Shoppers hit by soaring petrol price February 24, 2011 RETAIL sales growth slowed substantially this month, with consumers increasingly squeezed by surging petrol prices, weak wage growth and spiralling price inflation. Elevated oil prices, driven up in recent weeks by the crisis in the Middle East and surging Chinese demand, are set to drive petrol close to £1.40 a litre, some observers said. The [...]
Shoppers hit by soaring petrol price February 24, 2011 RETAIL sales growth slowed substantially this month, with consumers increasingly squeezed by surging petrol prices, weak wage growth and spiralling price inflation. Elevated oil prices, driven up in recent weeks by the crisis in the Middle East and surging Chinese demand, are set to drive petrol close to £1.40 a litre, some observers said. The [...]
CBI warns on energy planning delays August 15, 2010 Plans to hand powers to ministers to approve major energy infrastructure projects is making investors nervous about committing to large-scale building projects, according to the CBI. The decision to replace the independent Infrastructure Planning Commission with a Major Infrastructure Unit has been met with concern by the business group, which has identified applications for 37 [...]
Factory orders fall in January January 20, 2011 Factory orders unexpectedly fell in January, but firms are still expecting to raise prices markedly in the coming months, the CBI’s industrial trends survey showed. The Confederation of British Industry survey’s total order book balance fell to -16 this month from a 30-month high of -3 in December. Analysts had expected a reading of -2. [...]
High street sales growth in slowdown January 27, 2011 RETAIL sales for January are up on the same time last year, yet sales growth slowed considerably, according to the Confederation for British Industry (CBI). And consumer confidence has plummeted to a 12 month low, separate data from researchers GfK NOP revealed today. The positive balance of retailers reporting a year-on-year increase in sales dropped [...]
Inflation fears turn up heat ahead of Bank rate decision February 9, 2011 RISING inflation expectations are adding pressure on the Bank of England to lift interest rates, ahead of today’s latest decision by the monetary policy committee (MPC). “Inflation expectations have soared since the last quarter,” said researcher Monica Insoll yesterday, referring to a survey of investors conducted for the ratings agency Fitch. Over half the respondents [...]
New regulator draws on old hands for external members February 17, 2011 THE government yesterday appointed four external members to the board of a new regulator that is meant to replace the FSA and prevent future financial crashes – the Financial Policy Committee (FPC). It also released a new consultation paper on the committee that some said showed it had scaled down its ambitions for the regulator and [...]
CBI calls for clearer energy policy August 8, 2010 The government needs to clarify its energy policy before it loses private sector investment in low carbon projects, according to the CBI. The business group said in a report out today the government should speed up development of carbon capture and storage technology and provide more detail on electricity market reform if it is to [...]
Sterling looks weak but not as frail as the euro and dollar May 10, 2011 STERLING has had a tough year. An underwhelming recovery and loose monetary policy from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have had their impact, neither of which looks to be imminently reversed. But bad as things are, the monetary authorities in the US appear to be wedded to keeping interest rates lower for longer than the [...]
Retail growth slows in January January 27, 2011 Retail sales growth slowed as expected last month but the impact from a rise in sales tax at the start of the month was partly offset by widespread discounting, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed. However, retailers expect the next few months to be tough as household finances come under pressure from [...]