UK retail sales rise slightly in November amid concern over golden quarter Retail The latest ONS data showed retail sales jumped 0.2 per cent last month, following a 0.7 per cent fall in October.
Bank of England holds interest rates and downgrades growth forecasts Economics The Bank of England held interest rates at 4.75 per cent today, while downgrading economic forecasts for the UK towards stagnant growth. Only six members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates steady, less than had been expected, as three voted to cut rates by 0.25 per cent citing fears over [...]
Shoe Zone shares crash as Budget deals major blow to profit plans Retail Shares in Shoe Zone have plummeted to their lowest value for more than three years after the company warning the changes announced in the Autumn Budget has forced it to close a number of stores. The Leicester-headquartered retailer issued a trading update to the London Stock Exchange in which it revealed the impacted that “significant [...]
Shoe Zone: Firm slams Budget tax hikes as it’s forced to close ‘unviable’ stores December 18, 2024 Shoe Zone has said it has been forced to close “a number” of stores following higher costs announced in the Autumn budget. The affordable footwear company said a combination of lower consumer confidence following the budget, plus “significant additional costs” due to the increases in National Insurance and the National Living Wage, have made the stores [...]
UK inflation spikes ahead of Bank of England rates decision December 18, 2024 UK inflation spiked to 2.6 per cent ahead of the Bank of England’s meeting to decide interest rates later this week. Year-on-year inflation matched expectations of 2.6 per cent in November, up from 2.3 per cent in October, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed. Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out volatile commodities like [...]
Strong wage growth kills hopes of interest rate cut December 17, 2024 Analysts have warned that strong wage growth data reported this morning has killed any chance that the Bank of England will cut interest rates later this week. While the central bank had been widely expected to hold interest rates at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, the decision has been cemented by wages rising [...]
Retail jobs slashed as high costs lead to automation and outsourcing December 17, 2024 The number of jobs offered by the UK’s largest private sector employer – retail – has dropped again, as companies shift to outsourcing and automation in an effort to deal with higher costs. This trend has been ongoing for some time, and is responsible for both job loss and a lack of job creation as [...]
Currys reports £32m Budget tax hit December 12, 2024 Consumer electronics retailer Currys has become the latest company to warn about the impact of Labour’s tax raid on its bottom line. In its half-year results for the six months to 26 October 2024, published this morning, management said the estimated cost of recent tax policy changes could amount to as much as £32m. The [...]
Labour’s business backers – where are they now? December 10, 2024 Labour won the public backing of over 120 business chiefs in a letter before the election – but the enthusiasm of those executives appears to have dimmed since then. City AM tried to track them down. It was a letter that seemed to signal a tectonic shift in British politics when it landed in newspapers [...]
OakNorth boss says ‘wealth creators’ leaving UK over tax hikes December 9, 2024 The co-founder and chief executive of challenger bank OakNorth has warned that “wealth creators” are fleeing the UK over tax hikes as he accused the new government of falling short on entrepreneurship. Rishi Khosla, whose start-up bank has lent more than £10bn to businesses since launching in 2015, told City AM that “even when you [...]