Britain close to deflation as oil drags on prices – London Report February 15, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation is expected to have fallen to a record low, with figures out this week likely to show it reached 0.3 per cent in January. The rate was 0.5 per cent in December – at a low since comparable records began in 1989 – and it is forecast to have fallen further, as [...]
Bank of England inflation report: UK inflation rate could slide into negative February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned UK inflation could slip into negative territory this spring, but he also upgraded the economy's growth forecasts on the belief it's most likely to be benign. Threadneedle Street warned it was "more likely than not that headline inflation would turn negative this year". In such a scenario, it would [...]
Fat Britain: More people in UK and Ireland view themselves as overweight than anywhere else in Europe February 9, 2015 When it comes to self-image, people in the UK have an inflated view of themselves. A higher percentage of people in Ireland and Britain consider themselves to be “overweight” than anywhere else in Europe, according to a survey by information service Nielsen. Out of the 32 countries included, Ireland came in first [...]
Confident Brits return to shops to splash cash February 8, 2015 CONFIDENT shoppers are returning to the high street in their droves – with spending rising faster in shops than online, according to figures out today from Visa Europe. Upbeat Britons surged back into restaurants and bars after Christmas, spending more in person. But clothing sales fell, and overall online spending dipped a touch on the [...]
US retail sales predicted to have fallen – New York Report February 8, 2015 RETAIL sales figures for January are likely to be the highlight for the economic week in the US. Economists expect the sales to have dipped by around 0.5 per cent over January, following a fall of 0.9 per cent in December. A preliminary reading on US consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan is due [...]
Consumers set for a win-win in 2015 as competition pushes down prices February 3, 2015 Food prices have fallen by the steepest amount on record, figures released today show. Food prices dropped by 0.5 per cent year-on-year in January, down from 0.1 growth in December, according to data released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Meanwhile, overall shop prices saw deflation for the 21st month in a row. Shop prices [...]
Cost of living to drop as UK gets good deflation February 3, 2015 Prices in the UK are set to fall, top economists said yesterday, giving British workers a break after years of low wage rises. Falling oil and food prices are expected to give a welcome boost to shoppers. Official data should show prices falling 0.3 per cent in the 12 months to March and 0.1 [...]
Eurozone slips further into deflation January 30, 2015 The Eurozone slipped further into deflation in January, with inflation falling to -0.6 per cent, down from -0.2 per cent in December. The figure is a record low for the bloc, and worse than analysts had feared: they had expected a fall of -0.5 per cent. Of course, the fall was, in part, caused by [...]
Who are the UK’s happiest and unhappiest workers? January 26, 2015 A new survey released today by the jobs search engine Adzuna has revealed which workers are the most and least satisfied with their pay packets. After years of stagnation and rising prices, some workers have been feeling the pinch more than others. Those most likely to be dissatisfied are workers in the retail sector followed [...]
Is the EY Item Club right to predict that UK growth will significantly accelerate in 2015? January 19, 2015 Mark Gregory, EY’s chief economist, says Yes We believe growth will accelerate in 2015, largely due to income growth. The UK consumer has been lashed by rising fuel and food prices for so long, but is now emerging as the major beneficiary. Low inflation combined with cheaper commodity prices, as a result of falling food, [...]