Executive pay set to dominate Domino's AGM

THE annual general meetings (AGMs) of British Airways and Marks & Spencer this week should make up for the quieter results schedule over the past seven days.

M&S will take its turn in the executive pay spotlight when the retail chain holds its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.

Following a clash with investors at last year's AGM, the high street retailer is on another collision course amid concerns over packages for new boss Mark Bolland and outgoing chief Sir Stuart Rose.

More than one fifth of shareholders who voted last year failed to back Rose's re-election to the board over his controversial dual role as executive chairman against City best practice.

With the succession resolved, pay is now in sharp focus after news Bolland was lured from Morrisons with a 15 million pay deal, while Rose could pick up 2.5m in cash before he leaves next March.

Investor activism has been gaining momentum this year, with Tesco the most recent to be impacted when nearly half its shareholders failed to support its remuneration report.

Lemmings are unlikely to be in attendance at the British Airways annual meeting on Tuesday after gaining star billing last year in union protests against the firm's leadership and cost-cutting plans.

The animals were hired by Unite but taken away after an RSPCA inspector said they showed signs of "distress" following their unexpected foray into industrial relations.

A year on - following a second successive year of record losses and two strikes which have cost BA about 150m - the mood is likely to be calmer as union members vote on the airline's latest attempt to end a long-running dispute with cabin crew.

Unite has delayed a strike ballot while members consider the offer - which includes two years of guaranteed rises in basic salary from February 2011 - although the union is making no recommendation on the proposed deal.

BA says it addresses cabin crews' concerns about future earnings and gives a firm commitment that staff could keep current pay and conditions, although the removal of travel concessions from workers who have taken industrial action remains a sticking point.

Demand from World Cup-watching football fans in June should provide a tasty topping for first-half results from Domino's Pizza tomorrow.

The group plugged its best-selling Pepperoni Passion pizza on ITV1 before England's clashes with the USA and Algeria - encouraging viewers to order a pizza before kick off for delivery at half-time - as well as running adverts on radio station TalkSport and online promotions through Facebook.

Domino's is also likely to have benefited from its Two for Tuesday promotion, faster delivery times and favourable comparisons with weaker trading last year.

In its first quarter, the business posted like-for-like sales growth of 10.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 March as the popularity of TV show The X Factor, which it sponsored, helped overcome the impact of many stores being forced to close in the snow.

Consensus interim profits are 16.3m.

Wall Street banks kick off interim results reporting this week in what will be a keenly watched earnings season from the sector. The recent difficult market conditions have raised the prospect of a tougher second quarter for profits, following the industry's remarkable bounce back last year from the financial crisis.

JP Morgan Chase reports on Thursday, followed on Friday by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

One banking analyst predicts that revenues at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley from operations in fixed income, currencies and commodities have fallen more than 30 per cent from the first few months of the year.