Retail sales run out of steam in February despite half-term and Valentine’s Day boost March 8, 2016 RETAIL sales slowed in February after a strong start to the year that was boosted by the January sales. Like-for-like sales rose by 0.1 per cent last month compared with February in 2015, when they had increased 0.2 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG’s monthly data released today. The February [...]
Downton Abbey and Strictly Come Dancing beaten by Queen’s message to top of Christmas TV ratings December 26, 2015 Downton Abbey pipped Strictly Come Dancing to the title of most watched Christmas Day TV show this year – although neither programme could match the audience for the Queen's speech. The final of hit ITV period show Downton Abbey received an audience of 6.6m from its 8.45pm showing, beating competition from the hour-long EastEnders Christmas special which was [...]
Christmas weather 2015: Storm Eva could bring more flooding to northern parts of UK, while Met Office predicts “green” rather than white Christmas December 23, 2015 Christmas 2015 could be one of the warmest on record – but Storm Eva is expected to hit the British Isles today and tomorrow, meaning last minute shoppers (and Father Christmas) could be grappling with heavy winds. The Met Office has issued weather warnings for the north west, Wales and north east because of Storm Eva, [...]
Sainsbury’s beats forecasts on results, but profits and sales still slide as Mike Coupe warns of tough road ahead May 4, 2016 Sainsbury's share price fell this morning as full year profits came in ahead of analyst forecasts – but still show a hefty year-on-year decline as the price wars continue to take their toll. The figures The supermarket reported group sales of £25.8bn for the 12 months to 12 March – down 1.1 per cent on the same period last [...]
Fiery festive infernos and attacking mistletoe berries: Here are six ways Christmas is trying to kill you December 21, 2015 A dystopian future is about to be upon us, in which trees spontaneously burst into flames, man-made machines run out of control and, trapped in small spaces and driven mad by cabin fever, humans turn against one another. This is not a drill. Christmas is almost here. Are you prepared for the health and health [...]
Boxing Day sales 2015: UK footfall soars to defy online sales which dominated Black Friday and Christmas Eve December 27, 2015 Black Friday and pre-Christmas shopping may have been a letdown for brick and mortar retailers, but Boxing Day certainly delivered. In-store shopper traffic soared by 3.36 per cent year-on-year on 26 December, according to data from retail intelligence firm FootFall, showing that the rise is mainly driven by an increase in shopping centre footfall counteracting [...]
That Christmas feeling: Scientists have located the “Christmas spirit” in our brains December 17, 2015 That warm, fuzzy, Christmassy feeling we get every December is not just in our imagination – it's a physiological change that can actually be located in our brains. A study published in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal shows how the “Christmas Spirit” is present in five different areas of the brain during [...]
The Christmas Dinner Index: Your Christmas dinner will cost one per cent less this year as mince pie prices fall December 24, 2015 Some festive news from RBS analyst Richard Ramsey, who has pointed out that the economics elves at Mintec have been hard at work figuring out how much the good people of Britain will shell out for their supper on Christmas day – and it turns out the price has fallen. The Christmas Dinner Index, which takes into account the costs of all [...]
These are the professions where people are most likely to have to work on Christmas Day December 22, 2015 While most of us head home for Christmas and push work firmly to the back of our minds, that isn't the case for everyone – almost three per cent of Britons will be heading to work as usual. Figures from Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveal that across the nation, 900,000 people will work on Christmas Day [...]
Investigation launched into Network Rail reliability after delays and cost overruns June 12, 2015 Network Rail is to be investigated by Britain's rail regulator after it was accused of delivering poor punctuality and reliability on some of its key routes. The routes, some of which are the busiest commuter routes in the country, were "below requirements", according to the regulator, the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). They are operated [...]