 | Fiercely competitive labour market hindering efforts to modernise UK defence 2) | Small businesses also affected as half claim economic crunch worse than pandemic 3) | Retailer exploring new payment models amid cost of living crisis 4) | Utility giant criticised for surprising customers with unexpected devices 5) Boss of water company behind Yorkshire beach sewage leak pockets £215,000 bonus | Northumbrian Water hands out bumper payment despite failing to meet industry targets What happened overnight Asian stock markets fell on Monday after mixed US economic data revived worries the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates again. Hong Kong's main market index plunged 2.3pc and Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also fell. Oil prices retreated. Meanwhile, L'Occitane, the skincare chain that is listed in Hong Kong, is mulling a take private. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.1pc to 3,154.16 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 1pc to 32,160.30. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank to 18,629.82. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also declined. The Kospi in South Korea retreated 1pc to 2,565.37 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 was 0.8pc lower at 7,283.60.){kind=link}
Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance
Expectations for public sector pay rises have hit their highest level in more than a decade as a shortage of skilled workers continues to drive up wages.Public sector pay expectations have jumped from 3.3pc to 4pc in the last three months, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), reaching the highest rate since 2012. CIPD’s labour market outlook report, which is a quarterly survey of 2,000 companies in the UK that are hiring, found that employers across the economy continue to come under pressure to boost wages.
Private sector bosses expect to hand staff average salary uplifts of 5pc over the next year, down only slightly from growth of 7.7pc in the three months to May.
Expectations for continued strong wage growth comes despite inflation easing to a 16-month low in June, with forecasts that new data this week will confirm another fall in July.
CIPD’s findings are likely to worry the Bank of England. Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, has blamed “unsustainable” pay rises for stoking inflation and warned that pay “cannot continue” going up at its current pace if inflation is to fall.