Monday newspaper round-up: AI lab, fuel prices, pension contributions

About 7,000 businesses are likely to fail every quarter in 2024 as high interest rates cause financial strain and the UK economy enters recession, according to a thinktank. The Centre for Economics and Business Research said debt taken on during the pandemic, higher borrowing costs and the cost of living crisis would drive an increasing number of businesses under, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors. – Guardian

Officials are scrambling to secure extra electricity capacity for the likely home of Britain’s new sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) lab, amid fears the overloaded grid could undermine Rishi Sunak’s ambitions for the technology. The Prime Minister is understood to have become personally interested in efforts to secure extra grid capacity for a supercomputing lab in Bristol, which is the leading contender for a taxpayer-funded £100m “AI Research Resource”. – Telegraph

Drivers had to stomach one of the largest monthly fuel price rises in more than two decades in August, new data shows. The average price of petrol jumped up by 6.68p a litre last month to 145.57p, adding nearly £4 to the cost of a tank. Diesel shot up by 8p to 154.37p on average, adding nearly £4.50 to the cost of filling up. The increase for petrol was the fifth biggest monthly jump in 23 years, according to the RAC, while the rise in diesel was the sixth biggest monthly rise. – Telegraph

The boss of one of Britain’s biggest fund managers has called for a doubling of minimum pension contributions from 8 per cent of pay to 16 per cent in what would amount to a huge change to the retirement saving rules. Stephen Bird, the chief executive of Abrdn, said millions of people were heading for an inadequate income in retirement because the present minimum 3 per cent contribution from employers and 5 per cent from employees was not nearly enough. – The Times

Millions of low-paid British workers should be given extra legal protections to boost their wages and job security, according to a leading think tank. The Resolution Foundation wants “good work agreements” between private sector companies and employees in industries that suffer from low pay and poor working conditions. – The Times