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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Fuel duty, Post Office, ECB

(Sharecast News) - Retaining the fuel duty cut in the budget is a regressive policy that benefits the wealthiest in society, who will save £60 a year, while those who earn the least will save just £22, according to analysis. Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce an extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty brought in during 2022, a proposal that has won him plaudits across the rightwing press. - Guardian The Post Office's finance chief has been on sick leave for almost a year after clashing with its chief executive, The Telegraph can disclose. Alisdair Cameron, the chief financial officer, has been signed off work since last April and has not attended a single board meeting since then. He is still listed as sitting on the Post Office board and the company, which is taxpayer owned, refuses to reveal his interim replacement. It is alleged that chief executive Nick Read asked the Government to authorise a pay-off for Mr Cameron but that request was declined. - Telegraph

Christine Lagarde is facing growing backlash from staff at the European Central Bank (ECB) over its "one-sided" views on climate change policies. In a letter seen by The Telegraph, the ECB's staff committee complained that remarks by a board member on the need to "reprogramme" employees failing to embrace the bank's climate policies had an "undeniable authoritarian note". - Telegraph

High interest rates and falling corporate real estate prices pose a serious risk to the US banking system, the International Monetary Fund has said, as it warned of the prospect of looming bank failures. On the anniversary of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the IMF has rung the alarm bell over the risks of another round of bank failures triggered by the worst fall in commercial property values in half a century in the world's largest economy. - The Times

The shipyard that built the Titanic has been named as the preferred bidder for a £120 million contract to build a new port for the Falkland Islands. Belfast-based Harland & Wolff was selected by the Islands' government for the project. Subject to agreeing the final contract pricing and concluding commercial negotiations, work on the two-year project is expected to begin later this year. The manufacturing group will construct, transport and install four floating pontoons, measuring 90 metres each to the South Atlantic. - The Times

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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
Thursday newspaper round-up: UK vets, Sizewell B, Terry Smith
(Sharecast News) - UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government. Ministers are also considering establishing a regulator for the veterinary sector, including inspections, a mandatory licensing system and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Every vet practice could need an official operating licence - similar to GP surgeries and care homes - under proposals in a white paper. - Guardian
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Regional income divide, John Lewis, mortgages
(Sharecast News) - Britain's deep regional income divide has barely changed in 30 years despite the promises of successive governments to narrow the gap, according to a report showing the challenge for Andy Burnham. As the prime minister-in-waiting prepares for government, the Resolution Foundation said almost no progress had been made since 1997 to tackle stark divisions in household income, before housing costs are taken into account, between the richest and poorest parts of the country. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Gambling customers, student loan repayments, Russian bankruptcies
(Sharecast News) - The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK's AI strategy at risk. Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)'s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider. It could apply to all datacentre projects that have not yet received planning permission - although its exact implementation is up to the Scottish government to decide. - Guardian

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