Wednesday newspaper round-up: CEO pay, Acacia Mining, Co-op Bank

The average FTSE chief executive earns 386 times more than a worker on the national living wage, according to an analysis published by the Equality Trust as it steps up its campaign for new government rules to expose pay gaps. The charity used annual reports from 2015 for all the companies in the FTSE 100 to calculate that their CEOs pocket an average of £5.3m each year, compared with £13,662 for someone on the national living wage of £7.20 an hour. – Guardian

Most of Britain’s millionaires reckon Brexit will make them even richer, according to a survey by wealth managers at Swiss bank UBS. A poll of more than 400 Britons with at least $1m (£800,000) in liquid assets in addition to their homes found that 78% thought Britain’s decision to leave the EU would have a “positive effect” on their financial plans. – Guardian

The £3bn gold mining merger talks between Acacia Mining and Canada’s Endeavour Mining have been brought to a halt, weeks after the Tanzanian government slapped Acacia with an export ban on its copper and gold concentrate. In separate statements, made after the London markets closed, both companies said they ended preliminary talks due to doubts over whether the deal would deliver value to their respective shareholders. – Telegraph

Theresa May has described the technology industry as a "great British success story" after a report revealed that investment in digital businesses spread across the country last year. Expanding its reach beyond London, 72pc of venture capital and private equity investment went to regional businesses in 2016, amounting to £9.2bn, according to the third annual Tech Nation report. - Telegraph

One of Britain’s leading stockpickers has admitted that fund managers have let down industry. Neil Woodford told the House of Lords’ science and technology committee that pension funds had stopped investing in UK innovation and that long-term investors such as him were in an “extreme minority sport”. – The Times

Bidders for the Co-operative Bank have been told they have a fortnight to submit offers so that it can decide whether a sale is viable or if it will have to pursue more radical action to stem its losses. The emergence of the two-week deadline sent jitters through the bond market, prompting the value of the Co-op Bank’s senior debt to fall to 84p in the pound. – The Times