WEF inequality benchmark highlights global challenges
A new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) aims to show how governments can foster inclusive growth. The Inclusive Growth and Development Report deliberately avoids an overall league table of equality, but instead ranks 112 countries on seven different “pillars” and 15 “sub-pillars”. Finland performs particularly well, ranking first on education and training, asset building and entrepreneurship. New Zealand tops all countries for its strong business and political ethics, while Switzerland is praised for its provision of basic services and infrastructure. The UK and USA present a “mixed picture”, according to the report, while countries such as Singapore and Mexico face the challenge of ensuring that productivity gains translate to pay increases for workers. The report says that fostering social inclusion is not solely a luxury of high-income countries: “In many sub-pillars – such as business and political ethics, financial system inclusion, and educational quality and equity – some developing countries do better than others with much higher incomes.” (Guardian)
Corporate Reputation
Australian mining industry’s ‘coal is amazing’ ad labelled “desperate”
Australia’s mining industry has launched a new ode to coal in the form of a major advertising campaign that hails the mineral’s ability to “create light and jobs”, as well as claiming that new technology will drastically slash its emissions. The campaign, called Little Black Rock, has been launched by the Minerals Council of Australia. The Minerals Council said the campaign, which will also include newspaper and radio ads, highlights the “indispensable role” played by Australia’s coal industry in providing cheap electricity, steel and jobs. The lobbying body said it was committed to an “informative and rational discussion” about coal. But environmental groups have criticised the ads as a “ludicrous” and “desperate” attempt to bolster coal in the face of the falling cost of renewable energy alternatives and looming international action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. (Guardian)
Governance
No salary increase for a third of FTSE 100 CEOs
More than a third (36%) of FTSE 100 CEOs received no salary increase this year, according to research from PwC. PwC’s Taking stock – Review of 2015 AGM season report reveals that the chief executives who did get a raise saw a median 3% pay increase, taking the median base salary to £891,000 in 2015. CEOs at four out of five businesses were paid more than half their maximum bonus, while one in 25 companies did not award any bonus to their CEOs at all. Drew Matthews, partner at New Bridge Street, said that the figure reflects increased executive remuneration restraint. “I don’t think we have reached a glass ceiling on executive pay but remuneration committees are showing more restraint. We will have to wait and see if this restraint continues over the next 12 months, given continued improvements in the economy and a more pro-business government.” (HR Magazine)
Energy
Four years after Fukushima, solar supplies ten per cent of Japan’s peak demand
Solar energy reportedly provided 10 per cent of Japan’s peak electricity demand this summer, offering clean energy equivalent to generation from around 12 nuclear plants. A survey conducted by regional newspaper Asahi found solar power provided up to 15GWh of the 150GWh required by the national grid in the warmest months of the year, though the renewable energy source still accounts for only two per cent of electricity generated in the country on an annually adjusted basis. The nation has seen a surge in the uptake of solar photovoltaic installations since 2012, largely due to the government’s introduction of a feed-in tariff subsidy for clean energy. Japan has recently switched on its first nuclear power plant since the country was rocked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, which caused a meltdown in three of the four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. (BusinessGreen)
Policy
India rejects patent on Pfizer’s arthritis drug
India has again denied Pfizer a patent on its rheumatoid arthritis drug tofacitinib, the latest setback for a multinational drugmaker seeking to enforce its intellectual property rights in the country. The Indian Patent Office said the company would have to establish that the compound for which it is seeking a patent is therapeutically more effective than the active compound. Drug patents have become a thorny issue for global drugmakers seeking to expand in India’s fast-growing healthcare market. Companies including Pfizer, Bayer and Roche have in recent years struggled to retain exclusivity on drugs in India, and have blamed patent laws they say are designed to favour the local industry. India, however, has said its drug patents policy is designed to ensure medicines remain affordable for the country where less than 15 percent of the population has health insurance. (Reuters)
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