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  • Welcome to firstFT here, today's top stories.

  • Infrastructure spending in Britain has dropped sharply since the vote to leave the EU,

  • with figure showing it decline by a fifth to 1.5 billion pounds in July.

  • The slowdown will put pressure on prime minister Theresa May

  • to push ahead with pledges for new road, rail, energy, broadband, and flood defence projects.

  • Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical group is nearing a deal with 14 billion dollars

  • to acquire California biotechnology company, Medivation.

  • The deal comes as a handful of its large rivals fight to win the auction

  • for the sought-after cancer drug maker.

  • And Google's parent, Alphabet, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway

  • are topping a list of more than 800 US companies that could come under pressure to refresh their boards

  • under new guidelines being floated among shareholders.

  • ISS, the corporate governance advisor, is considering targeting companies

  • where boards are stuffed with long-serving directors,

  • or where there have been no new members for years.

  • For more of today's top stories, go to FT.com/firstft

Welcome to firstFT here, today's top stories.

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