Friday newspaper round-up: World Bank, Tata Steel, FTSE pay

The president of the World Bank has told Theresa May that cutting the UK’s aid budget could lead to an increase in conflict, terrorism and migration and would damage Britain’s international reputation. In a strongly worded response to reports that the government was considering dropping its commitment to devote 0.7% of national income to aid each year, Jim Kim said the money the UK provided was vital not just for developing countries but for the future of the world. - Guardian

Tata Steel could pay more than £500m into its UK pension scheme as part of a deal with regulators that involves the Pension Protection Fund taking a stake in the business. The Indian-owned company needs to find a solution to its pension scheme to secure the future of its UK operations, which employs 8,000 workers and includes the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales. Tata Steel is trying to hive off its historic liabilities before merging its European steel operations with German company ThyssenKrupp. – Guardian

Pay for chief executives at Britain’s biggest companies is on the decline as a fresh wave of shareholder activism appears to be driving restraint. Analysis of the first 40 blue-chip businesses to publish their remuneration reports has revealed that 42.5pc of their bosses did not get a salary increase this year. Consultancy PwC examined remuneration documents of the FTSE 100 businesses to get a snapshot of how pay policy is shaping up. – Telegraph

The Bank of England is moving further away from its hopes to see more women in top jobs, with Mark Carney's former adviser Jenny Scott the latest senior female executive to leave the Bank. Ms Scott, who was an adviser to the governor for a year before becoming the Bank's executive director of communications in 2014, is leaving at a sensitive time for the central bank, which has faced fresh criticism over its lack of senior female staff following a string of exits. – Telegraph

Christine Lagarde has called on countries to pull together in the fight against a damaging retreat into protectionism amid mounting evidence that a global trade war is already under way. The managing director of the International Monetary Fund said there had been a worrying increase in the number of trade violations over the past two years and described the apparent breakdown in relations between countries as “an issue that needs to be addressed”. -The Times

BT will be forced to open up its broadband network to rivals, making it cheaper and easier for them to build competing fibre networks to homes, under plans set out by Ofcom yesterday. In a move designed to boost competition and offer consumers faster and cheaper internet access, including full fibre connections to their living rooms, the industry regulator said new rules would be introduced next year. – The Times