THE DAILY BRIEFING

MEMBERS SURGE Profits at Nottingham Building Society slipped to £6m for the first six months of 2018, down 21pc on the same period last year.

But its loan book has grown from £3.2bn to £3.5bn. The mutual added seven new branches at the end of last year, taking its total to 67, and has picked up 13,000 new members.

IRISH EYED Top staff are being poached from Dublin-based Allied Irish Banks to work at rivals expanding in the city due to Brexit, its boss has said.

Chief executive Bernard Byrne said that a state-imposed pay cap means staff are being tempted away by higher salaries elsewhere. It came as AIB unveiled profits of £677m for the first half of 2018.

FUNDS WITHDRAWN Savers pulled £2.3bn out of fund firm Jupiter Asset Management in the first half of 2018 amid turbulent markets, leaving it with £48.2bn. It made a profit of £96.5m for the period, up 3pc on a year earlier.

SLOW GROWTH The French economy grew by 0.2pc in the second quarter of 2018, scotching hopes of a recovery. The figure is the same as in the previous three months, when growth was hit by cold weather.

SALES FALL Educational publisher Pearson has posted a 9pc fall in sales to £1.9bn.

But profits leapt from £16m to £233m largely due to the sale of its English language unit Wall Street English last year.

CHAIRMAN HIRED Aim-listed oil and gas explorer Cabot Energy has hired ex-BP and Dana Gas executive James Dewar, 61, as interim chairman.

HEADING OFF Pilar Lopez, 48, is stepping down from the board of FTSE 100 plumbing and heating product distributor Ferguson, after more than five years due to increasing other business commitments.