Tuesday newspaper round-up: House prices, employers, Wayve
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 07 May 2024
(Sharecast News) - Universal Music Group could become the latest company to face an embarrassing shareholder revolt this AGM season, after an influential advisory firm urged investors to reject an "excessive" €139m (£119m) payout for its chief executive, Lucian Grainge. Glass Lewis said it had "severe reservations" about supporting the Dutch-American music company's pay decisions, which included a €92m share-based bonus for its British-born CEO that easily made up for a 51% cut in his salary, to €7.5m. - Guardian
A decline in mortgage rates has prompted a forecaster to reverse its predictions of a fall in UK house prices in 2024, instead suggesting the average cost of a property could rise by £61,500 over the next five years. The property company Savills had forecast in November that it expected the average price of a home to fall by 3% this year because recent rises in the Bank of England base rate had heightened the affordability pressures on would-be buyers. - Guardian
Employers are cutting back hours and hiring less to cope with the rise in the National Living Wage, the boss of one of Britain's biggest recruiters has said. James Reed, chief executive of Reed, said April's 9.8pc increase in minimum wage was already being reflected in hiring patterns. Mr Reed said: "We have seen some employers changing their behaviour. "They might be taking on people for shorter periods or fewer hours or fewer of them because of the increasing cost." - Telegraph
Wayve, a British driverless car company, has raised over a billion dollars from three of the world's most influential tech companies to commercialise its products. Led by investor SoftBank, with contributions from Nvidia and Microsoft, the funds will help develop the start-up's artificial intelligence software, which can make any vehicle hands-free. - The Times
The UK is likely to have exited recession at the beginning of this year, with growth now gathering momentum in a suite of key economic sectors, analysis suggested. Figures shared with The Times by Lloyds Bank showed that more than half of sectors within the UK economy grew in the first three months of this year, suggesting that official GDP estimates this week will confirm that the economy left recession. - The Times
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