Shoppers face more costly food but cheaper non-food products September 4, 2012 SHOP PRICE inflation edged up in August, as non-food prices declined less than in July, according to an index released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) yesterday. The overall index crept up to 1.1 per cent last month, up slightly from July’s one per cent – but well below the trend in the official consumer [...]
Inflation across OECD countries edges down to below 2pc mark September 4, 2012 INFLATION across the OECD bloc of rich countries fell slightly in the year to July, according to data released by the Paris-based organisation today. Prices increases were 1.9 per cent higher in July than they were a year previously, but the pace of growth was slightly down on the two per cent recorded in June. [...]
Something for everyone in forecasting equity markets August 27, 2012 FOR such a highly paid group of professionals the great and the good of the financial markets have been behaving in somewhat lemming-like fashion once again. Rather than judging important allocation decisions based on economic and stock fundamentals, it’s been more about “will they or won’t they”. There we were, for example, in the early [...]
Asda says disposable income is up for first time in two years August 21, 2012 BRITISH households were £1 a week better off in July compared to the same month a year earlier, the largest annual increase in more than two years, according to the latest figures from Asda’s income tracker. Families had £151 a week left over last month after paying bills, up 0.6 per cent on the previous [...]
China and Us data fail to corrode Qe speculation August 20, 2012 FX360 THE Dow and S&P 500 are both within spitting distance of the highs achieved earlier this year. It will only take a small push for both indices to surmount these heights. After that hurdle, the bulls will have their sights on the pre-financial crisis levels of 2007 – around 14,200 and 1,575 for the [...]
Inflation’s long squeeze on UK finances eases August 19, 2012 HOUSEHOLDS’ inflation expectations fell to a six-month low in August as the squeeze on finances eased to its lowest level in almost two years, according to a report out today from Markit. The decline in finances almost came to a halt in the private sector, recording a score of 47.2. On Markit’s index a reading [...]
Inflation on the up in July after airline fares rise August 14, 2012 INFLATION shocked analysts by flying up in July, driven by soaring air fares and early clothes sales, Office for National Statistics data (ONS) out yesterday showed. Inflation was 2.6 per cent on the consumer price index (CPI), up from 2.4 per cent in June and confounding city expectations of a steady decline. This higher rise [...]
Rapid Responses August 14, 2012 Defending UK aid [Re: British aid policy is harming those it seeks to rescue, yesterday] Alan Oxley clearly has precious little grasp of British government aid policies. Far from ignoring innovation, as he asserts, last weekend’s hunger summit called for new and innovative ideas to tackle chronic hunger. We work closely with private companies like [...]
Drunk on golden memories of the Olympics – but reality will still make its sobering return August 12, 2012 SOMETIMES it’s best to start with a confession: here’s mine. Apparently I’ve been at work the last two weeks but frankly I don’t remember. The only thing I remember is the kaleidoscopic haze of an amazing party called London 2012. There was a brief moment last week when the dancing stopped to change the music. [...]
Summer sun and Olympic fever fail to reignite UK’s retail sales August 6, 2012 RETAIL sales failed to significantly recover last month despite improved weather and the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, figures from the industry have revealed this morning. Like-for-like sales in UK shops were virtually flat in July, edging up just 0.1 per cent compared to a year earlier, according to the British Retail Consortium [...]