Monday newspaper round-up: Four-day working week, Diageo, mortgage rules

(Sharecast News) - The government is under growing pressure to get momentum back into the economy amid warnings that businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices, while millions of families believe their finances will worsen this year. Before a major speech this week by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, designed to restate Labour's commitment to improving the economy, the CBI said private sector firms were urgently assessing their budgets to offset measures announced in last October's budget. - Guardian Two hundred UK companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees with no loss of pay, in the latest landmark in the campaign to reinvent Britain's working week. Together the companies employ more than 5,000 people, with charities, marketing and technology firms among the best-represented, according to the latest update from the 4 Day Week Foundation. - Guardian

The average advertised salary has crossed £40,000 for the first time as employers "loosen their purse strings" for the right candidate. Demand for skilled staff combined with employer hesitancy around hiring pushed average salaries to a record high in December, according to jobs search engine Adzuna. - Telegraph

The owner of Guinness has denied reports it is exploring an £8bn sale of the brand as the Irish stout enjoys a surge of popularity. Diageo, the FTSE 100 drinks giant, said on Sunday it had "no intention to sell" after reports that it was considering disposing of or spinning off the Dublin-headquartered business. - Telegraph

A loosening of post-financial-crisis mortgage rules after government pressure on regulators to boost economic growth would help tens of thousands more people to buy their first homes, a new analysis has found. Planned reforms to mortgage rules could allow about 76,000 more first-time buyers to borrow large enough loans to get on to the property ladder, but easing the rules could increase home repossessions and add to housing market inflation, experts said. - The Times