The financial pages are an anodyne realm for many, but the enormity of surging inflation’s forthcoming impact on people’s everyday lives is such that the story burst its usual confines of business coverage this past week and flooded throughout the rest of the news agenda.
Even those whose eyes normally glaze over at the mention of macroeconomics are by now well aware of the cost-of-living crisis, and how Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine is going to feed through into even higher prices for food, fuel and many other basic commodities. The impact on individuals and businesses will be considerable, though it is difficult to predict the extent to which this will hamper the recovery from the pandemic.
Hamper it will though as the ramifications unfold in the coming weeks and months. There will be plenty of time for the acres of coverage on this yet to come, so at this point it’s worth taking a step back and look at some of the other developments across the business scene.
On a bright note, some 78,000 employees of John Lewis found out on Thursday that their annual bonus will be reinstated this year after the retailer posted a stronger-than-expected recovery during the year to January 29. Chairman Sharon White said now is also “the right time” to commit to paying the real living wage as she announced a 2 per cent pay rise for staff.
One who won’t have to worry about making ends meet is Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, who saw the value of his total pay rise by more than a quarter to £6.3 million as the oil giant achieved bumper profits amid the surge in oil and gas prices.
The Kuwaiti company hoping to acquire John Menzies has been granted more time to make a formal offer for the Scottish aviation services company. National Aviation Services (NAS) now has until March 30 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Edinburgh-based Menzies, which on Tuesday announced a return to profitability amid recovery in the global aviation sector.
Bus giant Stagecoach, which had previously pledged itself to a merger with UK rival National Express, said on Wednesday that it has instead agreed terms on a cash offer from German investment company DWS Infrastructure. The deal values Stagecoach at £595m and could see the Scottish group’s headquarters remaining in Perth.
A new pilot programme from the UK Government is encouraging employers to publish salary details in job adverts, and refrain from asking applicants about their previous pay. Announced to coincide with International Women’s Day, it is believed the initiative could help close the gender pay gap by breaking the link between past pay discrimination and future earnings.
Here in Scotland, the legacy of one of the most renowned figures in the country’s financial sector has been secured six months after his death.
Forty-two employees and 10 advisors at Alan Steel Asset Management have taken majority ownership of the business that its eponymous founder set up in his hometown of Linlithgow in 1975. Mr Steel, who died in September after a month-long battle with Covid, had been making plans for a transfer to employee ownership prior to his death.
According to Mr Steel's long-time advisor, Iain Binnie: “When we were working on his succession plan, it was paramount to Alan and his fellow shareholders that ASAM's values and unique culture and way of working were protected."
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