Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Greggs join forces to lobby Sunak to slash business rates May 3, 2022 Supermarket giants have reiterated calls for a cut in business rates as firms endeavour to keep prices competitive for shoppers amid rising inflation. Big names including Morrisons and Co-op have come together under a new Cut the Shops Tax campaign, organised by the Retail Jobs Alliance. In a joint letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, bosses [...]
Households hunker down finances as they brace for worsening cost of living crunch March 1, 2022 Households are hunkering down their finances in preparation for the cost of living crunch to tighten, reveals official data published today. Brits cut back on spending last month and channeled money into their savings accounts to offset a future deterioration in their budgets caused by soaring inflation. Households added £7.8bn to their savings accounts last [...]
OECD inflation scales to 25-year high as cost of living crisis sweeps across rich nations January 11, 2022 Inflation among the world’s top economies has soared to its highest level in 25 years, according to fresh figures released yesterday. The cost of living scaled to 5.8 per cent in November on an annual basis across countries that make up the Organisations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Inflation was driven higher by a [...]
Wave of cost of living concern sweeps across Britain January 5, 2022 A wave of concern over the soaring cost of living is sweeping across Britain, reveals fresh figures released today. Over half of households are worried the cost of living crisis will hit their living standards this year, according to research carried out by high street bank TSB. Nearly one in three Brits are concerned their [...]
Westbrooke Associates: Investment Strategies for Turbulent Times August 16, 2022 Many factors are attributed to 2022 being one of the most volatile global markets on record. Averse to instability and the unknown, currently, markets are enduring rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. Taking into consideration the Ukraine conflict, disruption of Russian energy exports, rising food costs and energy prices, it’s no wonder that market volatility is [...]
Explainer: How the Conservatives lost the farmers’ vote February 21, 2023 The Conservatives have lost Britain’s farmers. In December, support for the Tories among farmers dropped to 42 per cent. For the first time in living memory, less than 50 per cent of the farming community said they would vote Conservative if there was an election tomorrow. In December 2021, that number was 57 per cent. [...]
The Notebook: Brexit has been a failure, and politicians can’t ignore it forever May 7, 2024 James Chapman, director of Soho Communications, takes the Notebook pen to talk Brexit, music and PR lessons from Ed Balls.
Morrisons CEO: Higher prices are coming due to lorry driver shortage September 9, 2021 The boss of supermarket giant Morrisons has warned of pressure on prices due to the lorry driver shortage and higher costs. The takeover target – which is at the centre of a bidding battle between two US private equity firms – said it expects industry-wide retail price inflation in the coming months as a result [...]
Jubilee high street boom risks being upended by cost of living crisis June 3, 2022 The Jubilee fervour driving shoppers back to bricks-and-mortar stores is “fragile” and could be upended by the cost-of-living crisis, experts have warned. According to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), visitor numbers inched up 0.6% between April and May, but are down 12.5% since 2019. However, this is ahead of Italy, France and [...]
Brits hold back on buying sofas and fridges as cost of living climbs May 10, 2022 Brits have held back on buying big ticket items, such as furniture, as living costs spiral. Retail sales in the UK fell on a like-for-like basis by 1.7 per cent last month, compared to April 2021. Sales growth went into decline for the first time in 15 months as retailers face a balancing act between [...]