Weak EU vehicle emissions targets could allow Europe’s biggest carmakers to produce millions more petrol and diesel cars than necessary up to 2030 in a “wasted decade” for cutting carbon pollution, according to a report. Analysis of car industry sales plans for electric vehicles shared exclusively with the Guardian by Transport and Environment (T&E), a thinktank and campaign group, showed that manufacturers could hit their 2030 EU carbon emissions targets with four years to spare. – Guardian
More than 300,000 workers in the UK will get a pay rise from Monday as the charity behind the voluntary real living wage raises the minimum hourly rate amid growing fears over a squeeze on household incomes this winter. Set by the Living Wage Foundation, the nationwide “real living wage” will be raised by 40p to £9.90, while workers in London will see their pay boosted by 20p to £11.05. The changes will apply to workers at about 9,000 living wage employers who adopt the voluntary pay measure. – Guardian
Millions of pensioners face a £169 blow to their incomes next year as the state pension fails to keep pace with inflation. It comes as the Government is set to reject calls from the House of Lords for a bigger pension rise, despite figures this week expected to show inflation already nearing 4pc, a decade-high. – Telegraph
Some companies under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office are spending up to ten times more than Britain’s anti-fraud and bribery organisation on legal and investigation fees, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, leaving the fraudbusters outgunned and less effective. Lack of funding, senior officials joining law firms representing the companies that the SFO is investigating and a perceived hesitation in prosecuting companies and executives all undermine the fight against economic crime, the bureau has found. – The Times
It’s “showtime,” Jamie Foxx, the Hollywood A-lister, declares in one of the many gambling adverts flooding America’s airwaves. Amid rapid growth across the country’s emerging market in sports betting, leading players are rushing to grab the best seats in the house. Investors’ interest was writ large in last year’s blockbuster listing by DraftKings, the Boston-based betting company now valued at $32 billion. Caesars Entertainment’s £2.9 billion deal for William Hill, the British bookmaker making headway in the United States, merely underlined the heavyweight operators’ determination to dominate. – The Times
