Debenhams sees sales dip July 1, 2010 DEBENHAMS has posted a fall in underlying third-quarter sales but said it was winning market share and its gross margins were rising. Sales at stores open over a year fell 0.4 percent in the 42 weeks to 19 June. Debenhams, with about 160 stores in Britain and Ireland and more than 50 franchised outlets overseas, [...]
Bank must restore its credibility August 10, 2010 OF all the people who regulated (or failed to regulate) the financial services industry throughout the banking crisis, Bank of England governor Mervyn King has emerged as the man whose authority has perhaps been most enhanced. Going into the crisis with an institution that sets monetary policy and general supervision, he will emerge, thanks to [...]
CITY VIEWS: CAN WE ATTRIBUTE THE RISE IN CAR SALES TO AN IMPROVEMENT IN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE ABOUT THE ECONOMY? November 5, 2009 JAMES NOYCE ACCENTURE“The figures surprise me – I wouldn’t have thought people were up for buying new cars at the moment. I think the rise is more down to the scrappage scheme than an increase in confidence because people are concerned the UK is lagging behind Europe in terms of recovery.” ABROR ABDULAZIZOV PRUDENTIAL“No, I [...]
IT’S THE HALF YEAR BLUES, AND THERE IS PLENTY OF RED INK June 30, 2010 GEOFF WILKINSON HEAD OF RESEARCH, MINT EQUITIES AND so another quarter wends its way to a weary end. The simple fact is that the S&P 500 is currently down 10 per cent on the quarter, which is woeful enough, but supposedly buoyant China has fallen twice as much. Our money is safely tucked away in [...]
UK consumers are at their most confident in two years January 28, 2010 CONSUMERS are at their most confident in almost two years despite Britain’s flagging growth prospects, according to a leading index published today. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index rose two points to -17, which is 20 points higher than it was this time last year. Consumers are also feeling happier about the economic situation over the [...]
US confidence is riding high May 25, 2010 US consumer confidence rose in May to its highest level in more than two years as an improving jobs outlook defied for now the growing fears about European debt market turmoil and threats to global growth. By contrast, the US housing market, another pillar of the economy, is looking shaky after the expiration at the [...]
Mortgage lending in slim rise June 2, 2010 MORTGAGE approvals by a forecast-beating two per cent in April. The Bank of England said approvals edged up to 49,871 in April from 49,008 in March and the highest since December. However, net mortgage lending rose less than expected, up £490m in April from £168m in March and below forecasts for a rise of £700m. [...]
British consumers remain cautious over year ahead April 29, 2010 BRITISH consumers are still cautious about the future for both their personal finances and the general economic situation, the latest consumer confidence survey from GfK NOP will show today. The overall consumer confidence index dipped by one point in April to -16, but is still well above last April’s figure of -27. The uptick in the [...]
S&P 500 is on the edge of a painful correction January 23, 2011 THE SCOTTISH journalist Bertie Charles Forbes once said: “Optimism is the stuff of which American business success is fashioned”. He would have seen much to be happy about in the USA now. Though unemployment remains stubbornly high, American investors at least are seeing the bright side. The S&P 500 index of stocks has rallied by [...]
S&P 500 is on the edge of a painful correction January 23, 2011 THE SCOTTISH journalist Bertie Charles Forbes once said: “Optimism is the stuff of which American business success is fashioned”. He would have seen much to be happy about in the USA now. Though unemployment remains stubbornly high, American investors at least are seeing the bright side. The S&P 500 index of stocks has rallied by [...]