Tuesday newspaper round-up: Households, Prices, AstraZeneca

20th May 2014 07:09

British households are willing to splash out a little bit extra on luxuries as confidence in people's finances and the state of the economy continues to rise. Consumer confidence is at its highest level since Lloyds started charting it in its Spending Power Report in November 2010. Confidence in April hit 138 points, a rise of 29 points from this time last year. Confidence rose thanks to reduced pressure on household budgets as the cost of several essential items fell. - Daily MailPrices are rising faster than wages again, official figures could show on Tuesday, days after Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor, said that the cost of living crisis was over. Inflation on the CPI measure was 1.8% in April, the Office for National Statistics is expected to report, according to forecasts from City economists. That figure, an increase on the March reading, would temper hopes that a long period of wages falling in real terms is over. - The Daily Telegraph Pfizer is refusing to throw in the towel over a takeover bid for AstraZeneca, and is now counting on shareholder pressure to force the board of the Anglo-Swedish company to the negotiating table. Sources close to the American drug giant said it would leave its £69bn offer - or £55 per share - for AstraZeneca, which technically runs out of time next Monday, in place to test investor reaction. "Pfizer put the £55 out there to see if they could get engagement or any progression because AstraZeneca have been focused on independence," said one source. - The Daily Telegraph The 'big 10' global food and drink companies together emit more greenhouse gases than Scandinavia and would rank as the 25th most polluting country in the world if grouped together, the international charity and agency Oxfam claims in a new report on Tuesday. In a highly critical overview of their climate change policies, it warns the companies - which represent the world's most famous household brands - that they are risking financial ruin if they do not do more to use their clout and size to tackle the climate crisis. - The GuardianAbout £40bn of tax is being illegally evaded every year by companies in Britain, four times the official estimate, according to new research. The study into Britain's shadow economy, published by Tax Research UK, Tax Justice Network and the Association for Accountancy and Business Affairs (AABA), found that £100bn of sales by companies were not reported in 2012. The paper claimed that £40bn of VAT, income tax, national insurance and corporation tax went unpaid. - The Times Standard Chartered has stepped outside the banking sector for its new finance director, luring Andy Halford, Vodafone's former beancounter in chief, with a £2.8m "golden hello". Mr Halford will join Standard Chartered in June 16th after leaving the British telecoms giant in March. Mr Halford, who is also a non-executive director at Marks & Spencer, is being handed up to £2.8m in shares to replace the bonus scheme he had been awarded at Vodafone but was required to forfeit upon taking a new job.- The TimesAB