Aldi posts record December sales of £1.4bn after Christmas and World Cup surge January 3, 2023 Aldi today said it had achieved record December sales of more than £1.4bn following a surge in demand over the winter month, as the Christmas period coincided with the World Cup in Qatar. The budget supermarket said its sales increased 26 per cent during December, despite the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, due to surging demand for meats, cheeses [...]
Year Ahead: Squeeze on household incomes to intensify as tough recession will dominate 2023 January 3, 2023 2023 is expected to be an exceptionally tough year for the UK economy. The country is almost certainly already in a year-long recession, one that will probably prove to be deeper than that experienced in the early 1990s. The squeeze on household real incomes will intensify as rising interest rates join soaring inflation. Admittedly, the [...]
Hotel Chocolat looks beyond Europe and signs deal with Japanese corporation January 3, 2023 Leading British chocolate brand Hotel Chocolat is looking beyond Europe after Brexit and has signed a new partnership with a major Japanese corporation. The tabletop favourite has teamed up with the Tokyo-based Eat Creator Corporation, after trading in Japan for the last four years. The chocolate maker reported a £9.4m loss for 2022 loss in [...]
Amid a recession and a cost of living crisis, there are still reasons to be cheerful on the economy January 3, 2023 A recession and a cost of living crisis will dominate the headlines, but it's not all bad news for the UK economy, writes City A.M. economics correspondent Jack Barnett
Britain’s economic future depends on a vibrant, modern City of London January 3, 2023 From climate change to the cost-of-living crisis, the City must be a part of Britain’s recovery.
Retail footfall dropped by more than a quarter in week after Christmas January 2, 2023 Footfall across the UK’s retail destinations dropped by more than a quarter in the week after Christmas compared with the week before, figures show. Retail expert Springboard said footfall last week was 27.7 per cent lower than the week before, and 19.7 per cent down on the same week in 2019. It was just 7.2 [...]
MoD accused of ‘blowing millions’ on car hires while cutting Army size January 2, 2023 The Ministry of Defence has been accused of “blowing millions” of pounds on hire cars and taxis last year while cutting the size of the Army. A freedom of information (FoI) request by the PA news agency revealed the MoD spent £16.6m on hire cars for staff in the year to November, up from £12.9m [...]
Vodafone CEO frontrunner critical of telecoms sector January 2, 2023 Vodafone’s former non-executive director and ex-EE chief has publicly criticised the bureaucracy of European telecoms. Olaf Swantee, a Dutch businessman and key figure in the continent’s telecom sector has stated that the sector’s biggest companies are too complex and centralised. He stated that the sector needs to listen to customers. Swantee is rumoured to be [...]
Next: Fashion chain starts January sales early ahead of update January 1, 2023 Fashion chain Next is set to shine a light on the health of the retail sector in the aftermath of the “crucial” Christmas shopping period. Investors will be closely watching the clothing and homeware giant’s trading update on Thursday for detail on its sales figures over the festive season. In August, chief executive Lord Wolfson [...]
Gloomy skies: London’s FTSE 100 set for a rocky start to 2023 January 1, 2023 FTSE 100 could benefit from China re-opening but global headwinds threaten The London market kicks off 2023 with a gloomy backdrop as the UK is forecasted to plunge into recession and economies globally wrestle with sky-high inflation amid the energy and cost crisis. After the extreme volatility of 2022, the FTSE 100 Index is expected [...]