Friday newspaper round-up: Musk, cost-of-living crisis, inflation

(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk told prospective investors that he plans to eliminate nearly 75% of Twitter's staff as part of his deal to take over the social media company, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Job cuts are expected in the coming months no matter who owns the company, according to the report, which cited interviews and documents. - Guardian Millions of people in the UK are struggling to pay their bills, according to the City watchdog, which said a growing proportion of the population is having trouble making ends meet. A survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) laid bare the impact of the cost of living crisis, saying about one in four (24%) of adults in the UK were either in financial difficulty or would fall into trouble if they suffered a financial shock. - Guardian

Inflation will hit 15pc next year if the Government scraps its energy price cap and leaves millions of families exposed to a surge in bills, economists have warned. Analysts at Abrdn said Jeremy Hunt's decision to withdraw the universal energy price guarantee next April would put inflation on course to rise at the fastest rate since 1980, unless another subsidy is introduced. - Telegraph

Households are to be paid around £240 to run washing machines and dishwashers overnight this winter as part of National Grid's efforts to avoid blackouts. Homes will be offered payments for every kilowatt-hour of power they do not use at times during testing of the scheme and when National Grid needs to cut demand because there is not enough electricity to go round. - Telegraph

Britain's chief fraud investigator told MPs that she regretted having contact with an American "fixer" in a move that triggered the collapse of a multimillion-pound bribery case. Lisa Osofsky, director of the Serious Fraud Office, was given a grilling by MPs this week when she appeared before the Commons justice select committee for the first time since the publication of a report into the mishandling of the Unaoil case. - The Times