M&S LEADS HIGH STREET RECOVERY January 4, 2010 HIGH street bellwether Marks & Spencer is this week expected to report its first sales growth in two years, boosting hopes that British consumers have cast aside their gloom and started spending again. The retail giant will update the market on Wednesday on how it fared over Christmas, with analysts expecting M&S to post like-for-like [...]
Consumer confidence unchanged November 3, 2009 The Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index remained unchanged in October, staying level at 72 points, data from Nationwide will show today. The news comes a day after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said consumer confidence was at its highest level for 18 months. Nationwide said that there were some small adjustments to consumers’ perceptions of current [...]
Strong retail sales growth but 2010 outlook uncertain November 9, 2009 RETAIL sales enjoyed their strongest October growth for seven years with retail sales values rising 3.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). But the BRC warned that last month’s strong performance was compared to October 2008, when sales fell 2.2 per cent due to turmoil in the financial [...]
Retail sales stagnate for second month in a row October 22, 2009 DESPITE recent surveys suggesting a brighter outlook for the British high street, official data showed yesterday that retail sales failed to grow in September for the second month in a row. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there was no growth in the volume of retail sales compared to August. However, the [...]
Stocks looking higher for now but resources the key November 8, 2009 UK and European stock markets are set to open higher this morning, following on from Friday’s bounce-back from the initial sell-off which followed the all-important US employment data. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 24 points from Friday’s close of 5,142. The German DAX is also called higher, up 25 points [...]
Returning consumer confidence gives UK retail sales a much-needed boost October 12, 2009 BRITISH retailers will breathe a sigh of relief today following the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which showed a healthy improvement in like-for-like retail sales last month. The data showed that UK retail sales values rose 2.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis in September compared to the previous year when turmoil [...]
FIRMS HIT BY TAX HIKE ON OFFICE SPACE October 1, 2009 CITY firms are bracing themselves for a crippling increase in business rates after new valuations for their premises were released yesterday. The tax hikes led to fury after it emerged that the majority of businesses will see increases of between 25 and 40 per cent. From April next year, the new business rates will be [...]
FIRMS HIT BY TAX HIKE ON OFFICE SPACE October 1, 2009 CITY firms are bracing themselves for a crippling increase in business rates after new valuations for their premises were released yesterday. The tax hikes led to fury after it emerged that the majority of businesses will see increases of between 25 and 40 per cent. From April next year, the new business rates will be [...]
London retail sales drop by 5.9 per cent September 13, 2009 LONDON retail sales fell in August, the British Retail Consortium revealed today. Last month’s sales were 5.9 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, when sales were up by 8.6 per cent on the previous year. The figures, which show the lowest sales growth for four years, come ahead of department [...]
Supermarket regulation urged August 4, 2009 The Competition Commission yesterday urged the government to establish an ombudsman to rule on any disputes involving supermarkets and suppliers, following a two year investigation. The new code of practice will regulate every contract between supermarkets with a turnover of more than £1bn and their suppliers. An ombudsman will cost £5m annually, but the British [...]