UK inflation leaps to 10.4 per cent smashing Bank of England and City forecasts March 22, 2023 UK inflation has surpassed forecasts and stayed in the double digits, in a sign the Bank of England will need to keep hiking interest rates to tame prices, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases jumped to 10.4 per cent in February, up from 10.1 per cent in January, according to the [...]
Milk, meat and fruit worst affected as supermarket groceries DOUBLED in cost over last year, Which? says March 22, 2023 The cost of some everyday groceries has more than doubled over the last year, consumer brand Which? has found. The company analysed inflation on more than 25,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. Which? looked at the average price of the products in the three [...]
Morrisons slashes prices AGAIN as supermarket attempts to woo Aldi and Lidl shoppers back to its aisles March 20, 2023 Morrisons is slashing prices for the third time in three months as it attempts to drag shoppers back from value retailers including Aldi and Lidl. The supermarket said it was cutting the prices of 460 items such as beef mince, cleaning products and fruit, in a move that followed on from a round of price [...]
Deliveroo shares slide as £1.9bn reported revenue fails to bolster market confidence in food delivery favourite March 16, 2023 Deliveroo shares have continued to pedal downwards this morning as investors struggle to regain confidence in the brand following its decision to slash some 350 job roles and disastrous IPO listing. It comes as the food delivery group, which has seen its share price fall consecutively over the past 12 months due to tough market [...]
US inflation tumbles to lowest level since September 2021 but price pressures complicate Fed rate decision March 14, 2023 US inflation has dropped to the lowest level since September 2021, but underlying price pressures are still sticking around, complicating the Federal Reserve’s rate decision next week, official figures out today show. The rate of price growth in the world’s largest economy trimmed to six per cent over the year to February, down from 6.4 [...]
Alcopops out, frozen berries in: How Brits’ shopping habits are changing the inflation basket March 13, 2023 Brits are swapping alcopops for frozen fruit as the nation looks to favour more healthy and environmental options in 2023, statistics from the ONS’ inflation basket can reveal. The tool which measures consumer spending patterns has also shown that non-chart CDs, and digital compact cameras have disappeared from UK shopping lists in the past year, [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on why it’s not all doom and gloom for the economy March 8, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, on why it’s not the time to be gloomy about the UK’s prospects, the battle for your coffee pound and a new podcast. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that the UK economy is in a [...]
Retail sales: Shoppers feeling the love in lead up to Valentine’s Day not enough to protect sector from ‘volatile trading conditions’ March 7, 2023 Shoppers scrambling for gifts in the lead up to Valentine’s Day helped boost retail sales in February, however the sector has warned that it’s still facing “volatile trading conditions”. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK total retail sales increased by 5.2 per cent in February as consumers showed they were [...]
Cost of living crisis: One in seven Brits have skipped meals because they cannot afford to eat March 7, 2023 One in seven people have skipped meals due to the rising cost of living, according to a survey. Almost one in 10 have prioritised meals for other family members above themselves and 4% have used a food bank, the Which? consumer insight tracker found. Some seven in 10 (72 per cent) have turned the heating [...]
Inflation in Europe rises to record high, raising spectre of steep ECB interest rate hikes March 2, 2023 European inflation is running at record levels, piling pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep hiking interest rates aggressively this year. The rate of core price increases bumped to a record 5.6 per cent last month, up from 5.3 per cent and up to the highest level since records began in 1999, according [...]