12 The Sunday Times April 29, 2018 BUSINESS Andrew Lynch LETTERS woods. In 2013, as Standard Butlins after seeing the sun Send your letters, including people who receive pensions numbers. Employment data ‘Cashley’ does the decent thing Chartered’s chief executive, shine on almost eight SIGNALS full name and address, or are paying a contribution does not include the 64m he had to announce a $1bn glorious years of growth, and AND NOISE . to: The Sunday Times, for their future pensions. Americans who, once they do Is Johnston Press boss Ashley the payout until a “sound write-down following the with a successor reportedly 1 London Bridge Street, These people have done not sign on, are not counted. Highfield feeling the sting of financial base [is] achieved”. emerging bank’s dire waiting in the wings. London SE1 9GF. Or email nothing wrong, but they are I am no economist, having the Norwegian raider laying For the owner of the performance in South Korea. Last Monday, Hendry- [email protected] the ones penalised for the studied the subject only since siege to the beleaguered i newspaper, The Scotsman Pickup, 45 tomorrow, Letters may be edited actions of the directors, who 2008. But if I believe half of newspaper publisher? and The Yorkshire Post, relinquished control to Café invariably get off scot-free, what I read, I hope your In October, colourful locked in talks with creditors Buongiorno, Rouge co-founder Karen avoiding any penalties. They optimism comes true. financier Christen Ager- over a £196m debt pile, that Jones. By Thursday he was Luke Johnson was spot on usually even get to keep their Alan McRae, Alvdalen, Sweden Hanssen dubbed Highfield as could be some time. Or never campeggiatori! being measured up for his with Sorrell observation bonuses. “Cashley” over the £556,000 at all. What a gent! Jon Hendry-Pickup must red coat as new chief I write very few letters in Victor H Parness, London Don’t let penny-pinching he trousered in 2016. have had his parachute well executive of Butlins. Hi-de-hi! support of newspaper employers get away with it His “pay” has increased packed when he wielded the columns, but I could not You can call me a cockeyed Charles Dickens is long gone, substantially since then, Harry Potter axe last month at almost 100 resist this one. Being of economic optimist . but Scrooge is obviously still according to Johnston Press’s Prezzo Italian restaurants. Digital minister’s similar age to Sir Martin It was so nice to read David with us. Iain Dey reported last annual report. After hitting battles the tyrant The former Tesco and The restoration of Battersea Sorrell and brought up not to Smith’s optimistic Economic week in his Agenda column some targets, Highfield Peter Sands, the erstwhile Travelodge executive tech bumble Power Station in south bite the hand that feeds, I Outlook column last week that some employers claim landed a £249,000 bonus last Harry Potter lookalike who announced a company Tricky business doing those London will require 1.7m have had first-hand (“Reasons to be cheerful as they are being unfairly year. However, the 52-year- led Standard Chartered to voluntary arrangement — a selfies, I know from bricks — can we make experience of the rise of rest of the world blooms”). punished by HM Revenue & old has agreed not to collect the top of the hill and all the way to stave off the creditors experience. Hard lines then enough, asks Cherry Maslen many such people in my It is almost diametrically Customs for paying way down again, has run out — on March 23. for MP Margot James, who career engineering career, opposite to articles I have employees who are paid by patience with North Korea’s Three days later, Dermot took three attempts to get HOME, PAGE 6 including one who has been seen elsewhere. I read one the month less than the legal JUST SAYING . despot, Kim Jong-un. King stepped down from her and Sir David “mentioned in despatches” in article discussing the world minimum in the longer Fashioned like Paul Pester Attenborough into the the Sorrell saga. debt of $300 trillion. It months of the A personal from the McKinsey mould, Twittersphere last week. TWITTER POLL I completely agree with the started with China and its year, even though the Sands is now executive FUNNY BUSINESS It would be churlish to observations of Luke Johnson huge bubble economy, and annualised average pay per motivation that director of the snappily titled mention that James is digital Yes No last week (“Sorrell & Co are the actions being taken by the hour is “well in excess of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, minister in Her Majesty’s poor adverts for captains of Bank of China. A rock and a [£7.83 an hour minimum] goes beyond Tuberculosis and Malaria. rickety government. industry”). Now we have hard place were mentioned. national living wage”. simply amassing The North Koreans are up 82% 18% engineers such as GKN, Europe did not get a pass. A moment’s thought blows in arms that Sands’s fund has government (local and The German economy and a such niggardly claims out of a fortune pulled its grants. The vice- Que? TSB? national), banks, charities range of factors causing a the water. There are seven minister of public health and the NHS, all awash with German slowdown were the months of 31 days, meaning accused the fund of not even One spin-off from the TSB such chancers. Watch this main focus in Europe. such penny-pinching informing partners Unicef technology meltdown: space as the country The perilous state of the employers are actually and the World Health branch staff reported that continues to subside. southern European cheating their workers for Organisation. the operating system’s error Gordon Pickering, economies does not require most of the year. The fund responded that a messages — with which they Storrington, West Sussex amplification — not to With four months of 30 “unique operating are now well-acquainted — A group of bank bosses mention the problems of the days, only in February can Euan Stirling, the global environment” prevented it are mostly in Spanish. has called for Facebook, It’s the shareholders who’ll European Central Bank, the hourly rate paid in such head of stewardship at from providing “the required Spare a thought for new Google and Twitter to be pay any Barclays damages which has not yet stopped cases be claimed to be Standard Aberdeen level of assurance and risk TSB chairman Richard responsible for censoring So, Amanda Staveley is quantitative easing. anything like “well in excess” Investments, on what management around the Meddings, who had only just “bad actors” on their seeking £1.5bn damages from America is in a mess. Since of the minimum. No, I’m not Persimmon’s deployment of resources”. pulled himself from the systems. Should big tech Barclays (“Staveley ups the the crash of 2008, growth has a Jeremy Corbyn supporter — bonus-controversy Sands, 56, has had his wreckage of Deutsche Bank’s be regulated like banks? ante”, last week). barely beaten inflation. Weird I vote Conservative. More bosses need moments in that neck of the board. Life isn’t fair. @ST_Business It is always shareholders government figures on the power to HMRC’s elbow. who pay. They are primarily economy skew inflation Clive Hall, Tadworth, Surrey DATABANK INSIDE THE CITY JOHN COLLINGRIDGE THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS THE ECONOMY Consumer prices index current rate prev. month FTSE 100 FTSE 100 DOLLAR 2.5% 2.7% a reversal of his predecessor valuing Smiths at £6.3bn. Last USD > GBP Smiths yet Philip Bowman’s strategy. month they fell 10% on the 7,800 CPI including housing current rate prev. month ARS, as he is uncharitably day it reported falling 7,600 $1.38 2.3% 2.5% known in some quarters, first-half profits and missed V 0.02 Retail prices index current rate prev. month to detect promptly set about buying City expectations. 12-month high: $1.44 7,400 low: $1.26 businesses, acquiring Almost three years into 3.3% 3.6% EURO a surge Morpho, a maker of airport Reynolds Smith’s tenure, and 7,502.21 7,200 Average weekly earnings on prev. month on last year scanners, for $710m in 2016. investors are growing 134.04 H:7,792.6 EUR > GBP The engineer, who got impatient. “The time is 1.82% L:6,866.9 7,000 £513 V0.2% U2.8% Unemployment current rate prev. month in sales fed-up waiting for the top job coming when he will be 6,800 €1.14 at GKN to become vacant, has judged by the measurable FTSE 250 W 0.00 M J J A S O N D J F M A 12-month high: €1.19 1.42m 4.2% 4.3% Conglomerates are once put his stamp on Smiths. Its impact of his actions — low: €1.07 again an endangered species. shares surged on this new- including the purchase of Source: Thomson Reuters Manufacturing output on the year on last month YEN General Electric faces a found optimism, and Morpho — rather than RISERS FALLERS YEN > USD U2.5% V0.2% break-up under new boss Reynolds Smith scythed presentations,” wrote Interserve: 106.9p, U 25% on optimism William Hill: 290.9p, V 13.5% on FOBT fears Sportech: 60p, V 7.7% on Retail sales on the year on last month John Flannery; GKN has just through senior management Investec analysts recently.