Jason Karaian

Large British businesses have entered a “new era” in executive pay, according to a report from Deloitte published today. The median salary for an executive director at a FTSE 100 firm rose by only 2.5% this year, to around £840,000 ($1.3 million), a similar increase to the previous year. And fewer investors voted against executive pay packages during the latest round of shareholder meetings, suggesting greater support for supposedly more modest pay policies. Shareholder votes on pay policies become binding, rather than simply advisory, for London-listed companies starting in October. Deloitte reckons this could be the initial sign of restraint in response to the new rules.

Despite her historic election victory yesterday, Angela Merkel has little time to celebrate her third term as German chancellor. From the demands of fueling a nascent economic recovery at home to pleas for support from other euro members, here’s a quick tally of her post-election to-do list as of Monday morning:

In a campaign criticized for its lack of flair, the German federal election delivered a number of surprises on September 22nd. The preliminary results were announced in the early morning, at around 1:30am local time.

There was little doubt that Angela Merkel would win a third term as German chancellor in today’s federal election. Indeed, early exit polls suggest that Merkel’s party (the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU) won the biggest share of votes, at around 42%. This is well above the 26% apparently gained by her closest rivals, the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Peer Steinbrück.

Germans go to the polls on Sunday, Sept. 22. For months, if not years, every significant economic event in Europe has been tied to the country’s looming federal election in some way.

The US Federal Reserve’s surprising decision to keep its foot on the monetary-stimulus pedal came yesterday when European markets were closed. Like everywhere else that woke up to the news from Washington, DC today, stocks in Europe posted strong gains. The regional Stoxx 600 index set a fresh five-year high, with gains across the board, particularly in Italy, Spain and other members of the euro zone’s beleaguered “periphery”.

One year from now, Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to remain a part of the UK. The countdown is being marked by a welter of polls and an avalanche of commentary on what’s at stake.

A “nation of shopkeepers“ is, by definition, also a nation of shopping bags. English shoppers used more than seven billion flimsy, single-use plastic sacks in 2012, putting them among Europe’s most enthusiastic users. But the British government wants to see fewer plastic bags clinging to tree branches and swirling across sidewalks, and is introducing a 5 pence ($0.08) fee for plastic bags in England from 2015.

The numbers: ”Satisfactory,” according to Inditex executives. Net profit in the Spanish retailer’s fiscal first half (the six months to July) rose by 1%, to €951 million ($1.3 billion). Analysts expected a small decline. Markets cheered the results; the company’s share price flirted with all-time highs at the open.

In August, US car sales finally surpassed their pre-crisis levels. The latest numbers from Europe show the region falling behind. Way behind.

Financial crisis retrospectives have flourished over the past week, tied to the five-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse. In this regard, the latest quarterly review of the global banking system by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), published yesterday, is well-timed.

When traders in Asia and Europe woke up this morning, they read the news that Larry Summers dropped out of the running to be the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve. They promptly loaded up on equities and dumped the dollar, as the once-and-former frontrunner for the post, Janet Yellen, now seems close to a sure thing. The moves in the Stoxx Europe benchmark index are typical for other markets in both Europe and Asia.

The recent flood of corporate bond issues has a slight whiff of desperation, as if borrowers know that conditions will not be this favorable for much longer, thanks to looming interest rate hikes in the US and beyond. Fear of rising interest rates is having another related effect: Investors are ditching bonds for stocks they hope will offer higher returns.

It takes some digging to find any bright spots in the latest data on Spanish home prices (pdf). The national index of housing prices fell by only 0.8% in the second quarter, when compared with the first, which isn’t too bad. Compared with the same period last year, however, the average home has fallen 12% in value, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit annual declines. Every region has recorded an annual fall for at least the past two years.

Never mind what you may have heard about reviving factories in Europe. Signs of a recovery in euro zone manufacturing took a knock today, with industrial production (pdf) plunging by 1.5% in July. Analysts expected little change. The previously reported gain in June was also revised down a touch, to 0.6%. Year-over-year, July manufacturing was down by 2.1%, much worse than the 0.4% annual decline registered in the previous month.

Norway isn’t the only Nordic country worried about an overheated housing market. At a parliamentary hearing yesterday, Swedish officials sounded the alarm about rising household debt.

The good news keeps coming for the UK economy. The latest jobs report, released today, showed the unemployment rate dropping to 7.7% in the three months to July, down from 7.8% in the previous month’s reading. Analysts expected no change in the rate.

Crisis? What crisis? In the second quarter, the Turkish economy grew at a 4.4% annual rate, comfortably beating analysts’ estimates. This was double the rate of growth in 2012, as Turkey shrugged off the destabilizing effects of mass protests that gathered steam throughout June.

Want to boost your odds of getting a job? Consider moving to India. The latest results of Manpower’s quarterly survey of employers suggest they are approaching hiring with caution for the rest of the year. Of the 42 countries where hiring managers are surveyed, companies in 29 of them expect to boost jobs in the coming quarter. This is down slightly from 32 countries with a net positive hiring balance in the previous survey. The strength of expected job gains is also somewhat weaker in the latest survey, with 14 countries more upbeat on hiring versus 19 where firms are paring back hiring plans.

Uniquely among the euro zone’s beleaguered “periphery”, Italy’s response to the financial crisis has not included nationalizing large parts of its banking system. Compared with the wreckage in Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, Italian lenders have gotten off relatively lightly.

Luxury investing is gaining a somewhat geeky profile, with gearheads, coin collectors and philatelists gaining ground on urbane, wine-sipping art enthusiasts.The best luxury investment over the past year is classic cars, according to property consultancy Knight Frank. In its latest assessment of various luxury asset classes, the index for cars gained nearly 30%, outperforming all other categories. The most expensive car ever sold at auction—a grand prix-winning 1954 Mercedes-Benz (pictured above)—fetched £19.6 million ($31 million) in July.

In its latest assessment of the Nordic economies, the IMF singled out Norway’s housing market as especially worrying. Prices for residential real estate in the oil-rich country paused only briefly during the world financial crisis, before soaring higher. The average Norwegian hjem has doubled in price over the past decade, leaving its Nordic neighbors—and most of the developed world—in the shade.

“No financial market, no financial product, no financial player will escape efficient rules and oversight.” With that, European commissioner Michel Barnier (pictured above) recently unveiled a set of new rules to regulate the so-called shadow banking sector.

Germany’s trade performance was surprisingly weak in July, according to data released today. Exports fell by 1.1% compared with a year ago; analysts expected a small rise.