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Monday newspaper round-up: FTSE 100 CEOs, Barclays, business fears

(Sharecast News) - The chief executives of FTSE 100 companies will have made more money in 2025 by midday on Monday than their average worker does in a whole year, according to the latest measure of inequality between bosses and their employees. Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives is £4.22m, 113 times the median full-time worker's pay of £37,430, according to the High Pay Centre, a campaign group. That means UK bosses will exceed their workers' annual pay within 29 hours - or at about 11:30am on Monday, if they started work straight after the new year holiday. - Guardian Labour must offer extra support to working parents, including with childcare and commuting, if it is to fulfil its promise of cutting child poverty, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has argued. The government's manifesto promised an "ambitious strategy" on child poverty, and ministers have said they will publish a 10-year plan in the spring. - Guardian

Barclays has been criticised for paying mystery shoppers to pretend to be blind or deaf in an attempt to test the response of branch staff. The National Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK), which campaigns for blind and partially sighted people, said the bank's stunt was an "insult" to blind people and "totally inappropriate". - Telegraph

Business fears over taxation have hit a record high in the wake of Rachel Reeves's "devastating" Budget, according to a new survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Almost 63pc of businesses said they were concerned about the tax burden, findings show, up from 48pc three months ago and a higher proportion than ever before. - Telegraph

The competition between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the billionaire technology tycoons, is set to intensify after Amazon signalled it could start a satellite-based high-speed broadband service in the UK as early as this year. The move by Amazon, which was disclosed in filings by the American tech company with Ofcom, Britain's communications regulator, would help Bezos make up ground against Musk's Starlink service, which started launching satellites in 2019 and now has more than 6,700 in orbit. - The Times

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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Trade unions, Apple, Smith & Nephew
(Sharecast News) - Some companies are "stuck in neutral" in their approach to artificial intelligence, according to Microsoft's UK boss, who said a significant number of private and public sector organisations lack any formal AI strategy. A Microsoft survey of nearly 1,500 UK senior leaders across public and private sectors, as well as 1,440 employees, found that more than half of executives feel their organisation has no official AI plan. Roughly the same proportion report a growing gap in productivity - a measure of economic efficiency - between employees who use AI and those who do not. - Guardian
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Tariffs, Elon Musk, public sector wage
(Sharecast News) - China and Canada unveiled retaliatory measures against the US after Donald Trump imposed his sweeping tariffs plan at midnight US time, despite warnings it could spark an escalating trade war. US tariffs have come into force of 25% against goods from Canada and Mexico, the US's two biggest trading partners, and 20% tariffs against China - doubling the levy on China from last month. - Guardian
Monday newspaper round-up: leasehold system, net zero, Asda
(Sharecast News) - The government must close loopholes that enable firms exploiting workers to undercut British businesses or risk the UK becoming a "dumping ground" for goods made in poor conditions, MPs have said. In a report published on Monday, the business and trade select committee calls on the government to make it mandatory for companies to say how they will tackle modern slavery in their supply chain and to introduce bigger penalties for firms that do not comply, including "naming and shaming" businesses. - Guardian
Friday newspaper round-up: Councils, GSK, business confidence
(Sharecast News) - Almost half of councils in England risk falling into bankruptcy without action to address a £4.6bn deficit amassed under a Conservative-era policy, the government's spending watchdog has warned. In a damning report, the National Audit Office said that rising pressure on public services and repeated delays to reform the funding of local government meant town halls were in an "unsustainable" financial position. - Guardian

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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