Inflation rate holds steady but will drop August 18, 2009 INFLATION unexpectedly held steady in July, as rises in the prices of games, toys and hobbies offset falls in the cost of food and drinks. But economists warned that deflation still looms. The Office for National Statistics said that the consumer price index (CPI) – the government’s preferred measure – was unchanged from June, keeping [...]
Budget goods boost Asda’s market share August 13, 2009 WAL-MART owned Asda yesterday said it was stealing market share from other supermarkets as customers shopped around for low prices during the downturn. Asda said over three months to 31 July it had grown its market share of the grocery sector to 17 per cent, up from 16.7 per cent the quarter before. Tesco continues [...]
Careful not to cut spending too soon August 11, 2009 ANOTHER day and further signs there is some life left in the poor battered UK economy.. Yesterday it emerged that house prices rose for the third month in a row in June, according to government figures. And takeovers are back, it would seem, with the blue-chip insurer Friends Provident succumbing to an increased £1.85bn bid [...]
Retail sales mixed in July August 10, 2009 SPENDING on home improvements and seasonal clothing clearances boosted retail sales in July. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today, retail sales values rose by 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to the previous July. On the three-month weighted average of May to July, like-for-like retail sales values rose [...]
Mix banging techno with minke whales in spectacular, friendly Iceland August 9, 2009 THE high cost of a pint of beer used to mean that Iceland was out of bounds for all but the most well-heeled traveller. But the financial catastrophe the country has suffered in the wake of the credit crunch, while devastating for its population, has made it far more accessible, and tourism is expected to [...]
Pressure to raise QE after mixed data August 4, 2009 ANNUAL growth in broad money supply slowed to its weakest since 1999 in the second quarter, according to data released yesterday by the Bank of England, just two days before its monetary policy decision. The figures showed that broad money supply growth excluding intermediate other financial corporations such as pension funds, fell to 3.1 per [...]
ONLY A WEAK YEN POINTS TO REAL GROWTH August 2, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR,FOREX.COM President Obama last week claimed that the US may be seeing the “beginning of the end” of the recession and his words coincided with subtle improvements in the tone of some central banks, whose rhetoric provides a useful gauge as to how the world is moving on in the wake of the [...]
Wetherspoon is boosted by cheap booze July 15, 2009 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon yesterday said it expected its pre-tax profit for the year to 26 July to come in towards the top end of market expectations, after cost cutting improved margins. The pub chain, known for its low-cost food and bargain booze said in a trading update that like-for-like sales in the financial year to [...]
Deflation hits Eurozone bloc July 15, 2009 THE Eurozone annual rate of inflation was negative in June for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999, official data showed yesterday. Eurostat said that annual inflation was -0.1 per cent last month, down from 0.0 per cent in May. Monthly inflation was 0.2 per cent. The fastest drop in prices [...]
Inflation falls below Bank’s 2pc target July 14, 2009 CONSUMER price inflation fell below the Bank of England target of two per cent for the first time since September 2007, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that the consumer prices index (CPI) fell to 1.8 per cent in June, on an annual basis while the broader retail [...]