The City of London is bracing itself for a raft of UK retail collapses in 2018 January 12, 2018 Retailers painted a gloomy picture of the high street this week as several big names failed to cash in on the Christmas shopping season. Gloomy financial updates from household favourites such as Marks and Spencer (M&S), Debenhams, and House of Fraser prompted analysts to signal several retail collapses may be on the cards in 2018. [...]
Black Friday, inflation, and leisure spending threaten retailers in make or break week before Christmas December 18, 2017 Retailers are facing a make or break week in the run-up to Christmas, as City analysts warn that a last-minute dash may not be enough to rescue a disappointing December. Dismal footfall figures seen by City A.M. reveal that visits to high streets fell year-on-year by almost 11 per cent between Sunday and Friday last [...]
Amazon share price opens higher as Prime membership cost increases January 19, 2018 Amazon Prime customers in the US will now have to pay $12.99 (£9.37) a month for the service after the tech giant bumped up prices from $10.99. Shares in the company opened up more than one per cent. Students members will also face a monthly price rise of one dollar to $6.49. But users who [...]
The worst days and routes to travel over Christmas and how to avoid them December 14, 2016 Everyone knows journeys can take a bit longer over the festive period, but there are some times you really don’t want to hit the road. Transportation analytics firm INRIX has found that some trips on major routes will take around four times as long over Christmas compared to other times of the year and the busiest days [...]
Marks & Spencer (M&S) share price falls after saying sales slump could have been much worse, had it not been for a “better” Christmas January 11, 2018 Food and clothing sales at Marks & Spencer fell in the final three months of 2017, the firm announced this morning. Total third-quarter sales in the UK dropped by 1.4 per cent to £2.9bn. Shares fell almost three per cent in morning trades. Boss Steve Rowe labelled the trading returns for the quarter “mixed”. He [...]
Bitcoin (BTC) price heads towards $8,000 as concerns mount over regulatory crackdown February 2, 2018 Bitcoin continued its downward trajectory this morning, edging closer to $8,000, as concerns escalate over a potential regulatory crackdown. The cryptocurrency was down 7.1 per cent to $8,411.67 at the time of writing, after falling below the £10k mark in the early hours of Thursday morning. Yesterday, research revealed bitcoin’s losses for January totted up [...]
Restaurants stand to gain £70m as more Brits than ever ditch Christmas turkey December 24, 2016 More Brits will ditch the kitchen and eat out this Christmas than ever before, new research suggests. Pubs, restaurants and bars across the country are set to gain upwards of £70m on Christmas day spending, research from Worldpay found. Pubs, which alone stand to make £7m on the 25th, will be 30 per cent busier than average across [...]
John Lewis cashed in ahead of the subdued Christmas period January 4, 2017 John Lewis cashed in in the lead-up to Christmas, before families deserted festive shopping on the high street for feasting at the dinner table. For the week starting 19 December, the department store made sales totaling £175.6m. Christmas Day and Boxing Day – when most John Lewis shops are shut – took place during the comparative week in [...]
High up in the Himalayas, a brave Laura Ivill undergoes yoga’s most drastic cleansing routine… August 13, 2018 In the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, high above the Ganges, I’m sitting with yogi Sandeep Agarwalla. We both have our fingers in our ears and are making the sound of a bee – a practice called brahmari. Around us, butterflies and birds are flitting from tree to tree in the warm winter sunshine. It’s [...]
Early Man film review: Aardman Animations returns to its roots with this prehistoric football fable January 29, 2018 Aardman Animations, creator of beloved duo Wallace & Gromit, rarely puts a plasticine foot wrong. Its stop-motion shorts featuring a northern inventor and his indefatigable hound are classics for the ages, destined to be repeated every Christmas from now until the fiery end of days, passed from adoring parent to amazed child. Then came [...]