Bosses at Joules brace for ‘significant loss’ in pre-tax profit this year August 19, 2022 Bosses at retailer Joules are bracing for a “significant loss” in profit in the first half of this year, as inflation and the recent heatwave hit sales. While the company expects its finances to improve in the second half of the year, the board announced today, Joules is expected to report a pre-tax loss for [...]
FCA warns providers of BNPL products about unregulated promotions August 19, 2022 The UK’s financial regulator has written to providers of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products and the British Retail Consortium warning about unregulated promotions. The Financial Conduct Authority outlined that products must comply with promotion rules, and some unauthorised firms may be breaking the law if their products aren’t backed up by an approved company. [...]
UK retail sales recover with the lure of summer promotion deals despite inflation August 19, 2022 Retail sales have recovered since June, as penny pinching Brits seek to navigate worsening inflation, according to official figures today. Around three quarters of adults have said they are very or somewhat worried about the rising costs of living in the past two weeks, according to a separate poll by the ONS. Sales, carried by [...]
Dire economy drags UK consumer confidence down to lowest level ever August 19, 2022 “Exasperation” with the plight of the UK economy has eroded consumer confidence to the lowest level ever, reveals a closely watched survey published today. Households are being downtrodden by a string of bleak economic news, uncertainty over how they will cope with sky-high energy bills during the winter months and sharp fall in spending power. [...]
Downing tools: Investors pile into bets against B&Q owner as DIY boom slows August 18, 2022 The troubled owner of retailer B&Q has become the most shorted stock on the London Stock Exchange this week as two top investors revealed hefty bets against the firm.
Historic inflation surge to swell UK debt interest bill to over £200bn August 18, 2022 A historic inflation surge is set to swell the UK’s debt interest bill to over £200bn, top economists have warned today. Britain’s public purse is set to come under intense pressure over the next two years that may cause the government to miss their borrowing fiscal rule, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). [...]
AO World swings to £37m loss as costs skyrocket August 18, 2022 Online electrical retailer AO World revealed it had swung to a £37m loss in the year to March as costs skyrocketed and pandemic-induced boom in sales dropped off.
Bank of England to launch another jumbo rate hike to tame over 10 per cent inflation August 17, 2022 The Bank of England is set to launch a series of jumbo rate hikes to tame inflation that is beginning to be driven by domestic factors, City economists warned today. Prices climbed 10.1 per cent annually in July, the fastest acceleration since February 1982 and much higher than the Bank and analysts’ forecasts, according to [...]
UK’s cost-of-living crisis could spark ‘Great Reshuffle’ as workers seek out better paid jobs August 17, 2022 Soaring inflation could spark a “Great Reshuffle” in the UK’s job market as workers are increasingly prioritising higher salaries in seeking to manage rising living costs, a survey of 2,000 workers shows. More than half (55 per cent) of UK workers are actively looking for jobs with a view to securing higher salaries due to [...]
Asda chair slams Boris Johnson for not being ‘in charge’ as UK flounders amid cost of living crisis August 17, 2022 Boris Johnson has been lambasted by Asda boss Stuart Rose for being on “shore leave” as the UK faces economic turmoil. The supermarket chairman has criticised the Prime Minister for treating his last few weeks in the job as “one big party,” while the country is in the throes of a cost of living crisis. [...]