Stats office rejects RPI change January 10, 2013 The way that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation is calculated will be left unchanged, the Office for National Statistics has said. Following a three-month consultation over how RPI is calculated, Jil Matheson, the government’s top statistical adviser, said that the existing RPI index did not meet current international standards but it would [...]
Tesco enjoys Christmas sales boost January 10, 2013 Supermarket giant Tesco this morning posted its highest UK sales growth in three years over the Christmas period, as its turnaround plan is starting to kick in. Like for like UK sales grew by 1.8 per cent in the six weeks to 5 January, driven by a strong performance from its food division and from [...]
Jessops falls into administration January 9, 2013 High-street camera specialist Jessops became the latest casualty of the high street today and filed for administration. PwC has been appointed as administrator for the camera specialist, which has 192 stores and around 2,000 employees in the UK. PwC said that Jessops had seen a significant decline in its core marketplace in 2012, and forecasts [...]
FTSE 100 up on US earnings optimism January 9, 2013 Engineers and financial stocks led the blue chip index up in early trading, as a solid start to the US earnings season boosted investors’ appetite for stocks. Miners also advanced as investors welcomed news that Alcoa, the US’s biggest aluminium producer, forecasted a positive outlook for 2013. The FTSE 100 – trading around 0.4 per [...]
US crude oil output to hit 7.9m barrels a day next year January 9, 2013 US crude oil production is expected to rise to 7.9m barrels a day in 2014, marking the highest annual level of production since the late 1980s. According to the US Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, US domestic crude oil production will increase to 7.3m barrels a day this year, before rising to 7.9m barrels [...]
Centamin shrugs off Sukari woes as fourth quarter production hits record levels January 9, 2013 Despite a temporary closure of the Sukari mine in December, Egyptian miner Centamin this morning said gold output at its flagship asset jumped 45 per cent in the final quarter of last year. The FTSE 250 miner said that total gold production over the three months to December hit a record 85,543 ounces, a 45 [...]
Sales up at the Restaurant Group January 9, 2013 The Restaurant Group said its full-year turnover was up nine per cent year on year, as people eschewed high-end restaurants for more casual dining chains. The FTSE 250 company, which owns the Frankie & Benny’s, Garfunkel’s and Chiquito chains, said sales at stores open longer than a year were up 4.5 per cent over the [...]
Sainsbury’s unveils rise in Christmas sales January 9, 2013 Sainsbury’s saw a record number of customers over the Christmas period, as it reported a small rise in sales over its third quarter. In a trading statement this morning, the supermarket posted an increase of 3.9 per cent in total sales over the 14 weeks to 5 January, while sales at stores open longer than [...]
FTSE 100 edges up as Anglo American names new chief executive January 8, 2013 Markets made a hesitant start to the day, and the FTSE 100 edged up slightly in early trading. News that Mark Cutifani has been appointed to the top job at global miner Anglo American stole the headlines this morning. He starts the role on 3 April and takes over from current head Cynthia Carroll. As [...]
Strong online and mobile demand boosts Domino’s January 8, 2013 Pizza delivery firm Domino’s this morning reported strong sales growth over the final quarter of 2012, driven by strong growth in online and mobile sales. Sales over the 14 weeks to 30 December grew by 20 per cent to £174.5m, while over 2012 as a whole, sales were up by 12.7 per cent. Online sales [...]
