According to the Office for National Statistics, regular pay excluding bonuses has witnessed its fastest pace on record outside the pandemic period, rising by 7.2% in the three months leading up to April. While this is good news for workers, other global events have also made headlines.
5 things to start your day
1) The Federal Trade Commission has sought an injunction to block Microsoft’s $69bn deal with Activision Blizzard, providing a boost for Britain.
2) Credit Suisse has fired senior bankers while UBS completed its rescue of the bank.
3) JP Morgan has agreed to pay $290m to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims following claims that it knowingly benefited from his sex abuse.
4) Crispin Odey, a prominent Brexiteer, is to be removed from the hedge fund he founded after being accused of sexual assault.
5) Britain has fired up a coal plant after a spike in demand for electricity caused by air conditioning usage during a heatwave. This has led to solar panels floundering.
What happened overnight
The People’s Bank of China has reduced the short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months, in advance of the forthcoming US inflation data that many are eagerly anticipating. This move has led to a rally in China’s benchmark 10-year government bonds and a fall in the beleaguered yuan to six-and-a-half-month lows, without boosting local shares. This reflects the growing loss of confidence in China’s economic growth prospects. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 saw its highest level in over a year while the US dollar was on the back foot ahead of the Federal Reserve’s anticipated sea change in interest rates. HSBC also announced that it has closed its wealth and personal banking business in New Zealand, following its review of retail banking in the country last year.
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