Wednesday newspaper round-up: Mobil, FTSE 100 bosses, Arcadia

More than 5 million workers across Britain are in low-paid and insecure work, leaving families struggling to make ends meet, according to a campaign calling for more firms to offer guaranteed hours to their staff. According to research published by the Living Wage Foundation, workers in Wales, the north-east and West Midlands experience the highest rates of low-paid insecure work in the country. – Guardian

Oil giant Mobil sought to make tax-exempt donations to leading universities, civic groups and arts programmes to promote the company’s interests and undermine environmental regulation, according to internal documents from the early 1990s obtained by the Guardian. The documents shine a light on the ways corporations have used their money to buy influence, amass prestige and shape public policy through grants to academic programmes and advocacy groups. – Guardian

The average tenure of a FTSE 100 boss has lengthened for the first time in three years, with companies increasingly opting for internal candidates to replace outgoing chief executives. The turnover of bosses in the index was 10pc in the financial year to March, down from 14pc the same period the year before, according to the Robert Half FTSE 100 CEO tracker. – Telegraph

Selling “Brand Britain” to Silicon Valley bosses is becoming increasingly tough, Google’s UK head has said, in a sign political uncertainty is unsettling America's technology giants. Ronan Harris, managing director and vice president of Google’s UK and Ireland operations, said he was having to “work a little bit harder to explain what's going on to my counterparts in California”. – Telegraph

Financial markets are underestimating the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal at the end of October, the former ambassador to Brussels has warned. Sir Ivan Rogers said yesterday that markets, “the commentariat” and the public had misread the chances of a no-deal Brexit this year. Governments across the Continent, he said, were reluctant “to play this game for very much longer”. – The Times

The future of the emergency restructuring at Sir Philip Green’s retail empire rests on a knife-edge vote today after one of Arcadia’s biggest landlords said that it would vote against the plan. Creditors of Arcadia, including landlords and suppliers, are due to meet in London to vote on an overhaul of the owner of the Topshop chain. A vote last week was adjourned when it became clear there was insufficient support for the plans. – The Times