Maersk starts deviating cargo ships away from UK as containers can no longer be unloaded October 12, 2021 Maersk has started rerouting several of its container ships away from Felixstowe because of a backlog of containers in the UK. The Danish shipping giant said it plans to unload its ships elsewhere in Europe before using smaller vessels to finally get deliveries to the UK, according to the Financial Times. Lars Mikael Jensen, head [...]
US reservations by UK travellers rise after reopening announcement October 12, 2021 US reservations by UK-based travellers jumped 150 per cent following an announcement about easing travel restrictions. Bookings soared after the US announced it would reopen in November to vaccinated air travellers on September 20, according to short term rental property management platform, Guesty’s. The volume of reservations for the US for November and December is [...]
Shoppers cut down on supermarket trips amid petrol panic buying October 12, 2021 Brits limited the number of trips they made to supermarkets in the past month because of a reduced availability of fuel. The average household made 15.5 store visits in the past four weeks, the lowest monthly figure since February, according to the grocery market share figures from Kantar. The proportion of groceries bought online – [...]
Wednesday’s GDP figures will remind Brits of sunnier economic times October 12, 2021 The economic mood at the moment is not upbeat. Households are facing an acute cost of living crisis, businesses are warning of shortages at Christmas, inflation is likely to run hotter and for longer than the Bank of England initially expected. Doom and gloom. However, on Wednesday, positivity will be partly revived as the Office [...]
Markets brace for Christmas BoE rate hike October 12, 2021 THE UK could be stung by an earlier than expected rate hike as the Bank of England moves to hose down runaway inflation. Investors kicked off the week yesterday by repositioning their bets toward a first rate increase since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis at the Bank’s last rate setting meeting of the year [...]
Customers hesitant to buy bulky furniture amid fuel worries October 12, 2021 Brits were hesitant to purchase larger goods like furniture last month amid damp weather and fuel shortage concerns. September marked the slowest retail sales growth since January, when the UK was subject to lockdown measures. UK retail sales decreased 0.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis from September 2020, when they had increased 6.1 per [...]
Looming cost of living crisis pinches Brits’ confidence in finances October 12, 2021 The spectre of inflation is acutely impacing Brits’ confidence in the health of their finances. Nine in 10 households are worried about their finances, found research by Barclaycard. Brits across the country are facing a severe cost of living crisis caused by soaring energy prices, wider inflation and looming tax hikes, which is weighing down [...]
Clubbing sector has lost 86k jobs since start of pandemic October 11, 2021 The country’s cultural nightlife sector has lost some 86,000 jobs since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), commissioned a report titled ‘A study of the night time economy’, in which it argued against a return of Covid measures. An estimated 393,000 jobs were lost in the night time economy while [...]
UK business output falls to lowest level since lockdown October 10, 2021 Business output has shrunk to its lowest level of growth since the reopening of the economy as staff shortages and supply chain disruptions battered productivity last month. The closely-watched BDO Output Index suggests a slowdown across both manufacturing and services, falling more than five index points month-on-month to 100.69, effectively indicating average trend growth just [...]
Consumer confidence slips to pre-Covid levels as shoppers see supplies squeezed October 10, 2021 Consumer confidence has dipped to its lowest level this year, as inflation, the energy crisis and HGV driver shortages take their toll on the outlook to Christmas, according to a new report by PwC. Following record highs earlier in the year, consumer confidence saw a decline in almost every age, region and demographic category, and [...]