Cheer up, Friday was only the ninth worst day in the history of sterling June 28, 2016 Sterling has been hammered since Thursday night. When EU referendum polls closed, a single pound was swapping hands for $1.50. Now it will only get you $1.33. The fall on Friday of 7.6 per cent – on historically comparable calculations – was the sharpest since the pound has been a free floating currency in the [...]
Brexit vote gives defined benefit pensions yet another battering, as markets swing wildly after Leave decision is revealed June 26, 2016 The vote for Brexit may have driven another nail into the coffin of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, after the markets went into meltdown on Friday. Figures from Hargreaves Lansdown show that around 33 per cent of UK scheme investments consist of shares, 25 per cent of which are UK shares, which will have come as [...]
Online shopping drove retail sales in May as high street stores sufferred June 7, 2016 Online shopping drove retail sales in May, as the high street faced the prospect of permanently declining footfall and the collapse of both BHS and Austin Reed. Growth in non-food products was up by 13.7 per cent in May year-on-year, a figure higher than both the three-month and 12-month averages of 9.9 per cent and 12.2 [...]
Long Weekend review: Le Pavillon des Lettres is Paris’ hideaway for linguists and bookworms May 20, 2016 THE WEEKEND: They may still deliver the wow factor but we’ve all done the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre more times than we can remember. For a trip to Paris with a difference, brush up on your rusty GCSE French and soak up the city’s vast cultural history while indulging in world famous patisserie, wine [...]
Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson are Britain’s worst dressed men, but which mayoral candidate would Brits take style advice from? May 5, 2016 When all other political attacks fail, it never hurts to poke fun at whatever Jeremy Corbyn is wearing at PMQs. There's a reason why: British men believe Jeremy Corbyn is the worst dressed public figure, according to a study from Harvey Nichols. When it comes to style, men think Labour leader Corbyn is the least inspirational, followed by [...]
Oil prices fall back from $45 a barrel as investors cash in one week after failed Doha meeting April 25, 2016 Oil prices slipped back on early monday morning, falling below $45 a barrel again, as investors booked profits off the back of a good few weeks for buyers of the black stuff. Brent Crude was trading at $44.60 on Monday morning, down 1.13 per cent from Friday's close. The price had dipped as low as $44.49 at one stage. [...]
Prepare to salivate: John Lewis predicts the 10 things we’re going to go nuts for in autumn/winter 2016 April 22, 2016 Yes, the summer has only just arrived (or has it? Is this really it?) but retailers are already one step ahead of us, forecasting what we'll be buying this autumn/winter. Well it is only 246 days until Christmas. So while you might be daydreaming about which holiday clothes you're going to splurge on, the buyers [...]
Oil continues its mighty ascent as Kuwait strike helps shake off Doha disappointment April 19, 2016 Oil is proving to be not so slippery after all this week, as the benchmark commodity extended yesterday’s gains to climb even further above $40 (£27.90) a barrel this morning. Brent Crude is now trading at $43.26, up 0.82 per cent and back to levels seen last Friday before the weekend’s shenanigans in Doha, where the [...]
What to expect from the big US bank results this week – JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs April 13, 2016 Investors will get their first look this week at just how bad 2016 is expected to be for some of the worlds biggest banks. JP Morgan Chase has already released results for its first quarter, managing to beat analyst expectations, though profits still bombed by seven per cent. A Reuters poll revealed that analysts are [...]
Will Marks & Spencer’s new boss Steve Rowe “kitchen sink” the retailer? April 4, 2016 Marks & Spencer's new boss Steve Rowe picked up the reins from Marc Bolland on Friday – just days before the troubled retailer is due to reveal its fourth quarter figures. If M&S' most recent set of results is anything to go by, investors can probably expect another set of declines – particularly within general [...]