Friday 8 June 2018

An interest rates setter at the Bank of England has hinted at a
rise in August, notes The Guardian. Sir Dave Ramsden, a deputy
governor, said: “The period of unusually subdued growth in wages
appears to be coming to an end.” Sir Dave, who voted against last
November’s rates rise, added: “Looking ahead, my central
expectation for the economy is in line with the MPC’s best
collective judgment as expressed in our inflation report
forecasts.”

Marks & Spencer has blocked annual bonuses for its leading
executives, reports The Guardian. The move was taken after sinking
profits meant shop-floor staff would not qualify for payouts. “This
decision was not taken lightly,” said spokesperson Vindi Banga.
“Pre-tax profit was below the threshold required to pay bonuses to
colleagues elsewhere in the business, and in the interests of
fairness it would not be appropriate to pay a bonus to
directors.”

Mail on Sunday editor Geordie Greig has been named as new editor
of the Daily Mail. The 57-year-old will replace Paul Dacre later
this year. Announcing the appointment, Lord Rothermere, chairman of
the Mail’s owner DMGT, described Greig as “outstanding”. The Mail
on Sunday has strongly supported the UK staying in the EU, leading
media pundits to question whether the Daily Mail will soon drop its
firmly pro-Brexit stance.

Starting salaries are rising thanks to severe staff shortages,
according to a study from the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation. The group said with employers paying more “to
attract the right people”, salaries for workers moving into new
permanent roles rose at their fastest rate for three years in May
and pay for temporary jobs continued to rise.

TSB boss Paul Pester is under pressure to stand down after MPs
said the bank’s board should give “serious consideration as to
whether his position was sustainable”. In a damning indictment, the
Treasury select committee said the hapless Pester had “not been
straight” over the recent IT disaster. They also said that the
bank’s public communications had often been “complacent and
misleading”.

“You need a level playing field … between an online digital
world and a traditional retail store base model like the one we
have.” Dave Lewis, Tesco chief executive, blames the collapse of
some retailers on business rates.

FTSE 100: down -0.10 to 7,704.40
Dow Jones: up +0.38 to 25,241.41
Dax: down -0.15 to 12,811.05
Cac 40: down -0.17 to 5,448.36
Nikkei: down -0.47 to 22,715.08
Hang Seng: down -1.46 to 31,053.75
US dollar: buys €0.847 and £0.7451
Sterling: buys $1.3419 and €1.1366
Oil: $76.98 down -0.44