‘Ray of hope’: Rising wages keep shoppers spending in June July 18, 2019 UK retail sales grew by one per cent in June compared to a month earlier, official figures have shown, reversing a fall in purchases in May. Read more: Real wages rise as UK inflation stays at two per cent However, in the three months to June British shoppers bought 0.7 per cent more goods, the [...]
Tepid Eurozone inflation stays well below ECB target July 17, 2019 Eurozone inflation rose to 1.3 per cent in the year to the end of June, official figures showed today, but was still well off the European Central Bank’s (ECB) two per cent target. Read more: Eurozone retail sales see surprise fall in May The weak rise in prices will bolster market expectations that the ECB [...]
Real wages rise as UK inflation stays at two per cent July 17, 2019 The prices in UK shops rose by two per cent in the 12 months to the end of June, official figures have revealed, with clothing and food costs rising most rapidly in the last year. Read more: UK unemployment stays at 45-year low as wages tick up The two per cent consumer price index (CPI) [...]
Proven success: Finsbury Food hails bread sales for rising revenue July 15, 2019 Thorntons maker Finsbury Food credited rising bread sales for an annual 3.8 per cent in group sales to £315.3m in the 12 months to the end of June. Read more: Icing off the cake: Finsbury Food drops as butter prices skyrocket Cake, bread and pastries pushed the Aim-listed baker higher, which saw a three per [...]
Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant empire sees losses deepen July 14, 2019 Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant business posted deepening losses in its latest financial results as it works through an “efficiency program”. The group, which owns the three Michelin star The Fat Duck, suffered a post-tax loss of £1.7m in the year to 31 May 2018, compared to a loss of £700,000 in 2017. Read more: [...]
Whitbread shares: Waiting for strategy to bear fruit June 24, 2019 It’s not easy being a hotelier in this market, but Whitbread shares are holding their own for now. Despite having previously laid the groundwork in guiding expectations lower, Whitbread (LSE:WTB) has delivered a first-quarter update which is light on cheer. Without the diversification and success that Costa brought, the company is now mostly hostage to the cyclical [...]
US inflation tepid ahead of Fed rates decision June 12, 2019 US consumer price inflation slowed in May, official data revealed today, in news that could add to pressure on the country’s central bank to cut interest rates. Read more: Trump attacks euro and repeats criticism of Fed The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.8 per cent in May compared to a year earlier, down from [...]
D-Day for the ECB as pressure mounts to act June 6, 2019 It’s D-Day for euro bulls as we look to today’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) to see whether the breakout can be sustained or whether this is yet another bull trap in an ongoing downtrend. The bulls have secured the beachhead above $1.12, breaking free from a long-term descending wedge, but they now need to gather the troops to push [...]
Eurozone inflation slips to well below ECB target June 4, 2019 Annual inflation in the Eurozone fell considerably in May, according to official statistics released today, taking it well below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target. Read more: The euro falls as ECB chief Draghi delivers pessimistic verdict on Eurozone economy Inflation in the euro area fell to 1.2 per cent in May, a first estimate [...]
Shop price inflation gathers pace in May May 29, 2019 Shop inflation edged up this month, as rising costs from wages, taxes and political uncertainty drove non-food retailers to push up their prices during May. Following several years of deep discounts, goods in sectors such as furniture and health & beauty have seen year-on-year prices to May 2019 jump, according to a new index carried [...]