Factory gate inflation eases July 6, 2012 British factory gate inflation eased in June as lower oil prices pushed input costs down at the fastest annual pace since September 2009, data showed. With inflation falling the Bank of England voted on Thursday to pump an extra £50bn into markets to revitalise an economy that fell back into recession at the turn of [...]
MasterCard loses EU card fees court case May 24, 2012 MASTERCARD has said it will appeal an EU court ruling that upholds Brussels’ ban on extra fees for cross-border card transactions. MasterCard’s president in Europe Javier Perez said that the ruling would hinder its development of new payment technologies. Retailers, who benefit from lower fees as a result of the EU ban, welcomed the decision [...]
Tills ring again in May after discounting and summer sun June 21, 2012 RETAIL sales showed a sharp uptick in May compared to a year earlier, Office for National Statistics data released yesterday showed. The overall 3.3 per cent year on year rise was drive by increases in expenditure of 3.9 per cent on household goods, 0.7 per cent on textiles and most importantly 4.1 per cent on [...]
London is ready to party May 31, 2012 Everywhere you turned yesterday there seemed to be rows and rows of festive flags of red, white and blue appearing in place for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. People strolling along Oxford Street could hardly fail to notice the abundance of bunting, crowns and token corgis on display as retailers clamour to lure customers in [...]
M&S sales fall flat as it fails to carve a fashion identity July 10, 2012 THE RETAILER famous for £10 meals and the Per Una brand has stumbled. In this age of austerity, it may come as little surprise that a firm like M&S is falling short. But in reporting its weakest quarterly figures for seven years, its challenges run far deeper. Although M&S’s food sales grew by 2.9 per [...]
May’s sunshine boosts sales on the high street June 6, 2012 THE SUN came out for the British high street in May, as warmer weather gave a boost to the struggling shopping sector. Retail sales were up 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like annualised basis last month, bouncing back from a miserably rainy April in which like-for-likes had plummeted by 3.3 per cent compared to a [...]
Chancellor scraps rise in fuel duty June 26, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne bowed to pressure yesterday, scrapping this year’s planned fuel tax hike in the latest of a series of screeching U-turns by the coalition government. The rise in fuel duty by around 3p per litre will now be delayed until the beginning of next year, postponing a hike due on 1 August – [...]
High streets hit as rain keeps shoppers away May 20, 2012 UK HIGH STREETS suffered the sharpest drop in footfall in more than two years after the wettest April on record convinced already cash-strapped shoppers to stay at home. The number of visitors to stores and shopping centres between February and April was two per cent lower than a year ago, figures from the British Retail [...]
Shoppers stay at home while prices creep up June 5, 2012 SHOP prices increased again in May while footfall kept dropping, industry data showed today. Overall shop price inflation hit 0.4 per cent in May, up from 0.2 per cent in April, according to British Retail Consortium figures, taking the annual price rise up to 1.5 per cent. Food price inflation jumped to 0.6 per cent [...]
Shoppers stay at home while prices creep up June 5, 2012 SHOP prices increased again in May while footfall kept dropping, industry data showed today. Overall shop price inflation hit 0.4 per cent in May, up from 0.2 per cent in April, according to British Retail Consortium figures, taking the annual price rise up to 1.5 per cent. Food price inflation jumped to 0.6 per cent [...]