West End Christmas intake to be squeezed by pandemic and cost of living at £1.55bn November 3, 2022 West End Christmas intake is set to be a quarter up from last year but still almost 30 per cent down on pre-Covid levels. Around £1.55bn is set to be splashed out in the heart of London’s shopping district, as the capital bounces back from the pandemic in a restriction-free Christmas. The cost of living [...]
Oxford Street to slash ‘opening hours’ for Christmas lights amid energy crisis September 27, 2022 Oxford Street will lower its energy usage by two-thirds this Christmas as it lights up for the festive season. Amid the ongoing energy crisis, London’s famous light display is brightening the street with energy-efficient LED bulbs and reducing its operating hours this year. The switch on, taking place on 2 November, will illuminate the sky [...]
115,000 posties start Christmas strike today as union boss warns of festive ‘meltdown’ December 9, 2022 More than 100,000 postal workers have begun their Christmas strikes over pay, as the industry’s union boss said Royal Mail is risking a “Christmas meltdown”. Walkouts by posties in the CWU union started this morning, after rejecting Royal Mail’s “final and best” pay offer of a nine per cent rise over two years. The union [...]
Border Force strike: Suella Braverman warns Britons to ‘think carefully’ about Christmas plans December 8, 2022 Home secretary Suella Braverman has warned Britons going away for the festive period to “think carefully” about their Christmas plans. Braverman’s remarks come after Border Force staff at several UK airports – including Heathrow and Gatwick – announced their plans to strike for eight days, between 23 and 26 as well as 28 and 31 [...]
City bosses more Santa than Scrooge this Christmas as it rains parties, presents and bonuses in London November 30, 2022 Despite economic difficulties, London bosses are still planning to give their staff Christmas parties, presents, or bonuses. London employers appear to be going bigger on bonuses, with 56 per cent of London staff expecting a Christmas bonus, compared with just 23 per cent of those in both the South East and South West, and only [...]
Unaffordable Christmas meals loom as food inflation skyrockets to record 12.4 per cent November 30, 2022 It has emerged that food inflation has surged to 12.4 per cent to hit a new record amid predictions of dampened Christmas cheer and an “increasingly bleak” winter. Overall shop prices are now 7.4 per cent higher than last November, up from 6.6 per cent in October, to set another record since the British Retail [...]
Aldi posts record December sales of £1.4bn after Christmas and World Cup surge January 3, 2023 Aldi today said it had achieved record December sales of more than £1.4bn following a surge in demand over the winter month, as the Christmas period coincided with the World Cup in Qatar. The budget supermarket said its sales increased 26 per cent during December, despite the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, due to surging demand for meats, cheeses [...]
A Christmas Carol, the Old Vic review: Bright and joyous, even Scrooges can’t dislike this November 25, 2022 Joy to all – including you Scrooges out there – it’s Christmas! We’ve collectively spent weeks ignoring the Christmas cards and wrapping paper that appears pointlessly early in shops, but now that it’s December it’s actually time to start getting in the mood for the festive season – and the best way to do that, [...]
Pound on course for best week since Christmas 2020 May 21, 2022 The pound was on course for its best week against the dollar since December 2020 driven by investors betting on the Bank of England having to keep raising interest rates to get on top of a historic inflation crunch. Markets are baking in a fifth successive rate hike at the Bank’s next meeting in June [...]
Cocktail of costs: How inflation is expected to squeeze spirit-maker Diageo’s sales and profit despite Christmas boost January 20, 2023 Spirits giant Diageo is expected to report a slowdown in sales and profits next week as consumer spending steadies. However, analysts have predicted that the Johnnie Walker and Baileys maker could deliver a resilient showing when it reveals its half-year update to shareholders on Thursday, January 26. A consensus of analysts have predicted that the [...]