House prices drop unexpectedly – but don’t rule out a bubble just yet January 8, 2014 Mortgage lender Halifax has reported that British house prices fell 0.6 per cent month-on-month in December. The unexpected dip in house prices is a stark contrast with the 1.4 per cent month-on-month increase reported for December by Nationwide. In a poll of economists conducted by Reuters before the data release, not one predicted a fall [...]
Waitrose checks out 22,000 items a minute on busiest day ever January 8, 2014 Waitrose saw its most successful Christmas on record, with sales for the twelve trading days up to 31 December up 6.5 per cent on the same period of 2012. In the five weeks to Christmas Eve, total sales (excluding fuel) rose 5.4 per cent from a year earlier. The store added that on the 23 [...]
Mothercare profit warning sees shares dive January 8, 2014 Mother and baby products retailer Mothercare has warned that "difficult trading" conditions could push its annual profits well below current market expectations. Shares are down over 27 per cent, at 305p, on the news. The company has been particularly squeezed by competitive discounting over the Christmas season. Like-for-like sales at Mothercare stores fell by four [...]
Housebuilders Persimmon and Galliford Try see sales surge January 8, 2014 Some more evidence this morning of a housing market that's gathering momentum. UK house builder Persimmon said it had a "strong finish" to 2013, with the volume of new home sales up 16 per cent over the year to 11,528. In a trading update, the firm said it legally completed 6,506 new homes in the [...]
What you need to know before the open – 08/01 January 8, 2014 European markets are set to open flat this morning, as US employment data and Fed Open Market Committee meeting minutes are due out later today. European opening may be reflective after rudderless rally yesterday – FTSE -2, DAX -14, CAC -4 — David Buik (@truemagic68) January 8, 2014 Strong US data yesterday gave [...]
Sainsbury’s sees “strong” Christmas sales January 8, 2014 Sainsbury's has proved expectations that it'd break its lengthy sales increase record wrong – just. The supermarket has announced like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter, and said it saw "strong" sales in the run-up to Christmas. This marks Sainsbury's 36th quarter in a row of like-for-like growth. Chief [...]
Domino’s takes away bumper sales growth in 2013 January 8, 2014 Domino's Pizza has seen like-for-like sales jump by an impressive 10.9 per cent in its 670 UK mature stores in the 13 weeks to 29 December. The takeaway food company said the rise in sales was partly driven by increased digital marketing activity, as well as a more favourable timing of the Christmas break compared [...]
London overtakes New York as top city for property investment January 8, 2014 LONDON has overtaken New York as the best city in the world to invest in real estate, according to a survey released by a global investor group yesterday. Nearly a quarter of the points awarded to a range of worldwide cities went to London in 2013, with New York in second place with just over [...]
This analyst suggests there is no “new normal” after all January 7, 2014 The "new normal" is a buzzword that's been doing the rounds for quite a while, but might be a fiction, according to Deutsche Bank US chief economist Joseph LaVorgna. Today LaVorgna has released a note titled "Is the old normal the new "new normal"?" That implies that the idea of a shift to very different [...]
The Fed’s one dissenter has just backed QE reductions January 7, 2014 When the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to begin scaling back asset purchases last month, only one voice stood in opposition. Eric Rosengren, Boston Fed president, opposed the $10bn (£6bn) reduction in quantitative easing known as tapering. At the time Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said that further reductions are set to take place throughout [...]