Anxiety about soaring living costs weighs down UK consumer confidence September 24, 2021 Intense anxiety about sharp rises in the cost of living is weighing down Brits’ confidence levels, according to fresh data published today. Consumer confidence in the UK slid five points to minus 13 in September, driven by Brits sharpening their focus on the spectre of inflation and tax hikes looming over their living standards. Empty [...]
FTSE 100 rebounds as easyJet nosedives September 13, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 index has climbed by 0.64 per cent today, up 45 points higher than the previous close at 7,074.07, after being boosted by financial stocks. Banking giants saw strong gains today with Lloyd’s Group up 2.6 per cent, Standard Chartered Bank lifted by 2.4 per cent and Barclays PLC climbing 2.2 per cent. Meanwhile, investment [...]
Morrisons to cut sick pay for unvaccinated staff amid rising costs September 10, 2021 Morrisons, the fourth biggest UK supermarket, will cut sick pay for unvaccinated employees who need to self-isolate in a bid to limit the “biblical costs” of the pandemic, according to reports. The news comes as the supermarket readies itself to be auctioned off next month and after it reported a slide in interim profit before [...]
Morrisons CEO: Higher prices are coming due to lorry driver shortage September 9, 2021 The boss of supermarket giant Morrisons has warned of pressure on prices due to the lorry driver shortage and higher costs. The takeover target – which is at the centre of a bidding battle between two US private equity firms – said it expects industry-wide retail price inflation in the coming months as a result [...]
Number of workers on furlough tumbles to lowest level since start of pandemic September 9, 2021 The number of workers on furlough has tumbled to its lowest since the onset of the Covid crisis, according to official figures published today. Data from the Treasury shows there were 1.6m people on furlough at the end of July, down 340,000 from almost two million in the previous month. However, the rate at which [...]
Revenue lifts at fresh food provider Bakkavor, but labour shortages bite September 8, 2021 Fresh food provider Bakkavor’s revenue has lifted above pre-pandemic levels, despite “unprecedented challenges in labour availability” which risk its operations running stale. Like-for-like revenue swelled by 6.4 per cent to £924.9m in the six months to 26 June, and 1.2 per cent ahead of the same period in 2019. The Fitzroy headquartered-based company, which [...]
Retail sales growth slowed in August amid recovery warnings September 7, 2021 Retail sales growth has started to slow as shoppers’ pent-up enthusiasm has softened this summer. Total sales increased by 3 per cent in August, below the three month average growth of 6.9 per cent. Clothing retailers reported strong performances as Brits looked to stock up their post-lockdown wardrobes with outfits for weddings and returning to [...]
Road haulage bosses warn buckling supply chains will trigger soaring prices September 4, 2021 The “perfect storm” of problems scuppering UK supply chains will increase prices sharply for households across the country, road haulage and food bosses have warned. A paucity of HGV drivers, soaring shipping costs, delays in deliveries from Asia and ongoing Covid related problems have compounded to produce severe shortages of products. Soaring demand as economies [...]
How worker shortages are cleared will determine UK economy’s trajectory September 4, 2021 You would be forgiven for forgetting we are currently amid one of the best runs of economic growth in living memory with all the negative news about supply chain snarl ups, worker shortages and soaring inflation flying around. A slew of data published this week, alongside a raft of announcements from supermarket, retail and food [...]
Even entertaining a nappy tax exposes No10’s muddled plans for plastic waste and climate change September 1, 2021 When I saw the front page of the Daily Mail over breakfast this morning, I nearly choked on my Shreddies. It’s possible George Eustice did, too, given his department rapidly denied today’s headlines that government is contemplating a levy on disposable nappies. Perhaps someone in Whitehall got the wrong end of the stick. Considering Ministers’ contempt for [...]