House prices back on upward march to race past £667,000 in London January 16, 2023 House prices are back on an upward march, sending the cost of the average home in London to over £667,000, a new survey out today shows. Search site Rightmove said today house prices in the capital jumped 0.2 per cent over the last month and 6.1 per cent annually. On a nationwide basis, prices climbed [...]
Salt tears won’t wash: why those viral charity campaigns aren’t all they seem June 6, 2024 From Carly Burd’s salted allotment to Captain Tom, social media charity campaigns are ripe for exploitation. The regulator needs to wade in and people need to wise up about who exactly they are pledging money to, says Fergal Parkinson Carly Burd became a social media sensation – by crying. She racked up 5m views on Tiktok alone [...]
Supermarket wars: Lidl and Aldi gain ground on Tesco as bargain-hunting Brits battle grocery inflation March 28, 2023 Lidl is the UK’s fastest growing supermarket as bargain-hunting Brits turn to the discount grocer during the cost of living crisis. With grocery inflation now at 15 per cent, new figures published by Kantar this morning show value outlets have seen an uptick in sales last month. Sales in the German supermarket Aldi rose 25.8 [...]
Ashley’s empire grows: Frasers picks up nearly 20 per cent of retailer AO World June 12, 2023 Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has invested £75m in electronic retailer AO World, taking a stake of almost 20 per cent in the business.
FTSE 100 close: ASOS and Centrica pop to crystalise strong start to 2023 January 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 built on gains yesterday that propelled to its highest level since 2018 after a series of British bellwether retailers posted a decent set of results this morning and the owner of British Gas skyrocketed. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.89 per cent at 7,794.04 points, while the domestically-focused, mid-cap FTSE 250 [...]
Budget: Why Jeremy Hunt needs you back at work to prevent a recession March 15, 2023 This was a budget for the workforce. It showed signs of sparking the supply side revolution that Liz Truss championed, but crashed hard in trying to get there too quickly. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) thinks so. It projects the government’s collective policies designed to boost the labour market will provide a 0.2 per [...]
Women’s Euro 2022: Brits to spend £175m on food and beer when Lionesses play N. Ireland on Friday July 12, 2022 Following the Lionesses’ historic 8-0 victory against Norway, Brits are catching football fever and are likely to spend almost £175m when England play Northern Ireland on Friday. Supporters will soak up the atmosphere of the Women’s Euro 2022 with 4.7m expected to tune in, with England already through to the quarter finals and N. Ireland, [...]
Asda chair calls for business tax relief amid historic inflation levels June 19, 2022 Retail grandee Stuart Rose has said the government was too slow to move on the cost of living crisis and historic levels of inflation. The Asda chair and former Marks & Spencer boss has urged ministers to help struggling households amid the “tough times.” Speaking on Aquis Exchange’s Full & Frank podcast, Rose said Asda [...]
Souring UK economic outlook sends London markets tumbling June 13, 2022 Fears that the UK economy is in the teeth of a sharp slowdown triggered a sector-wide sell-off on London markets today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index slid 1.53 per cent to 7,205.81 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, shed 2.61 per [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Energy strategy won’t push prices down for years to come April 11, 2022 When asked about the effect the newly unveiled energy strategy would have on prices, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng replied“the impact could be very soon”. By very soon, he specified, he meant three or four years. Now, we know a transition to sustainable energy produced here takes time. No government could simply do some magic and [...]