City workers slam class war Budget March 24, 2010 THE City was left unconvinced by yesterday’s Budget, slamming Darling for failing to provide a clear outline on how the government was planning to reduce its huge deficit. Banks were being sent a contradictory message, critics said, pointing out that Darling has asked nationalised banks such as Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland to [...]
House price rises expected as level of confidence soars January 24, 2010 CONFIDENCE in the UK housing market has jumped more than five-fold in the last year. The number of people expecting house prices to increase over the next 12 months has risen from 10 per cent at the start of 2009 to 53 per cent. The British public expect only a modest rise, according to Rightmove, [...]
Enterprise Inns sees sales lift January 21, 2010 PUB group Enterprise Inns reported improving sales after many of its struggling licensees saw a long-awaited upturn in business. The UK’s second largest pub company said average net income per pub declined by 4 per cent in the 16 weeks to 16 January – compared to 8 per cent in the last financial year. Shares [...]
Tough economic climate and fiscal laxity to keep pressure on sterling March 3, 2010 JANE FOLEY RESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM IN CONTRAST to last month’s meeting, today’s decision by the Bank of England has not been billed as a headline event. February’s meeting had a much higher profile, thanks to its coincident timing with the quarterly inflation report, which gives the central bank a fresh set of growth and inflation [...]
Primark sales surge thanks to boom in budget fashions January 14, 2010 PRIMARK owner Associated British Foods (ABF) revealed healthy trading figures yesterday – mainly thanks to the budget fashion arm. Primark’s 196-strong chain saw sales rise 19 per cent in the 16 weeks to 2 January, with house broker Panmure Gordon estimating a seven per cent like-for-like sales rise as consumers made their way to its [...]
M&S LEADS HIGH STREET RECOVERY January 4, 2010 HIGH street bellwether Marks & Spencer is this week expected to report its first sales growth in two years, boosting hopes that British consumers have cast aside their gloom and started spending again. The retail giant will update the market on Wednesday on how it fared over Christmas, with analysts expecting M&S to post like-for-like [...]
WH Smith is still upbeat in spite of drop in sales January 27, 2010 WH SMITH yesterday reported a four per cent drop in group like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High Street stores saw a comparative sales fall of five per cent while sales at its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH [...]
Consumer confidence wanes as economic worries remain November 29, 2009 CONSUMER confidence dipped slightly in November – the first time in over a year that the index has fallen – after recording the highest level of consumer confidence in a year and a half only last month, GfK NOP will today report. Four out of five measures of consumer confidence experienced a marked downturn: confidence [...]
Banks boost FTSE on hopes that RBS results bring cheer February 24, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, led by banks and echoing gains on Wall Street as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke assuaged fears of an earlier than expected interest rate rise. The FTSE 100 ended 27.83 points higher at 5,342.92 buoyed by the Fed chairman’s statement and after it had closed 0.7 [...]
Morrisons to trump its retail rivals January 17, 2010 WM MORRISON supermarkets is expected to announce outstanding trading results this week as it emerges from the Christmas period outperforming its rivals. Like-for-like sales of the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket chain are predicted to have improved seven per cent on the previous year, adding to the impressive turnaround overseen by soon-to-depart chief executive Marc Bolland. Bolland [...]