Retail sales up in best month since January November 8, 2016 UK retail sales were up 1.7 per cent from last October, boosted by strong online sales of 11 per recent in the last three months. Shoppers appear to be unfazed by the prospect of Brexit and the declining pound and are continuing to spend. However, the drop in Sterling is likely to have led to [...]
Now Birds Eye and Walkers are putting up prices after Brexit November 6, 2016 Birds Eye and Walkers are following in the footsteps of consumer goods giant Unilever in raising their prices following a slump in the value of the pound after Brexit. Frozen food brand Birds Eye could raise prices by as much as 12 per cent in the next month according to the Sunday Times, and pack sizes [...]
Shop prices continued to fall in October, despite the slide in the value of sterling November 2, 2016 Sterling's sharp decline since the EU referendum has not fed into shop prices yet, according to data released today. Shop prices fell by 1.7 per cent month-on-month in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen. Prices on non-food items fell by 2.1 per cent and food prices fell by 1.2 per cent, [...]
As inflation rises, central banks have their eyes on economic growth, not prices: Here’s what’s causing the bond sell-off November 1, 2016 Inflation is back, it would seem. After years of deflation and disinflation, recent data shows that price levels have been rising in the US, the UK and in the Eurozone. After a peak in bond prices in July, holders of debt are now concerned that the yield on long-dated securities could be eroded over the coming [...]
Shares in Debenhams leapt this morning on solid annual results. But analysts are still waiting to see what the new chief exec will do October 27, 2016 Department store Debenhams' share price headed north by nearly four per cent this morning after revealing a decline in full year profits that still beat analyst expectations. The figures Gross transactional values, basically the company's sales before taking into account discounting, were up by 1.3 per cent to £2.9bn. However revenues – what it says on the [...]
Tesco chairman John Allan admits prices WILL go up due to weak sterling and higher inflation October 25, 2016 John Allan, the chairman of Tesco, has admitted that prices will increase at supermarkets if the pound stays at its current level. The chain temporarily pulled some of its products, including Marmite and PG Tips, from its online stores earlier this month after its supplier, Unilever, demanded a 10 per cent increase in prices due to [...]
What the rise of populism means for your investments October 25, 2016 "Fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists” was how David Cameron described members of Ukip in 2006. A decade later, Ukip has achieved its principal ambition of a Brexit vote and Cameron is no longer a politician. The growth in support for populist political movements across Europe and other developed economies has been rapid. Founded just six [...]
The devil you know, the devil you don’t: How to protect your investments whoever wins the US election October 25, 2016 As polling day draws near, it is regrettable that the contest to become the 45th President of the United States has been more about personality than policy. The campaign has been distinguished on one side by preposterous promises to suspend the entry of Muslims into the country and build a hard border with Mexico, and [...]
The Brexit rally is less fragile than it looks October 19, 2016 The performance of UK shares has generally confounded most strategists. Since the vote to leave the EU in June, UK savers have enjoyed returns of close to 15 per cent. While the weakness of sterling has eaten most of those returns for overseas investors, we are in a much better place than many were predicting in [...]
The White Horse review: A welcome return to the City for this well-loved gastro-boozer October 18, 2016 A traditional and rural looking pub that’s seemingly been airlifted from somewhere deep in the Sussex countryside and then dropped into a leafy square near Liverpool Street, the White Horse reopened earlier in the year after a full refurbishment. The new look sheds some of its rustic-chic charm in favour of clean, modern lines and [...]