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Friday newspaper round-up: UK economy, Royal Mail, Twitter

(Sharecast News) - Britain's economy is expected to take until 2024 to recover to pre-Covid levels amid a slowdown for hiring and business investment, as households and businesses struggle with soaring costs. Business leaders have said that there has been a significant decline of key economic indicators in recent weeks, with confidence among company bosses over the growth outlook collapsing to the lowest level since the depths of the Covid crisis. - Guardian The dairy co-operative Arla Foods has announced it will pay its farmers more money for the milk they produce if they meet new environmental sustainability targets. Arla is introducing the "sustainability incentive" with the aim of promoting and funding the reduction of emissions on the farms of its 8,900 members, based in the UK and six other European countries including Denmark, Sweden and Germany. - Guardian

Royal Mail rushed forward the monthly payment into its pension scheme to help prevent a cash crunch, The Telegraph can reveal, after the mini-Budget sent crucial money markets into a tailspin. The company responded to a request from the trustees of the Royal Mail Pension Plan to provide emergency liquidity, amid fears across the City that a run on pension funds driven by products known as Liability-Driven Investments (LDIs) would leave major funds insolvent. The Royal Mail scheme has 124,000 members and liabilities of £11bn. - Telegraph

Households will be offered £20 a month to cut their energy usage during peak hours in a trial scheme from one of the country's biggest suppliers to help avert rolling blackouts this winter. Ovo Energy, which has 4.5m customers, will offer families money if they are able to cut their energy usage by a third between 4-7pm when demand on the grid is highest, amid concern of electricity shortages. - Telegraph

The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that it will downgrade its growth outlook for the world economy as a third of countries are due to fall imminently into recession. Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director, said the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic had suffered a "massive setback" that would wipe $4 trillion off global output until 2026. - The Times

A Delaware judge has given Elon Musk until the end of the month to complete his Twitter takeover, delaying a highly anticipated trial over his bid to terminate the $44 billion deal. The world's richest man must now buy the social media group by 5pm on October 28 if he is to avoid court. - The Times

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Monday newspaper round-up: Pensioners and the Budget, interest rate expectations, Audi US factory
(Sharecast News) - The chancellor will use his Budget this week to protect pensioners and those saving for their retirement, as he announces plans to shield nearly 1m people from paying income tax. John Healey is expected to confirm on Wednesday that the full state pension will rise by £489 to £13,036 - equivalent to 3.9%. However, the rise will push about 1m people on low incomes who rely on the state pension above the £12, 570 personal allowance threshold, meaning they would be dragged into paying income tax. To retain the principle that the state pension is not taxable, Healey is expected to announce a rise in the tax-free allowance for low-income pensions to £13,036. The move will cost taxpayers £200m a year by 20230 - The Times
Friday newspaper round-up: Elon Musk/Skydance, North Sea wealth fund, retiring entrepreneurs
(Sharecast News) - Elon Musk has reportedly invested approximately $1bn in Skydance, the new media empire led by David Ellison. The deal comes alongside fresh equity infusions from existing investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs's widow. Semafor first reported the news. The investment follows Paramount's recent $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, a huge acquisition that brought the media companies together under the Skydance name. At the head of the new media empire is David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder and Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison. - Guardian
Thursday newspaper round-up: AI companies, Waitrose, gas standing charges
(Sharecast News) - AI companies have told ministers they have 12 months to head off public opposition to datacentres in the UK or risk US-style protests that could threaten their construction. Successive dry summers and rising energy bills are increasing public scrutiny of plans for the huge computer warehouses that are used to train and run AI models, says a submission to the Labour government from a group including the AI infrastructure companies Nvidia, Microsoft and Cisco. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: SpaceX, NatWest, Anthropic
(Sharecast News) - The UK government has approved the controversial Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a widely expected move that will nonetheless dismay environmental campaigners and a number of Labour MPs. While Labour's 2024 election manifesto committed to a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea, the companies behind Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield project, which is being decided on separately, have sought environmental approval for existing licences. - Guardian

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