THE DAILY BRIEFING
GENDER PAY
Employers are getting guidance ahead of regulations that come into force in April forcing firms to report on their gender pay gap. The rules affect firms employing at least 250 and is aimed at revealing differences between the pay of men and women. The Office for National Statistics said the gender pay gap for full-time workers was 9.4pc, rising to 18.1pc for all employees.
DEFENCE FEARS
Auditors warned the Ministry of Defence is at risk of not being able to afford its equipment over the next nine years. The National Audit Office said that to meet its spending plans the MoD will need to save an extra £5.8bn and use all of a £10.7bn fund set aside for emerging requirements.
ALPHABET BOOST
Google’s parent company Alphabet reported ‘exceptional’ growth in its quarterly financial results. Overall revenue increased by 22pc to £20.7bn on the same period last year, while net income was also up to more than £4.2bn.
TOURIST TRADE
A record number of tourists flocked to Britain in November. A total of 3.1m visits were made to Britain in that month, up 17pc on November 2015, with tourists spending a whopping £1.7bn.
LOANS CUT
Paragon Bank more than halved lending to landlords in the last three months of 2016 after tighter rules were introduced. It agreed buyto-let loans of £185.2m, compared to almost £401m a year previously.
SALES UP
Microsoft reported revenue of £19.1bn in the three months to December 31, up on the £18.9bn it generated in the same period last year, an increase driven by its cloud-based products.
NUCLEAR STRIKE
Six hundred workers at the Atomic Weapons Establishment sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield, Berkshire, will strike for 48 hours from one minute past midnight on Monday in a row over pensions.
PENSION CHUNK
John Lewis has taken a chunk out of the black hole in its final salary pension scheme. The employee-owned retailer’s pension deficit has fallen from £840m to £479m.
EXEC QUITS
Kent Masters is quitting as a non-executive director at engineer Amec Foster Wheeler before the end of his three-year term. He was appointed to the board in February 2015.