Wednesday newspaper round-up: BoE bullying, pensions liabilities, Poudland, Rolls

Mark Carney may have bounced the Bank of England into an unnecessary interest rate cut by calling for stimulus only days after the Brexit result, leading economists have warned in a fierce attack on the governor. Former Bank policymakers and other senior economists said that Mr Carney’s personal assertion on June 30 that “policy easing will likely be required over the summer” had put his colleagues on the monetary policy committee in an impossible position, given the uncertainty since the referendum. - The Times

Britain’s gold-plated pensions now have record-breaking liabilities of £1.75 trillion after the EU referendum triggered a rout in their core gilt and equity holdings, highlighting the difficulty of funding the UK’s retirement needs. The country has almost 6,000 defined benefit schemes, which are obliged to pay their members an amount in retirement often tied to their final salary. Just 950 of these schemes were in surplus on June 30, with the rest hoping to make up the shortfall from long-term investment returns. - Telegraph

Steinhoff, the acquisitive South African retailer, is poised to announce a £450m agreement to buy full control of Poundland, the struggling UK discount chain, in what would be its first successful takeover of a European company this year. Poundland is expected to reveal on Wednesday that it has a recommended a Steinhoff offer of 220p a share for the remaining 76 per cent of stock it does not already own, according to people close to the talks. - Financial Times

Rolls-Royce could boost its profitability by £1bn if tough targets, in addition to cost cuts already identified by the company, can be hit, according to chief executive Warren East. Speaking at a briefing at Farnborough Airshow, Mr East he was “pleased” with the progress being made on his transformation plan for the engineering company. He said it was on track to take between £150m and £200m of costs out of the business by 2017. - Telegraph

An activist hedge fund has built a stake in SABMiller amid growing investor unease about the terms of the FTSE 100 brewer’s £77bn sale to Stella Artois-owner Anheuser-Busch InBev. Elliott Capital Advisors, the UK arm of US hedge fund Elliott Management, has acquired a 1.3pc holding in SAB through derivatives called contracts for difference. - Telegraph

A leading independent City voting adviser has criticised Burberry over the handling of its recent management reshuffle and has attacked its pay to senior executives as being excessive and “out of touch”. Manifest berated Burberry for announcing that Marco Gobbetti would replace Christopher Bailey as chief executive only two days before its annual meeting tomorrow. - The Times

Drivers are not receiving the full benefit of declining oil prices since the Brexit vote result, according to motoring group RAC. The group is calling on fuel retailers to pass on the falling price of petrol, and says diesel price cuts may need to follow. - Telegraph

In an effort to reverse three years of falling EuroMillions sales after rollover jackpots have begun to become thin on the ground, Camelot, the National Lottery operator, has revamped the prizes and raised the price of a ticket. Under changes to be introduced in September, there will be higher starting jackpots of £14 million and more than twice as many jackpots of £50 million, a key threshold for driving ticket sales. - The Times

McDonald’s is struggling to attract the calibre of bidders it envisioned in the sale of its China and Hong Kong franchise, according to people familiar with the situation. With the auction, announced earlier this year, the company is seeking to reduce its direct exposure to China, where food supply scandals have hurt its share price, and to halt capital expenditure in the region. - Financial Times

JPMorgan Chase is to raise its guaranteed minimum wage for employees by a fifth, placing its baseline pay in line with the national “Fight for $15” movement. “A pay increase is the right thing to do,” the chairman and chief executive, Jamie Dimon, wrote in an opinion piece published in the New York Times. - The Guardian

Boeing is considering launching its first brand new plane in more than a decade as it seeks to fill the gap left when it ended production of the 757. The new so-called “middle of the market” plane will carry about 200 passengers up to 5,000 miles. - Telegraph