UK high street sales drop at record rate April 11, 2011 SPENDING on the UK high street plummeted at a record rate last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said today. The year-on-year drop was partly due to the Easter holidays switching to April this year, which delayed a traditional boost in spending. “This year’s later Easter is a factor but this fall goes way beyond [...]
RISING COSTS CAST SHADOW ON EARNINGS April 11, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT AFTER months of pressure, Portugal finally gave in last week and approached the European Commission for financial aid. This caused widespread relief, as the EU has been desperate to create a firewall between Greece, Ireland and Portugal and the rest of the Eurozone. The consensus is that this latest bailout will [...]
Egypt inflation hits 11-month high April 10, 2011 Urban consumer inflation in Egypt accelerated in the year to March to an 11-month high, pushed up by soaring food prices that contributed to the mass protests that eventually toppled president Hosni Mubarak. Urban consumer inflation in Egypt rose to 11.5 per cent in the 12 months to March, its highest level since April 2010, [...]
Factory gate inflation in surprise rise April 8, 2011 Factory gate inflation unexpectedly accelerated in March to its highest since October 2008 after strong rises in the cost of petroleum and food, official data showed. The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low this week but evidence of building price pressures is a worry at a time when consumer price inflation [...]
Gold hits new record high against dollar April 6, 2011 GOLD soared to a fresh record high in New York yesterday, explained widely by spiralling inflation and tumbling confidence in the US dollar. Silver also spiked, to a 31-year high, with investors turning to both metals as “safe havens” amid economic uncertainty and historically accommodative monetary policy. “The record price of gold is only coming [...]
FTSE nears seven-year high as M&S boosts retail sector April 6, 2011 BANKS helped drive Britain’s top shares to a near seven-week high yesterday following a Portuguese debt auction, while Marks & Spencer rose on better-than-expected sales, lifting sentiment in retailers. The FTSE 100 ended up 34.07 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,041.13, its highest closing level since 18 February. Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager [...]
Shop price inflation eases April 6, 2011 Shop price inflation slowed in March as grocers offered discounts on food, a survey showed, providing some relief to consumers hard-pressed by rising taxes and higher fuel prices. Prices on the high street were still up 2.4 per cent from a year ago, but inflation eased from February’s 27-month high of 2.7 per cent, the [...]
CHINA HIKES RATES April 5, 2011 INTEREST rates in China were hiked for the second time in 2011 yesterday. Benchmark one-year deposit rates rose 0.25 per cent to 3.25 per cent and one-year lending rates went up 0.25 per cent to 6.31 per cent. The central bank has tightened policy since food price inflation soared upwards last year, provoking widespread concerns.
Chinese rate hikes will build pressure on its Pacific partners April 5, 2011 TODAY the interest rate hike announced by the Chinese central bank will kick in. This follows yesterday’s announcement by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) that the benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to 6.31 per cent from 6.06 per cent. At the same time, the one-year deposit rate will rise to 3.25 per cent [...]
Brits sacrifice holidays, says Thomas Cook March 29, 2011 Thomas Cook, Europe’s second biggest travel firm, said UK bookings had slowed as cash-strapped Britons sacrifice their annual two weeks in the sun. “Cumulative summer bookings remain ahead in most markets, although the rate of booking intake has slowed noticeably in the UK as a result of continued economic uncertainty,” the company said yesterday. Thomas [...]