Friday newspaper round-up: World Bank, John Lewis, Bank of England

Fresh fears have been raised about the health of the global economy after the World Bank warned that efforts to tackle inflation could cause a global recession. Central banks from the US Federal Reserve to the Bank of England are racing to raise interest rates to try to bring surging prices in the economy under control. The annual rate of inflation in the UK is hovering at close to a 40-year high and rate-setters at the Bank of England are widely expected to raise borrowing costs further when they meet next week. - The Times

John Lewis warned staff there may be no annual bonus this year after it crashed to a near-£100million loss. As analysts said it would need a 'Christmas miracle' for the payout to go ahead, the retailer said yesterday it was suffering from 'unprecedented' cost increases and lower consumer spending. - Daily Mail

Trust in the Bank of England’s abilities to keep inflation under control has slid to a record low. The balance of those satisfied with the Bank’s action on the cost of living crisis sank from -3 per cent to -7 per cent in August, according to its latest Inflation Attitudes Survey. Inflation remained stubbornly high last month. - Daily Mail

The Bank of England has backed Kwasi Kwarteng's plan to scrap the cap on bankers’ bonuses in a rare public intervention, as ministers plot a bonfire of red tape dubbed “Big Bang 2.0”. Threadneedle Street said it had never supported the cap, which was imposed before Brexit, and added that there are more effective measures to stop excessive risk-taking by bankers. - Daily Telegraph

Almost 80% of the UK’s lowest-paid workers say they are now facing the toughest financial squeeze of their lifetimes, according to new research by the Living Wage Foundation. Liz Truss has averted a further increase in utility bills with her “energy price guarantee” – a radical measure that could cost taxpayers more than £100bn – but many poorer households are already struggling to make ends meet. - Guardian

Shell has named Wael Sawan as its next chief executive as it confirmed that Ben van Beurden is to step down after nine years in charge. Europe’s biggest oil and gas group said that Sawan, 48, head of its integrated gas and renewables division, would succeed Van Beurden, 64, in January. - The Times

Retail sales unexpectedly rose in the United States last month as falling petrol prices boosted consumer spending, stirring investors’ fears about increasing interest rates. The rise of 0.3 per cent in August was more robust than expected by economists, who thought it would remain unchanged. The official data was released days after another report showed that inflation remained stubbornly high. - The Times

BP is in line for dividends worth hundreds of millions of pounds from Russia’s oil and gas giant Rosneft even after pledging to ditch its stake in the company. The FTSE 100 oil and gas giant has yet to sell its 19.75pc of Rosneft and so is entitled to its share of Rosneft’s 441bn rouble (£6.4bn) payout for 2021, worth roughly £1.2bn. - Telegraph

Uber said on Thursday it is responding to a cybersecurity incident, after the New York Times reported that a hack had breached the company’s network and forced it to take several internal communications and engineering systems offline. A hacker compromised an employee’s workplace messaging Slack app and then used it to send a message to Uber employees announcing that it had suffered a data breach, the Times reported citing an Uber spokesperson. - Guardian

Consumers are scrambling to replace their paper banknotes with new plastic cash before their old money loses its status as legal tender at the end of this month. The Bank of England said its head office in Threadneedle Street is facing long queues as holders of ageing £20s and £50s line up to swap the notes before September 30. - Telegraph

Liz Truss is to lift a ban on fracking despite a leaked government report suggesting little progress has been made in reducing and predicting the risk of earthquakes caused by the practice, the Guardian can reveal. The first drilling licences in nearly three years are expected to be issued as early as next week, sources said, in a move that will reignite claims of another broken 2019 Conservative manifesto pledge. - Guardian

The prime minister and the chancellor are preparing to launch a late bid to persuade SoftBank to list the British technology company Arm in the UK. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng will seek high-level talks with SoftBank executives next week after the official period of mourning for the Queen ends, according to the Financial Times. - The Times

Louis Vuitton owner LVMH is preparing to slash its energy bill this winter by turning down the thermostat in its stores and urging staff to take the stairs instead of getting in a lift. The luxury goods giant, which is run by Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, has introduced a range of measures to combat spiralling energy costs including reducing the temperature in its stores by 1C this winter and asking over 30,000 staff to change their daily habits. - Telegraph

Unions have reacted with fury to the prospect of the government scrapping a cap on bankers’ bonuses, as ministers geared up for a return to near-normal politics next week, topped by an emergency mini-budget on Friday. Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, who will set out plans for tax cuts and give more details about the government’s plans to limit rising energy bills, is also considering whether to shed the legacy of an EU-wide cap on bonuses of twice an employee’s salary, imposed after the 2008 financial crash. - Guardian