Wages grow faster than inflation after civil service pay deal Business

Thanks for joining me. Total pay increased at a faster pace than inflation in the three months to September raising fears that interest rates will have to stay higher for longer.

Wages including bonuses rose by 7.9pc, ahead of inflation of 6.7pc, raising the alarm that pay rises could fuel price increases in the economy.

5 things to start your day 

1) Net zero policies are pushing up inflation, says Bank of England rate setter | Households facing costs of climate change policies such as carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes

2) Avon to open shops for first time amid decline in stay-at-home mothers | Beauty giant forced to rethink sales strategy as more women go out to work

3) Google gives Apple 36pc of ad revenue from Safari browser, court hears | World’s most popular search engine accused of paying iPhone maker billions to maintain monopoly

4) Chinese shoppers spend 60pc less in London as calls to drop tourist tax grow | Europe is reaping the benefits of Britain’s tax decision, says business group

5) Treasury to save £4bn with disability benefits overhaul | The reforms aimed at encouraging more people into work may be announced in the Autumn Statement

What happened overnight 

Asian shares were mostly higher ahead of potentially market-moving inflation figures from the US.

Tokyo stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index gaining 0.3pc, or 110.82 points, to end at 32,695.93, and the broader Topix index adding 0.4pc, or 8.67 points, to 2,345.29.

The Japanese yen was at 151.71 per dollar in Asian hours, having touched a one-year low of 151.92 on Monday. If the battered currency breaks below last year’s trough of 151.94, it would mark a fresh 33-year low.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.6pc to 6,992.10. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.1pc to 2,429.21. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.4pc to 17,359.13 while the Shanghai Composite edged less than 0.1pc higher, to 3,047.13.

Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 54.77 points, or 0.2pc, to 34,337.87.

The S&P 500 lost 3.69 points, or 0.1pc to 4,411.55. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 30.37 points, or 0.2pc, to 13,767.74.