Wednesday newspaper round-up: Workplace sickness, Google-Anthropic, Carpetright

The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than £100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid “staggering” levels of presenteeism, a report warns. Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows the cost of staff sickness has grown by £30bn a year to £103bn in 2023. The annual bill was £73bn in 2018, its study found. – Guardian

The Competition and Markets Authority has begun a preliminary investigation into a partnership between Google and the AI startup Anthropic, marking the latest in a string of investigations into deals between big tech companies and smallerAI ones. Google invested $2bn (about £1.56bn) into Anthropic in 2023, shortly after signing a cloud computing agreement with the startup, which develops the Claude LLM and chatbot. – Guardian

Rachel Reeves’ decision to end winter fuel payments gave Britons a taste of who the Chancellor is likely to hit with higher taxes in her maiden Budget. Reeves insists it won’t be workers. “We will not balance the books on the backs of hardworking people,” she said on July 29 as she warned of a £22bn hole in the public finances. – Telegraph

Carpetright collapsed owing an estimated £213 million to customers, suppliers and landlords, who are to be left almost entirely out of pocket. Hundreds of unsecured creditors — including Royal Mail and Microsoft — are expected to recover less than 1p in the pound of their debts, according to administrators’ proposals seen by The Times. The carpet suppliers Betap and Condor were owed £1.9 million and £1.1 million respectively when Britain’s biggest flooring chain collapsed last week. Microsoft was owed £3.1 million; Biffa, the waste management company, £852,000; Royal Mail, £372,000; and DHL, the logistics company, £540,000. – The Times

Ten listed company directors, deal advisers and senior lawyers have been branded dishonest and deceitful in a stock market scandal kept under wraps for 12 years but disclosed for the first time on Tuesday. The Takeover Panel revealed the scam and named the culprits, who include Richard Balfour-Lynn, a well-known former figure in the property and hotels world, and Julian Treger, the notorious activist investor from the early 2000s. – The Times