Friday newspaper round-up: UK property, shops, Ford

(Sharecast News) - That buying a property - any property - in the UK is increasingly the preserve of the rich will come as no surprise to low-income households. But official data shows that the middle classes are increasingly squeezed, with only the cheapest 10% of houses now affordable (no more than five times a household's income according to the Office for National Statistics) to middle-income England. - Guardian The Charity Commission has closed a preliminary investigation into concerns about governance at a charity set up by the UK's richest person, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which helped fund a £16m luxury clubhouse for an exclusive French Alps club where he and his daughter have skied for years. The UK charity watchdog announced on Thursday that it had closed its "regulatory compliance case" into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation after finding that "the charity's activities further its purposes and that there is no further role for the regulator". - Guardian

Women are 50pc more likely than men to lose their jobs in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, according to a new study that predicts millions more roles will be automated by 2030. McKinsey said around 12 million jobs will be replaced by AI in the US alone over the next seven years. The management consultancy said women will be more affected by companies replacing staff with chatbots because they are more likely to hold "lower-wage jobs". - Telegraph

About 6,000 shops have closed across Britain over the past five years as vacancy rates reach "critical levels", new data shows. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said crippling business rates and the impact of the Covid lockdowns were a "key part of decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings", while rising interest rates and inflationary pressures were also to blame. - The Times

Ford Motor Company upgraded its annual profit guidance last night after beating expectations on Wall Street as supply chain issues continue to ease. Earnings at the American automotive group more than doubled in the last quarter amid robust demand for its vehicles and strong pricing of trucks and vans. - The Times