Walmart pay hike is less than largesse 11 Jan 2018 The $300 bln U.S. supermarket chain is raising hourly wages by $300 mln. That’s just a sliver of what it could save through tax cuts, but that may not be the biggest driver anyway. In fact, with super-low unemployment, it’s a wonder Walmart can get away with so little.
German workers may frustrate ECB’s inflation hopes 9 Jan 2018 Industrial staff in Europe’s biggest economy are striking for higher pay. They may, however, trim wage demands in return for flexible working. If pay pressures fail to flare in such a tight labour market, the European Central Bank can hardly count on them surfacing elsewhere.
Investors will only curb CEO pay if forced 4 Jan 2018 The bosses of top UK companies have on average taken a pay cut, according to a new report. Fears of a political backlash made investors more apt to vote against chunky remuneration packages. The restraint may be fleeting unless a weakened government can keep up the pressure.
Deutsche Bank bonus revival sends false signal 3 Jan 2018 A year after curbing payouts, CEO John Cryan has announced a return to “normal” variable compensation. Deutsche needs to retain staff despite subdued markets. With the shares trading at 60 pct of tangible book value, though, investors are still far from a return to normality.
How to know if America’s big tax bet pays off 20 Dec 2017 Republican lawmakers have passed revised tax cuts that give even more breaks to companies and the wealthy. They are banking on those benefits trickling down to average workers. It could come back to haunt them. Breakingviews notes a few ways to measure the policy’s success.
Jefferies bumper pay leaves shareholders wanting 19 Dec 2017 The Wall Street firm’s average comp of $530,000, or 57 percent of revenue, is far more generous than even Goldman Sachs. Reducing it to be more in line with rivals would still leave plenty for workers – and would almost double publicly traded owner Leucadia’s subpar returns.
UK gender pay data needs rigorous audit 7 Dec 2017 Some British companies have suspiciously reported no gap between the pay of male and female employees, the Financial Times found. The government thought transparency would help close the divide. To be credible, though, the data must be audited – and offenders punished.
Jeremy Corbyn pay row shows costs of bank excess 1 Dec 2017 The UK opposition leader attacked “speculators” and criticised banker pay, as UBS chief Sergio Ermotti defended it. A decade after the crisis, remuneration still fuels dissent. Shareholders' failure to rein it in has led to dismal returns. Volatile politics could be more damaging.
Fidelity gets flexible in fight with index funds 29 Nov 2017 The asset manager’s UK offshoot will charge clients a variable rate depending on how managers perform. Yet even if they do a bad job, investors could still pay over four times the rate for a passive fund. Fidelity’s model is a step forward, but fees are still coming down.
UK gender pay equality drive is too easy to skirt 30 Oct 2017 Bigger employers have less than six months to disclose any difference between how much men and women earn. Transparency is supposed to help close the gap. But Austria has tried something similar to little effect. Only the threat of eventual sanctions will make a real difference.
Morgan Stanley staff have the most to cheer about 17 Oct 2017 Rival Goldman Sachs pays its people more on average, but James Gorman’s firm has boosted comp and benefits by 9 pct this year, almost double the raise of its rival. JPMorgan bankers face a pay cut. Asset-management employees, though, can afford to pop some champagne corks.
Misbehaving CEOs can get off far too easily 21 Sep 2017 That's a lesson to draw from the case of KB Home boss Jeffrey Mezger, whose crass rant with neighbor Kathy Griffin went viral. Cutting his bonus might hurt if he received one in recent years. A more fitting penalty would be to axe his haul of stock awards worth some $2.4 mln.
UK pay clampdown places enduring faith in markets 29 Aug 2017 The government will force companies to disclose how much their CEOs are paid relative to their workers. The move to restore public faith in business relies on shareholders to hold firms to account. But past efforts to improve transparency have failed to check corporate excess.
Endowment CIO pay demands greater academic rigor 23 Aug 2017 The boss of Harvard’s $35 bln fund recently made nearly three times as much as the head of Yale's $25 bln pot despite much weaker returns. Colleges generally base compensation more on size than performance, as companies tend to do with CEOs. They should grade more carefully.
British wage mystery has non-British explanation 16 Aug 2017 The jobless rate has fallen to 4.4 percent, its lowest in over four decades, yet wage growth is tepid. Two things help explain the anomaly: a pool of people on zero-hour contracts available to switch into permanent jobs, and a surprising rise in EU nationals working in the UK.
UK CEO pay cut exposes compensation guesswork 3 Aug 2017 The average boss of a FTSE 100 company took home 17 percent less last year despite buoyant markets. Paying corporate leaders less assuages public opinion but underscores the challenge of linking pay to performance. Besides, CEOs still benefit from higher share prices.
Germany can jump growth hurdle courtesy of Brexit 27 Jun 2017 Europe’s biggest economy is expanding so quickly that there’s a growing dearth of skilled labour. The shortage may be severe enough to depress the long-term growth rate, the Bundesbank says. One way to plug the gap is to attract EU workers who no longer feel welcome in Britain.
Investors may be new killer species at SeaWorld 14 Jun 2017 They voted against the re-election of the $1.5 bln theme-park group’s chairman in an apparent rebellion over pay. It’s a stunning rebuke in the absence of a proxy fight and with a newly minted Chinese 21 pct stakeholder. Activism doesn’t always require an activist.
Political mess puts Bank of England on the spot 14 Jun 2017 Governor Mark Carney is not raising rates in response to a spike in inflation since it’s probably temporary and wages remain subdued. However, Britain’s fragile government will probably loosen fiscal policy. Though bond yields remain low, investors are showing signs of nerves.
Carmaker emissions scandal finds exec pay sequel 14 Jun 2017 Advisers have designed a hidden scheme that would let Renault-Nissan secretly pay bonuses to Chairman Carlos Ghosn and others. It’s unthinkable that such a plan can be implemented. Recent scrutiny over exhaust emissions has already shown that exploiting loopholes doesn’t pay.