Wetherspoons in sales dip as tough times hit its pubs May 5, 2010 INTERACTIVE INVESTOR PUBS group JD Wetherspoon is feeling the sobering effects of lower consumer spending and tax and duty rises with sales growth slowing in recent months. Same outlet sales for the 13 weeks to 25 April slipped 0.8 per cent. This was much steeper than the 0.2 per cent decline recorded over the nine [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD April 11, 2010 AFTER a slew of central bank monetary policy decisions last week, this week is dominated by consumer-focused data. In the UK, we’ll get the British Retail Consortium’s March figures and the RICS’ house price balance for last month at midnight tomorrow. Thursday at midnight sees the release of the March Nationwide consumer confidence survey. It [...]
Centrica looks hard at its nuclear option June 13, 2010 CENTRICA’S finance director Nick Luff is busy trying to work out if the new coalition energy secretary Chris Huhne is a man the country’s largest gas and electricity supplier can do business with. Huhne – a Liberal Democrat – had previously described nuclear power as a “failed technology.” But that was before he scented the [...]
Centrica looks hard at its nuclear option June 13, 2010 CENTRICA’S finance director Nick Luff is busy trying to work out if the new coalition energy secretary Chris Huhne is a man the country’s largest gas and electricity supplier can do business with. Huhne – a Liberal Democrat – had previously described nuclear power as a “failed technology.” But that was before he scented the [...]
Public spending slashed by Osborne June 22, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday lived up to his promise of an austerity Budget and announced sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts to regain control of the spiralling public finances. According to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the measures outlined yesterday should see public sector net borrowing fall from £149bn in 2010-11 to £89bn [...]
Public spending slashed by Osborne June 22, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday lived up to his promise of an austerity Budget and announced sweeping tax hikes and spending cuts to regain control of the spiralling public finances. According to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the measures outlined yesterday should see public sector net borrowing fall from £149bn in 2010-11 to £89bn [...]
STERLING AT THREAT FROM A SELL OFF December 1, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week, economic data throughout the G10 was generally positive and supported the risk rally that saw most of the high beta currencies reach yearly highs against the dollar. But just as US traders prepared to sit down to a Thanksgiving meal, the unexpected news from Dubai quickly unwound [...]
THE TIPSTER May 3, 2010 THE US banking sector has been a wild ride for traders of the Select Sector SPDR Financial ETF over the past two weeks. The index, which contains a range of diversified financial firms including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, had added almost 20 per cent since 1 January to a [...]
Factory gate prices surge April 9, 2010 FACTORY gate inflation jumped more than expected to a 16-month high in March, raising doubts that consumer price pressures will subside as fast as the Bank of England expects. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said producer output prices rose 0.9 per cent on the month, more than twice the jump analysts had forecast, for [...]
Happy Easter for West End April 5, 2010 POOR weather and early spring sales offers from retailers drove at least 2m shoppers to the West End over the Bank holiday weekend. Some retailers are understood to have recorded double-digit sales growth on the Friday, although trading did slow down over Saturday and Easter Monday, according to the New West End Company – which [...]