Closing summary
The UK government has suspended its relationship with the Confederation of British Industry, as pressure mounts after the Guardian revealed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by the lobby group’s staff.
Sources said engagement between key Whitehall departments and the CBI had been “paused” pending the outcome of an investigation by the lobby group into a range of fresh allegations, including rape and drug-taking.
The Department for Business and Trade said: “We are postponing ministerial engagement with the CBI until the legal investigation has concluded.”
Four out of five companies and organisations in the UK still pay their male employees more than female ones, according to Guardian analysis of the government’s gender pay gap reporting.
The median pay gap remains stubbornly wide at 9.4% – the same level as in 2017-18, when employers were first required to publish the information. About 10,000 companies and public bodies filed their gender pay gaps to the government’s reporting mechanism before this week’s deadline.
The gap remains larger in the public sector at 15.1%. This compares with 8% in the private sector, and both are broadly similar to last year’s figures.
Our other stories:
Worried UBS investors have urged the Swiss lender to avoid sweeping job cuts and inflating executive pay as they raised concerns about the creation of a mega-bank after the emergency takeover of smaller rival Credit Suisse.
Talks between Royal Mail and postal workers have ended without a deal, raising the prospect of further strikes disrupting the UK’s letter and parcel deliveries.
The owner of Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains has agreed to sell the business to the Japanese operator of Wok to Walk and Marugame Udon for £93.4m.
The fortune of Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest person, has topped $200bn for the first time as shares in his French LVMH luxury goods empire hit a record high.
Amazon and Microsoft are facing a referral to the UK’s competition regulator over allegedly harming competition in the online cloud services market, amid “significant concerns” that big tech companies are abusing their positions.
The Co-op has warned its profits are likely to fall in the year ahead as the food to funerals group expects the “turbulent economic headwinds, including inflationary pressures” to continue.
A businessman who made more than £1m selling fake vinyl records was caught after a fan of punk band the Clash complained that the sound quality of an LP he had bought was not as sharp as it should have been.
US services growth slows sharply
Growth in the US services sector unexpectedly slowed sharply in March. The The Institute of Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.2 from 55.1. Price pressures also eased. The dollar weakened on the news.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, tweeted:
US ISM Services (Mar) act: 51.2, exp: 54.4, prev: 55.1
— Michael Hewson 🇬🇧 (@mhewson_CMC) April 5, 2023
US ISM Prices Paid (Mar) act: 59.5, prev: 65.6
US ISM Employment (Mar) act: 51.3, prev: 54
