Bring me sunshine! Retailers hit by grim April weather as economy held back by the rain May 9, 2023 Retailers continued to be bruised by soaring inflation and poor weather conditions in April, as the sector holds out hope for summer to give a much needed boost in sales. Data by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that while retail sales rose slightly over five per cent during the month, overall inflation meant that [...]
Card spending jumps in 2023 as Brits splash out on travel and booze December 29, 2023 Debit and credit card spending jumped this year despite inflation and higher household bills, as Brits forked out on holidays and booze.
Business lending to drop at fastest rate in decades as recession fears intensify February 6, 2023 Bank to business lending is forecast to contract sharply in 2023 while mortgage lending will grow at its slowest pace since 2011 as fears of recession intensify, economists have predicted. According to the latest forecast from EY Item Club, an economic forecasting group, bank to business lending is expected to contract 3.8 per cent this [...]
Mountain Warehouse to open 50 new sites after bumper profit September 10, 2024 Mountain Warehouse is set to open another 50 stores next year as part of a rapid expansion plan after achieving a bumper profit last year. The new stores will take the outdoor leisure retailer’s total to around 370 stores across nine countries, according to the Times. It has already opened 20 new stores in the [...]
Staggering 80 per cent of women disregard health for ‘pill popping’ January 5, 2024 In the race to feel and look good, an alarming number of women are 'popping pills' without a full understanding of supplement safety.
SIG: Revenue drops as housing supplier warns of continued weak demand October 2, 2024 Housing supplier SIG has reported another drop in revenue after soft demand for interiors continued to bite. Group like-for-like revenue saw a sequential improvement but still dropped by four per cent in the three months to 20 September, after a seven per cent decline in the first half of the year. SIG said that weak [...]
Why one stockpicker thinks the FTSE 100 is ‘pregnant with value and opportunity’ May 21, 2024 The FTSE 100 and UK markets are "pregnant with value and opportunity", a leading City stockpicker has said
High street struggles: 2,000 local stores, pubs and hairdressers wiped away this year September 21, 2023 Nearly 2,000 independent local stores were left vacant in the first half of this year, as the cost of living crisis continues to eat away at the health of the high street and small businesses. Some 1,915 independent businesses on high streets, retail parks and shopping centres closed in the first leg of this year, marking [...]
Government ‘cannot currently’ tell if £22bn subsidy for biomass plants is genuinely green – watchdog January 24, 2024 The Drax plant in North Yorkshire is the country's primary user of biomass
FTSE 100 live: London markets flat despite inflation boost, miners rise February 27, 2024 Markets were also given a lift by the news that shop price inflation slowed to 2.5 per cent in February, the lowest level seen in two years.