Investment Week (September 12)
“Annual growth in employees’ average total pay, including bonuses, was 8.5%; which was boosted by the NHS and Civil Service one-off payments made in June and July. Due to the strong momentum in wage growth, the Bank of England is expected to push ahead with a 25 basis point interest rate rise at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting later this month.”
Tags: Annual growth, BOE, Bonuses, Civil Service, Employees, Interest rate, Momentum, MPC, NHS, Rise, Strong, Total pay, Wage growth
BBC (June 13)
“UK wages have risen at their fastest rate in 20 years, excluding the pandemic, raising expectations that UK interest rates will have to rise. Regular pay excluding bonuses increased by 7.2% in the three months to April, although it still lags behind inflation.” The Bank of England has raised “interest rates 12 times since 2021 to try to slow price rises” and warned that surging pay is contributing to inflation.
Tags: 7.2%, BOE, Bonuses, Expectations, Inflation, Interest rates, Pandemic, Pay, Price, Surging pay, UK, Wages
Financial Times (February 28)
Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, “is voting against Apple’s pay policies, including $99mn in salary and bonuses for chief executive Tim Cook, part of a growing shareholder backlash against remuneration at the tech giant.” The funds rationale includes the belief that “a substantial part of annual pay should be provided in shares that are locked in for five to 10 years.”
Tags: Apple, Backlash, Bonuses, Cook, Fund, Norway, Pay policies, Remuneration, Salary, Shareholder, Sovereign wealth, Tech, Voting
Wall Street Journal (April 7)
“Compensation for the chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth.” CEO pay at the largest companies dropped by “3.8% to $10.8 million last year from $11.2 million in 2014.”
Tags: Accounting rules, Bonuses, CEO, Compensation, Financial Crisis, Pension, U.S.
Financial Times (November 11, 2013)
“Japan’s inflationary momentum remains worryingly sluggish. The recent acceleration in prices is the result of surging energy costs, not of domestically generated inflation. Regular wages–excluding overtime and bonuses–fell for a 16th consecutive month in September…. The government must be ready to take more of an activist line to secure its objective.… The government should also be much bolder in its structural reform agenda, aimed at stimulating the rate of long-term growth.”
Tags: Bonuses, Energy costs, Government, Growth, Inflation, Japan, Momentum, Overtime, Sluggish, Structural reform, Wages
Economist (January 5, 2011)
The EU and Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced guidelines governing bonuses for the financial service sector. The Economist is not impressed, characterizing the guidelines “as remarkable and unhealthy regulation.” The Economist laments that “bad bonus rules are worse than bad bonuses” and may have unintended consequences that increase, rather than decrease, risk.
Tags: Bonuses, EU, Financial services, FSA
