Jobless figures and MPC report at centre stage – London Week Ahead December 14, 2014 BY THE looks of this week’s economic calendar, traders thinking of taking off early for their Christmas holidays may be forced to rethink their travel plans. In the UK the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) last meeting will also be scrutinised. However, the report which has the greatest potential to move markets is [...]
Black Friday UK 2014: Retailers return to black after a frenzied day of spending December 8, 2014 The shopping frenzy created by Black Friday last week helped push retail sales back into growth in November as shoppers flocked online and into stores to snap up a bargain. Like-for-like retail sales rose by 0.9 per cent compared with November last year, when they increased by 0.6 per cent. This was also an improvement [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert, forex fines, Rosetta and the Double Donut Burger: 10 things we learned this week November 14, 2014 1. Sainsbury's has stolen the Christmas ad crown from John Lewis. Maybe. But have either of them done enough to be considered for our Christmas ad hall of fame, which includes a 1950s Coca-Cola number and the 1992 Yellow Pages classic? 2. Bankers' forex rigging was £1.1bn of bad. RBS, HSBC, UBS, JPMorgan and [...]
Black Friday to kick off £42bn Christmas spree November 23, 2014 Britons are expected to splurge £42.4bn in the run-up to Christmas – £1.5bn more than last year – as retailers brace themselves for an American-style Black Friday shopping frenzy set to take over their websites and stores this week. Sales are forecast to rise by four per cent year-on-year in the period starting from today [...]
Waitrose feels the pressure as profit declines September 11, 2014 The John Lewis Partnership warned yesterday that the grocery market would remain tough for some time, as a strong performance across its department stores helped offset a decline at its grocery chain Waitrose. The middle-class food retailer, which accounts for about two-thirds of the group’s sales, has grown its share of the market thanks to [...]
Police blame retailers as Black Friday descends into chaos November 28, 2014 The chief of Greater Manchester Police has blamed retailers after officers were called to seven Tesco stores across Greater Manchester to deal with crowds at Black Friday events. In a video posted to YouTube, Sir Peter Fahy said three people had been arrested – including one who threatened to "smash" a staff member's face in, [...]
Goodbye Christmas jumpers – hello Christmas suits? The must-have self-purchase for 2014 revealed. Maybe December 2, 2014 Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a novelty outfit of some sort. The Christmas jumper has been a long-time favourite but, as with the Shoreditch beard that has grown in popularity over a similar period, it's safe to say we've now reached peak-jumper. Last year every retailer from Tesco to John Lewis jumped on the [...]
Mulberry “Win Christmas” campaign drives traffic after disastrous year but chairman Godfrey Davis is unfazed December 4, 2014 The luxury firm faces an uphill battle to win back shoppers but chairman Godfrey Davis is unfazed It has been a disastrous year for Mulberry. However, the luxury goods group puts on a brave face in its light-hearted Christmas campaign, which features a woman in an old country pile receiving more and more elaborate gifts [...]
Shares in high street retailers cool on Next’s warm weather warning September 30, 2014 SHARES in the UK’s biggest clothing retailers slumped yesterday after industry bellwether Next warned it might have to cut its profit forecast if the warm weather continued. Next said third-quarter sales to date were up six per cent rather than the 10 per cent it had forecast as the mild September weather deterred shoppers from [...]
China’s unravelling: Will it devalue the yuan next? July 16, 2015 China could be gearing up to join the global currency wars by devaluing the renminbi. So far this year more than 30 central banks from all over the world, including South Korea and Australia, Canada and Hungary have cut interest rates – which works to weaken their currency. Since the global financial crisis, central [...]