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 [...]
Online clothes shopping helps UK retail sales beat economists’ expectations in April May 24, 2019 Online clothes purchases and warm weather helped UK retail sales beat economists' expectations in April, official statistics showed today. Read more: Bank of England upgrades UK economy growth forecast Britons bought 5.2 per cent more goods in April than in the same month a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, released today, [...]
DEBATE: Does the Jamie’s Italian chain have only itself to blame for its demise? May 23, 2019 Does the Jamie’s Italian chain have only itself to blame for its demise? Patrick Clover, founder and chief executive of BLACKBX, says YES. It’s a sad story for all involved, not least the 1,000 workers made redundant, but to call Jamie’s Italian a victim of external forces is too simplistic. The climate for mid-market restaurants [...]
UK manufacturing orders slump in May while stocks grow amid Brexit impasse May 21, 2019 Manufacturers in the UK saw order books slump in May, while recent Brexit preparations took stocks of finished goods to a decade high, according to the Confederation for British Industry (CBI). Read more: Brexit stockpiling slowdown hurts UK manufacturing growth Manufacturing output growth in the UK held steady in the three months to May, the CBI’s [...]
Eurozone core rate revised up as inflation hits estimates May 17, 2019 Eurozone prices rose by 1.7 per cent in April, in line with previous forecasts, while core inflation beat expectations. Consumer prices in the bloc rose 1.7 per cent higher year-on-year from 1.4 per cent in March, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Read more: Eurozone trade surplus grows in sign of recovery for struggling area [...]
FTSE 100-listed Compass results point north as revenue and profits rise May 15, 2019 Food services business Compass bolstered its top and bottom lines in the first half of its financial year as one analyst dubbed the company’s reliable growth as “brilliantly boring”. Read more: Compass shares near all-time high after strong revenue growth The figures Operating profit rose almost seven per cent to £913m year on year for [...]