FTSE 100 today: London markets set to open higher following Asian peers’ lead May 28, 2024 Asian markets paused post-rally; oil prices rose, UK retail prices fell. Investors await US GDP and core PCE data.
A supermarket crackdown on seasonal workers picking UK fruit is too little, too late March 22, 2023 Our farms heavily rely on seasonal workers. But the system is ripe for exploitation - and supermarkets and other stakeholders have a responsibility to fix it, writes Elena Siniscalco
The Notebook: Susannah Streeter talks Brits’ love of brands, ready meals and Eurovision May 16, 2023 The notebook is a place for interesting people to say interesting things. Today, it’s the turn of former journalist and now Hargreaves Lansdown’s head of money and markets Susannah Streeter. Our love of big brands helps fuel inflation fires Brand power is the much-lauded virtue of the world’s most successful companies. But this much-admired characteristic is partly [...]
UK retail sales’ sluggish new year start as cash-strapped Brits go online to nab deals February 17, 2023 UK retail sales remained muted in January following December’s fall, with fuel sales spiking and prices continuing to plummet. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the figures which showed retail sales volumes increased by just half a per cent last month. This comes after it dipped by 1.2 per cent in December, despite the [...]
Brits hold back on buying sofas and fridges as cost of living climbs May 10, 2022 Brits have held back on buying big ticket items, such as furniture, as living costs spiral. Retail sales in the UK fell on a like-for-like basis by 1.7 per cent last month, compared to April 2021. Sales growth went into decline for the first time in 15 months as retailers face a balancing act between [...]
No more Netflix and chill: Consumers cancel subscriptions and miss out on meals out amid historic inflation June 7, 2022 Consumers are tightening their purse strings by cancelling digital subscriptions and holding off on buying new sofas, as inflation sits at a 40-year high. Shoppers’ hesitancy to splash the cash on unnecessary treats or big ticket purchases has contributed to a retail sales growth slowdown, according to a tranche of spending statistics published today. May [...]
Spending cool down weighs on London-listed supermarkets April 12, 2022 Early signs of consumers pulling back on spending drove supermarkets lower today in the City, dragging down London’s top indexes. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.55 per cent to 7,576.66 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250, which is more aligned to the health of the UK economy, fell by the same amount [...]
Egg farmers threaten to stop production in price row with supermarkets April 19, 2022 Egg farmers have warned they could be forced to stop production after claiming the country’s biggest supermarkets are “suffocating businesses.” Farmers have previously called on supermarkets to raise the price of eggs as producers struggle with significant feed and energy cost increases. Now, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) has said farmers may [...]
Omi-gone: Brits flock back to pubs, bars and restaurants as social spending climbs January 13, 2022 The damaging drag the re-imposition of Covid-19 curbs had on Brits’ confidence is easing, reveal official figures released today. Britons rushed back to pubs, bars and restaurants in the immediate aftermath of Christmas and New Years in a sign that plan B’s blow to the UK services economy will disappear into the ether. Consumers have [...]
Customers hesitant to buy bulky furniture amid fuel worries October 12, 2021 Brits were hesitant to purchase larger goods like furniture last month amid damp weather and fuel shortage concerns. September marked the slowest retail sales growth since January, when the UK was subject to lockdown measures. UK retail sales decreased 0.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis from September 2020, when they had increased 6.1 per [...]