Lord Berkeley
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Corporate Profits: Inflation
Lord Berkeley Excerpts(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Penn (Con)
My Lords, the answer is twofold. We are looking closely at the data and will continue to do so, but we do not see the pattern that the noble Lord refers to so far. We will also work with the regulators in the main areas—the FCA when it comes to the banking sector and the passing on of higher interest rates to savers, as well as mortgage holders—and look at the work of the supermarkets to ensure that their profits are fair and reasonable and driven by fair competition in the sector. We will keep all of that under review. We have agreed a series of steps with the regulators to make sure that action is taken if competition is not working as it should.
Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree with the IMF that the main cause of inflation is excessive corporate profits, and the fat cat salaries that go with them, rather than the wage claims such as those from people in the National Health Service?
Baroness Penn (Con)
As I have explained to noble Lords, the IMF analysis applied to the euro area.