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 [...]
Osborne’s great British sell-off January 7, 2014 MEMBERS of the public and businesses will today be offered the chance to buy government land and property on the open market, a landmark change designed to raise money for Treasury coffers and free up space to build new homes. The scheme, announced today by chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, will see a [...]
Businesses warn against minimum wage rise January 7, 2014 BUSINESS leaders have warned the government against a knee-jerk move to increase the minimum wage, rumoured to be on the cards later this year. John Wastnage of the British Chambers of Commerce warned that current evidence would not support a large increase in the minimum wage and if introduced it could push unemployment up, as [...]
Payday for Brits who lost out in Madoff scheme January 7, 2014 BRITISH investors who were burned in the Bernie Madoff scandal are set to get some of their money back, after the US authorities yesterday levied a $1.7bn (£1bn) fine on JP Morgan. Regulators said the bank bore some of the blame for the fraud by hosting Madoff’s accounts and failing to report concerns over his behaviour. [...]