Price increases and better product mixes will help European tobacco companies weather the plain packaging storm, according to Moody’s June 15, 2016 Price increases and stronger product mixes will help European tobacco companies stub out the negative effects of new plain packaging regulations and declining volumes, according to new research from Moody's. European tobacco giants Imperial Brands, Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT) and Swedish Match will stay resilient and experience steady operating profit growth of around four [...]
Global Drug Survey 2016: UK tops the list for legal high buys while use of the dark web rises June 14, 2016 The UK had the highest rate of legal high purchases in 2015 of any country surveyed in the largest study of drug use worldwide. The Global Drug Survey (GDS), released today, polled more than 100,000 drug users in 20 countries including the US, UK, Mexico, Colombia and Germany. It found respondents from the UK had a purchase [...]
The price of bitcoin is back below $700 after making huge gains on Sunday and Monday June 14, 2016 Bitcoin stayed resolutely below $700 (£493) during most of today's trading, after edging to highs of $719 on Monday. By 5pm (GMT), the price of a single bitcoin was worth $673, according to market exchange trader Bitcoinity. After opening at $705.62 on CoinDesk, the price of bitcoin had fallen over four per cent to $674.79 by the evening, [...]
Business leaders believe bitcoin will “fail to become a widely accepted method of payment” June 14, 2016 Business leaders do not believe bitcoin, the world's leading cryptocurrency, will become a "widely accepted method of payment" in future, according to new research. More than six in 10 (61 per cent) respondents to the Smith & William Enterprise Index survey also said they did not see bitcoin as having had a big impact on [...]
Britons are set to spend a third of their annual disposable income this summer on travel, clothes and socialising June 14, 2016 Britons are about to loosen their purse strings as new research shows we will spend a third of our annual disposable income on average during the summer on travel, new clothes and socialising. Undeterred by other pressing costs such as soaring rent rates, over a fifth (22.5 per cent) of this spending will go towards travel, with [...]
Referendum uncertainty has hit almost two-thirds of the UK’s medium- and large-sized enterprises June 14, 2016 Almost two-thirds of medium- and large-sized enterprises have suffered as a result of the uncertainty triggered by the EU referendum, according to a new study. In a survey of chief financial officers and key decision makers at UK firms with a turnover of £20m or more, 64 per cent of respondents said their business had [...]
Drinkers raise a glass to posh booze as premium spirits and wine sales soar worldwide June 14, 2016 Posh booze has become the order of the day for the world's drinkers, who are clearly after quality not quantity when it comes to their tipples. Worldwide, the premium-and-above spirits market grew five per cent in 2015, equivalent to 6.7m nine-litre cases on the 2014 total, according to the alcohol analysis firm IWSR's 2016 database. The most [...]
Euro 2016 provided a much-needed boost for UK pubs over opening weekend June 13, 2016 UK pubs are toasting the Euro 2016 opening weekend after the sporting event of the season drove an estimated 26 per cent surge in revenues compared to an average weekend in June. Pubs in Wales posted the biggest increase in takings, as pub sales leapt a whopping 41 per cent on the 2015 average for [...]
All roads lead to China: Surging demand pushes bitcoin above $700 June 13, 2016 The bitcoin price has breached the $700 (£491) mark today, a mere two weeks after the cryptocurrency broke through the psychological $500 barrier for the first time since August 2014. The price of a single bitcoin has hit a high of $703 according to market exchange trader Bitcoinity, while CoinDesk reported a day-high of $706.70 by around 1.30pm (GMT). [...]
Smirnoff has just made cider the new alcopop with its hybrid vodka drink, while Britvic launches new non-alcoholic beverage aimed at millennials June 13, 2016 You heard it here first – cider is now the new alcopop. Smirnoff, the biggest spirits brand in Europe, is aiming to revolutionise the fruit cider category this summer with the launch of its new hybrid drink Smirnoff Cider – a mixture of lightly fizzed cider combined with Smirnoff vodka. The ciders will come in two [...]
