UK retail sales smash expectations in November as the Black Friday effect hits December 17, 2015 UK retail sales performed better than expected last month, partly driven by sales on Black Friday. Retail sales grew five per cent compared with last November, and grew 1.7 per cent from October, the Office for National Statistics reported this morning. James Knightly, a senior global economist at ING, said sales had been expected to rise just [...]
Panic Saturday shoppers to splurge £1.1bn on last-minute Christmas presents December 16, 2015 Retailers are bracing themselves for a stampede of last-minute shoppers this Saturday, with more than 12.6m customers tipped to spend over £1.1bn on last minute Christmas presents and food. Consumers will splash out £2.2m every minute on so-called Panic Saturday, leading to a £6bn shopping spree over the six days to Christmas overall, according to research [...]
Dixons Carphone hails bigger than ever Black Friday as profits beat forecasts December 16, 2015 Dixons Carphone shares climbed three per cent higher this morning after the high street electricals giant beat City expectations with a 23 per cent jump in first-half profits. The FTSE 100 company, which trades as Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse in the UK and Ireland, said strong performance in the UK helped it outperform the [...]
Bonmarche’s share price plummets as chief exec Beth Butterwick leaves for Karen Millen, retailer issues profits warning December 16, 2015 Bonmarche's share price plummeted more than 22 per cent this morning, as the women's retailer revealed its chief executive was stepping down amid a profit warning. Beth Butterwick is leaving the firm after four years to take up the helm at Karen Millen. She is credited with having turned Bonmarche around from its dark days as [...]
Americans bring Thanksgiving to UK retailers as spending soars December 16, 2015 Black Friday’s online bargain frenzy may have dampened sales on the high street. But international shoppers helped to keep tills ringing, with spending up by 10 per cent in the year to November. The biggest jump in spending came from US tourists, up 55 per cent, despite still accounting for just five per cent of [...]
Interest rates, junk bonds and safe-havens: What investors should look out for in 2016 December 15, 2015 This year has been full of surprises for investors – from the Swiss National Bank's shock abandonment of its currency ceiling, to the financial market turmoil which came out of China's "Black Friday". So what should market mavens look out for in 2016? Interest rates will diverge The long-awaited interest rate rise looks some way [...]
The Mog effect? Sainsbury’s share price climbs as grocer outperforms Tesco, Asda and Morrisons as Kantar supermarket figures December 15, 2015 Could it be the Mog effect? Sainsbury's has beaten Tesco, Asda and Morrisons to become the best performing supermarket among the Big Four. In fact, Kantar Worldpanel figures show that Sainsbury's was the only grocer among the top spots to post a growth in sales for the 12 weeks to 6 December, up 1.2 per cent. Tesco and Asda had [...]
FTSE 100 hopes for Santa rally after week of decline -London Report December 14, 2015 This week the market is looking to put aside last week’s pain, which saw the FTSE dip below the 6,000 mark again, as it prepares itself for a much heralded interest rate rise from the US Federal Reserve. Don’t bet on anything other than volatility, however, with markets already nervous about what surprises a change [...]
High street suffers Black Friday blues as footfall slumps in November December 14, 2015 UK high streets suffered a massive slump in footfall in November as shoppers abandoned the high street in favour of bagging a Black Friday bargain online. The number of visitors making shopping trips to their local high streets, retail parks and shopping centres fell by 2.1 per cent year-on-year. This was significantly below the 0.2 per cent fall [...]
Shopping in London: This weekend is going to be the busiest day in the West End for Christmas present buying December 11, 2015 Planning to go shopping in London this weekend? You're not the only one. In fact, retailers in the West End are preparing themselves for the busiest Christmas gift-buying weekend of the year. Shoppers are expected to spend £120m in the next two days – comparable to the £200m spent over the three days of Black [...]