Monday newspaper round-up: Chief executives, Royal Bank of Scotland, UK Politics

29th Dec 2014 07:24

A quarter of chief executives in the FTSE 100 enjoyed increases in their take-home pay of more than 30% last year despite a continuing squeeze in wages at shop-floor level. However, the report found evidence of restraint ahead: the boards of Britain's top 100 companies have set a median increase in target pay, including bonuses and share options, of a relatively modest 2.5% to £3.23m for the coming year. - The TimesEighteen employees at Royal Bank of Scotland have had their bonuses withheld as part of an internal investigation into their role in the foreign exchange manipulation scandal. As part of its "accountability review" into currency-rigging, the taxpayer-owned lender said that it had begun disciplinary proceedings against six staff members, three of whom have been suspended, while eighteen had had their bonuses postponed pending the outcome of the inquiry. - The TimesThe Head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today urged political leaders to put aside "tawdry tactics and point-scoring" and work together for the benefit of the economy. In an open letter to politicians including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister David Cameron, BCC director-general John Longworth also said the body wants "a UK with more devolved decision-making, but without artificial new barriers to business and trade". Longworth wrote: "For many businesses, both small and large, one of the greatest sources of challenge and uncertainty in 2015 isn't the state of global markets, but home-grown UK politics. - The ScotsmanInvestors fascinated by the ups and downs of crude oil prices will soon get an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world's most oil-rich stock market as Saudi Arabia opens its bourse to foreigners. The country's Capital Market Authority will allow international stockpickers to dabble in shares on the Tadawul, the local stock market, from April, according to an indicative timetable obtained by Bloomberg News. - The TimesTesco, the embattled supermarket chain that lived through a nightmare two years, is facing additional financial pressure in 2015 when it must publish plans to plug a £3bn hole in its multibillion-pound pension scheme. The company is confronting the prospect of injecting an extra £300m into its employees' retirement fund every year for the next 10 years, according to independent pensions consultant John Ralfe. - The GuardianBritain's ten biggest housebuilders will see profits climb to more than £2bn this year despite the industry falling far short of local government targets on affordable homes. While profits surge back to levels not seen since the last credit-fuelled property boom, the number of affordable homes built in England has fallen to an eight-year low. - The Guardian