Thursday newspaper round-up: Wilko, green targets, inflation, Nationwide, high street

Wilko’s administrators are to question majority shareholder Lisa Wilkinson on the £77 million in dividends paid out to investors in the decade before the retailer’s collapse, as calls grow for the Wilkinson family to plug a £56 million hole in workers’ pension pots. The Times understands that PwC will conduct a review into the dividends paid out to the Wilkinson family and the retailer’s other directors as part of a wider investigation into company transactions in the years building up to the administration. - The Times

Around 60 miles off the east coast, wind turbines more than twice as tall as Big Ben are ready to be powered up within weeks. Dogger Bank, the world’s largest wind farm with the ability to power 6m homes, will finally be switched on, eight years after it was first granted planning permission. But across the UK, hundreds more projects viewed as vital in helping the Government hit net zero ambitions, are currently being held up by bureaucracy and delays. - Telegraph

Competition among financial firms for a slice of the nation’s savings is intensifying, with Nationwide launching an account paying a “market-leading” 8% interest. A string of Bank of England interest rate rises have pushed up savings rates across the board, and many experts expect another one on Thursday. - Guardian

The Bank of England’s decision on whether to push ahead with another interest rate rise today or hit pause was on a knife-edge after a cooldown in inflation in August surprised the City. Expectation that the monetary policy committee (MPC) would impose another 25 basis-point rise, lifting the base rate to a 15-year high of 5.5 per cent, fell from a near-certainty to odds of 50-50 within minutes of yesterday’s unexpected data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). - The Times

Jeremy Hunt should copy the Danish benefits system to encourage people to switch jobs more often, according to a new report. The Resolution Foundation has urged the Chancellor to offer people who lose their jobs more generous benefits to encourage them to take more risks with their careers. This would help tackle Britain’s productivity crisis by making the jobs market more dynamic and boost overall growth at a relatively modest cost, the Resolution Foundation argued. - Telegraph

Almost 2,000 more British independent stores were left empty in the first half of this year, as small businesses struggled to cope with rising inflation and the cost of living crisis. The biggest rise in vacancies in at least eight years marks a reversal in fortunes for independent outlets after two years of growth. Small firms had thrived from a shift towards local shopping prompted by the pandemic and were also helped by government Covid support on rent and business rates. - Guardian