The Know Daily - Tuesday 31 October 2023

_{Read in 5m 34s ∙ Listening to Dusty Springfield}

Today is Halloween - so why not celebrate by checking out these incredible images of unlikely creatures embracing spooky season? Keepers at London Zoo carved pumpkins for animals including endangered Sumatran tigers, Galapagos tortoises and a Komodo dragon, and stuffed them with special snacks. No tricks here - just treats!

💰 Bonus cap controversy 

The cap on bankers’ bonuses is being lifted today, following a change to regulations brought in following the financial crisis. 

What’s the story?
Before the 2008 financial crisis, bankers “hit the headlines” for spending their bonuses on “fast cars and champagne-fuelled nights”, said the BBC. A 2014 EU-wide cap, which limited bonuses to a maximum of two times a banker’s basic salary, largely put an end to those days - but from 31 October, UK bankers are again able to earn unlimited bonuses. 

Why is the cap being removed again now?
The policy change was first announced by then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, as part of what Sky News termed the “infamous” September 2022 mini-budget under Liz Truss. At the time, Kwarteng said the aim was to attract more talent to the City of London. 

When Jeremy Hunt became chancellor under Rishi Sunak later that year, he referred the decision to the regulators, who confirmed last week that the cap would be removed. UK Finance, the body representing the banking industry, said it would make the UK “more attractive” to international professionals.

How has the move been received?
The TUC, the umbrella body for the UK’s trade unions, said it would bring back a “greed is good” culture. “At a time when millions up and down the country are struggling to make ends meet - this is an insult to working people,” said TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak. 

But regulators and banks have long argued that the 2014 cap had not had the intended effect, with firms simply switching to paying higher basic salaries instead of higher bonuses. However, a UK Finance spokesperson conceded that the optics of allowing bigger bonuses were “not good” amidst the cost-of-living crisis, the BBC reported.