide more job support instead, the work and pensions secretary has said. Pat McFadden said the government was preparing to launch a renewed effort at welfare reform with a focus on encouraging more people with health conditions to get into work and off benefits. - Guardian

Andy Burnham is to be warned about the darkening outlook for Britain's economy next week on his first day as prime minister. Mr Burnham will be briefed by senior Treasury officials when he takes up the role on Monday that the UK's finances will be worse than expected during his first months in office. - Telegraph

Britain's energy grid boss dismissed claims that blackout risks were covered up just hours before he launched an investigation into the allegations, The Telegraph can reveal. Fintan Slye, the chief executive of the National Energy System Operator (Neso), is said to have called the claims false during a call open to all employees on Monday morning. - Telegraph

The boss of the world's largest technology investor said humans will be displaced as "the highest life form on Earth" as artificial intelligence accelerates towards superintelligence, fundamentally reshaping the global economy in the process. Masayoshi Son, chief executive of SoftBank, said that global AI infrastructure would require $5 trillion in annual investment by 2040 to support the shift away from human labour. He predicted that the technology could account for as much as 20 per cent of global output. - The Times

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Tuesday newspaper round-up: North Sea oil, Anthropic, EV owners
(Sharecast News) - The US government has already paid back tens of billions of dollars in tariffs it collected before the supreme court ruled them illegal, according to budget figures released on Monday. Tariffs - taxes on imported goods - have been a key part of president Donald Trump's game economic plan since he took office again last year. But in February, the supreme court shut down a big chunk of the extra tariffs Trump ordered, forcing the government to return money to the companies that had paid them. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: Pub sector, Eurostar, war bonds
(Sharecast News) - The beleaguered pub sector is getting a boost from England's World Cup run, with some landlords reporting roaring sales as anticipation builds for a bumper night on Wednesday for the semi-final clash with Argentina. Lisa Mayall, the manager of the British Oak in Kingswinford near Dudley in the West Midlands, was jubilant after England's 2-1 win against Norway on Saturday night and brisk takings at the pub's till. She expects hundreds more customers for the team's next game at 8pm BST. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Nigel Farage, diesel prices, Kraken Technology
(Sharecast News) - Chancellor Rachel Reeves is to announce a new City "skills compact" that will commit firms such as Barclays and Lloyds to retraining thousands of financial sector workers for the AI revolution. The financial services skills compact will be launched on Tuesday, during what is likely to be Reeves's final Mansion House speech to City bosses before Andy Burnham's expected takeover of No 10. The government-backed initiative will commit employers to improving workers' skills and helping them "keep pace" with significant technological changes that have prompted fears of mass redundancies. - Guardian

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