Category: 3. Business

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The pay of Wall Street bank bosses soared last year as six of them took home more than $250mn combined, potentially further widening the gap with average bank workers.

The heads of the largest US banks by assets — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley — all received $40mn or more in annual pay, according to recent regulatory filings. BofA chief Brian Moynihan’s $41mn pay award for 2025 was disclosed in a regulatory filing by the bank late on Friday.

The combined average pay increases for the six chiefs represented a 22 per cent increase over the prior year. With their average remuneration already standing at 298 times that of their median bank employees in 2024, according to regulatory filings, the robust raises stand to further widen the gap with the rank-and-file at a time when inflation and modest wage gains are making affordability issues a top concern across the economy.

Still, the CEOs presided over average stock price gains of 42 per cent last year — perhaps the most closely watched measure of executive performance.

“It’s bull market banking with bull market results and bull market pay for the CEOs,” said Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo. “Directionally, it’s correct.”

Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon was the highest paid CEO with a $47mn total package that included a $10.1mn cash bonus, $31.5mn in stock and $3.4mn in carried interest from the funds the bank manages. Goldman added carried interest to Solomon’s pay a year ago in order to reflect the pay framework of large asset managers to retain top talent.

Moynihan’s pay award represented a 17 per cent jump over the previous year, the bank’s regulatory filing said. The disclosure came a day after Citi said its chief executive Jane Fraser had been paid $42mn for the same period, nearly a quarter more than the previous year. She also received a $25mn retention bonus in October.

Fraser’s pay was $1mn shy of the $43mn awarded to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, while Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick received $45mn in the same period.

The market capitalisation of US banks surged in the past year as Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda and a revival in investment banking helped boost their earnings. Banks have benefited from the rollback of several rules that have encumbered the sector since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Last year, US regulators made proposals to allow higher leverage for the largest banks, overhauled annual banking stress tests used to determine capital requirements and rescinded lending guidance for riskier loans. 

Mayo said the higher pay packages were also a sign of confidence in bank performance in the next few years, which he expects will bring record revenue for traditional banking and capital markets activity.

In addition to market conditions and the regulatory easing, individual banks such as Wells Fargo and Citi, which have traditionally lagged behind their peers on executive pay and performance, were also lifted as they hit separate milestones.

Citi was the best-performing big Wall Street bank stock in 2025, as the lender — which has trailed peers since the financial crisis — nears the completion of a high-stakes restructuring. The board cited Fraser’s “bold choices she has made to position the firm for further growth” and said it has completed more than 80 per cent of its transformation. The bank hit its highest share price since the financial crisis in July.

Wells Fargo’s Charlie Scharf led the California-headquartered bank through the removal of a $2tn asset cap imposed by regulators in June. The punitive cap had been imposed by regulators after its “fake accounts” scandal, in which Wells opened accounts in customers’ names without their knowledge.

Fraser and Scharf received the title of chair in 2025, in addition to their existing chief executive roles, while Fraser was granted a $25mn retention bonus in October. Combining the CEO and chair roles is a commonplace model that was already favoured by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

Additional reporting by Louis Ashworth in New York

[Accra, Ghana, February 14, 2026] Recently, Africa leading operator MTN, in collaboration with Huawei, successfully completed the world’s first large-scale deployment of the Alpha Antenna in Ghana. This milestone represents a substantial enhancement in network performance, with the transition to intelligent and AI-driven innovation establishing a new benchmark for the evolution toward autonomous driving networks in Africa and globally. This deployment has validated groundbreaking performance improvements and operational efficiencies. Post-deployment tests recorded a rise in regional traffic by 6.8%, while improving operations and maintenance efficiency by a factor of 30x.

Confronting persistent network operations and maintenance challenges of manual dependency, slow adaptation, and inconsistent accuracy, MTN has unlocked a new paradigm through the Alpha Antenna deployment. The solution’s integrated AISU (Antenna Information Sensor Unit) enables fully automated, real-time, and precise retrieval of antenna parameters, eliminating manual site visits. The AIMU (Array Information Mapping Unit) ensures real-time and exact visualization of network topology, eradicating configuration errors. Furthermore, it supports remote adjustment of multi-dimensional beams, allowing the network to dynamically adapt coverage and capacity to real-time demands, collapsing optimization cycles from weeks to minutes while delivering a consistently superior user experience.

The Alpha antenna is driving a paradigm shift in network operations by endowing networks with closed-loop capabilities for “real-time retrieval, precise control, and dynamic optimization”—transitioning from passive, reactive manual intervention to a proactive, AI-powered model. This transition provides a crucial “digital foundation” for MTN in building a high-level Autonomous Driving Network (ADN), making self-optimization and autonomous evolution of the network a reality.

MTN Ghana states that the Alpha Antenna solution represents a pivotal step toward the full digital transformation of network infrastructure. It not only significantly reduces operational complexity and costs but, more importantly, empowers the network with real-time retrieval and rapid-response capabilities. This successful collaboration with Huawei has laid a solid foundation for future AI-driven intelligent networks, injecting fresh momentum into Africa’s digital transformation.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is expected to recover as domestic and geopolitical uncertainties subside, with investor focus likely to shift toward upcoming financial results and improving macroeconomic indicators, according to reports by two brokerage firms.

AKD Research expects the market to rebound as uncertainties ease, adding that attention will remain on the ongoing result season and macroeconomic stability.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its weekly outlook, said the KSE-100 Index may witness temporary moderation in the coming week as Ramadan begins. However, the ongoing earnings season could provide further upside, particularly if companies post stronger-than-expected results.

AKD, however, maintained its projection for the KSE-100 Index to reach 263,800 by December 2026.

The market remained bearish during the week amid investor skepticism over political developments and recent domestic security incidents. These concerns, coupled with delays in the financial close of Reko Diq, weighed on the oil and gas sector, which recorded the largest index point decline. Overall, the benchmark index fell by 4,526 points, or 2.5% week-on-week (WoW), to close at 179,604 points.

The pressure was partially offset by supportive macroeconomic developments, including: (i) a budget surplus of Rs542 billion (0.4% of GDP) in 1HFY26 compared to a deficit of Rs1.5 trillion in the same period last year (SPLY); (ii) a 15% year-on-year (YoY) increase in worker remittances to $3.5 billion in January 2026; and (iii) auto sales reaching a 43-month high during the month.

During the week, Moody’s revised Pakistan’s banking system outlook from positive to stable, stating that although macroeconomic indicators have improved, recovery in the operating environment remains gradual.

Remittances by overseas Pakistanis rose 15% YoY to $3.5 billion in January 2026, compared to $3.0 billion in January 2025. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, remittances declined 4%.

Auto sales increased to 23,100 units in January 2026, up 74% MoM and 35% YoY.

In the MSCI February 2026 review, ABOT was removed from the MSCI FM Standard Pakistan Index. SEPL and ZAL were added to the MSCI FM Small Cap Index, while LPL was deleted.

During the first week of February 2026, gas production declined 7.8% WoW to 2,798 mmcfd, while oil production fell 11.7% WoW to 59,121 barrels per day (bopd).

According to AHL, sector-wise negative contributions came from: (i) Banks (-1,901 points), (ii) E&Ps (-1,298 points), (iii) Technology (-484 points), (iv) Fertilizer (-372 points), and (v) Power (-306 points). Positive contributions were recorded by: (i) Investment Banks (+631 points), (ii) Pharma (+36 points), (iii) Transport (+5 points), (iv) Vanaspati & Allied (+2 points), and (v) Tobacco (+1 point).

Scrip-wise, major negative contributors were OGDC (-578 points), PPL (-572 points), UBL (-410 points), EFERT (-362 points), and BAHL (-359 points). Positive contributions came from ENGROH (+631 points), FFC (+81 points), AGP (+73 points), INDU (+31 points), and MCB (+25 points).

Average daily trading volume stood at 862 million shares, down 15% WoW, while average daily traded value declined 13% WoW to $152 million.

However, overall market participation strengthened, with average daily traded volume (ADTV) rising 8% WoW to 1.1 billion shares, compared to 983 million shares in the previous week.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $21 million WoW to $16.2 billion as of February 6.

On the currency front, the Pakistani rupee appreciated 0.03% WoW against the US dollar, closing at Rs279.62 per dollar.

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means you should have spent the last few weeks swapping all of the lamps in your house. If not, you still have a few hours: box up your beige lampshades (or better yet, throw them in the bin) and replace them with ones of red and pink hues. Then – if you want to feel mentally well – you must also change your lightbulbs, because “warm white lighting” is the best way to ensure your crimson decor doesn’t look “too harsh”.

This is according to online lighting company Pooky, which is selling 43 “lust-worthy lamps” (and shades) for Valentine’s Day. A press release sent on behalf of the brand in late January proudly declared that Google searches for “seasonal decor” have increased 70% year-on-year globally, while queries about “Valentine’s decor” have soared 2,584% since the start of 2026. “The beauty of seasonal lighting,” said Pooky’s chief creative officer, “is that it’s easy to rotate. Store one or two Valentine lampshades, a set of rose-tinted bulbs and a handful of candles in a labelled box, and you can transform your home every February in minutes.”

That’s all very well and good, but what if my “lusty lighting” box won’t fit next to the plastic tubs holding my “autumn oven gloves”, “Halloween curtain rods” and “Easter rugs”? Wouldn’t it be faster – better, even – to join the 62% of Britons who simply throw perfectly good homeware in the bin? After all, how else will I find the time on 16 March to swap from my Mother’s Day to St Patrick’s Day decor?

Can I just ask: what are we doing? More than a quarter of Britons feel homeware trends are “changing at an increasingly fast pace”, and 70m items of home decor are thrown away every year. I’ll concede there are some things worth destroying the planet for (flying! We literally get to fly across the sky!), but surely not this? Surely we can all agree that the climate apocalypse isn’t a fair exchange for a “brown resin Valentines dog ornament” wearing heart-shaped glasses and a little pink bow? (It’s uglier than you think, please do not click.)

It’s not that seasonal decor can never make sense. It’s the balm we’ve sought during the cost of living crisis, when many people find it too expensive to go out, and home is where the heart-shaped frying pan is. Socialising is costlier than ever, but novelty ceramics have seemingly never been cheaper. And it’s understandable that we want our living spaces to be cosy and calm when the world outside is anything but.

But leaving aside the harm to the planet – and how often we do! – “fast homeware” is full of false promises. In the 41,000 TikTok videos tagged “seasonal decor” (plus countless others hashtagged #autumnaesthetic or #springvibes), influencers promise that swapping out your homeware can boost your mood, spark joy and even “heal your soul”. For years, marketers and content creators have savvily used the names of happiness hormones to conflate shopping and personal wellbeing. TK Maxx has a page on its website called Dopamine Home Decor (under the umbrella of Home Seasonal Events).

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but a spring-themed bath mat is not going to markedly improve your mental health. In reality, overconsumption has been repeatedly linked to lower wellbeing and even psychological distress. Personally, I know that the buzz of buying something is often quickly replaced with an empty sensation and a desire for more – the satisfaction somehow never seems to last.

Plus, there are faster and cheaper ways to get a dose of dopamine (music, meditation and especially volunteering, for a start). And if you’re an aesthete, never fear! I actually know a fantastic little designer who redecorates seasonally, free of charge. Her name is mother nature, and she also swaps out the bulbs.

Of course, I’m fighting a losing battle: online content creators must create content and supermarkets must generate ever-increasing profits, so the year-round demand for novelty is not going anywhere any time soon. If I can’t beat them, maybe I should join them – and charge for my ideas (a jester’s-hat butter dish for April Fools’ Day; an Ash Wednesday kettle). Or maybe I have one last trick up my sleeve to make you reconsider: think of your grandma’s home.

She never swapped out the lamps – the things on her coffee table were the things on her coffee table, collected over the course of a lifetime, consistent while you grew and changed. That stained, stainless steel teapot spoke to you from a different era; it showed you the world existed before you existed, it promised that things could endure after you were gone. Isn’t there meaning and happiness to be found in consistent homeware, in a home that reflects your personality, and in a personality that’s unwavering in the face of marketing trends? Wait, no. I’ve got it: bank-holiday shoe rack.