Russia, Tesco and Alex Salmond feature in the seven biggest losers of 2014 December 17, 2014 It’s Christmas. The time of year when we’re all supposed to be a little more caring, charitable and considerate of those not feeling so swell. But for every champagne toast to success, there is regret at the bottom of a bottle. So summon some of that Christmas spirit for this sorry lot, the seven [...]
UK unemployment sticks at its lowest level in six years as wage growth accelerates to 1.6 per cent December 17, 2014 Is this a Christmas miracle? After six years of decidedly lacklustre wage growth, the Office for National Statistics' final labour report of the year has shown wage growth is finally beginning to pick up some speed. According to the figures, published this morning, growth in wages excluding bonuses hit 1.6 per cent in the quarter [...]
Tesco quarterly sales show sign of turn around following profit warning December 16, 2014 Tesco has enjoyed its best quarterly sales performance since June, according to the latest industry data, giving investors in the troubled supermarket chain some reason to cheer following last week’s profit warning. Sales fell by 2.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 7 December, a slowdown on the 3.7 per cent decline recorded in [...]
Royal Mail has taken a battering but is still valued brand – Brand Index December 16, 2014 THE CHRISTMAS period is always one of great stress and pressure for the delivery sector. With Royal Mail’s hold over the industry beginning to be threatened, I can use YouGov BrandIndex data to assess how it has been performing in the run up to this crucial time. Of course, Royal Mail has been repeatedly in [...]
Poundland wishes you a Merryy Cristmas and a Merry Christmay December 16, 2014 Discount superstar Poundland was snowed under with complaints about its festive products on Twitter yesterday. One unhappy shopper tweeted about a set of Christmas lights which spelt its message wrongly – “‘MerryyCristmas’ it might be a only quid but you could at least spell it right!” Naturally, the hashtag #MerryyCristmas started doing the rounds. [...]
As consumer price rises fall to 1 per cent, is subdued inflation a new normal for the UK? December 16, 2014 Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, says Yes. Low inflation is unlikely to be just for Christmas. A combination of lower commodity and import prices, alongside stable energy bills, should mean that consumer price inflation falls to comfortably below 1 per cent in the coming months. And while the impact of these factors is [...]
Watch: Heathrow has visualised our Christmas 2014 journeys in this fantastic animation December 16, 2014 Flying this Christmas? You're not the only one. Heathrow has said it expects nearly 700,000 people to travel from the London airport between December 19 and Christmas Day as families fly home or abroad for the festive season. On Friday alone, it expects some 116,700 people to fly from Heathrow. In total more [...]
Christmas 2014: Amazon delivering until December 24, while Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Asos face capacity problems December 16, 2014 Worried you've left it too late to order Christmas presents online? You need to get your skates on if you want to avoid paying for special delivery, but some retailers are offering premium services up to the last minute. A new survey of retailers has found a number of businesses that promise to deliver [...]
UK inflation falls to lowest rate since 2002 thanks to plumetting oil prices December 16, 2014 UK inflation fell to its lowest rate since 2002 in November after petrol costs were cut due to plummeting oil prices. The rate of consumer price growth fell to one per cent last month, the lowest rate for 12 years and down from a 1.3 per cent rate in October. Any hopes investors [...]
Grocery deflation continues to tumble as Aldi and Lidl ramp up supermarket price war December 16, 2014 The supermarket sector has nudged back into growth after the surprise decline recorded last month. Figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel show that for the 12 weeks to December 7, the grocery market grew 0.1 per cent. The data company said this was down to “shoppers putting slightly more in their baskets compared with [...]