Eurozone inflation lower than forecast February 29, 2012 Eurozone inflation was lower than estimated in January, data showed, supporting market expectations that price growth will continue slowing as the economy contracts and possibly paving the way for an ECB rate cut. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 17 countries using the euro fell 0.8 per cent in January [...]
US inflation rises February 17, 2012 US petrol prices jumped 0.9 per cent in January, pushing overall consumer prices up at their fastest pace in four months and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs could pose to the economic recovery. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 per cent, according to figures from the Labor Department is unlikely to ring [...]
Zurich clinches top spot as the world’s most expensive city February 14, 2012 ZURICH has leapfrogged ahead of Tokyo in the league table of the world’s most expensive cities after the Swiss franc’s sharp rise and its allure as a safe-haven currency for investors sent the cost of living soaring. The Swiss city, which is now almost 50 per cent more expensive than London, has jumped from fifth [...]
ANALYSTS’ VIEWS: WHAT WILL TOMORROW’S INFLATION DATA SHOW? February 12, 2012 VICKY REDWOOD | CAPITAL ECON “Inflation now appears to be on a clear downward trend. As the VAT effect drops out, knocking 0.7 per cent or so off inflation, we predict a fall to 3.2 per cent in January – high enough to prompt an explanatory letter to the Chancellor. We expect inflation to be [...]
Chinese prices hit easing hopes February 9, 2012 China’s annual inflation spiked to a consensus-busting 4.5 per cent in January as spending jumped during the Lunar New Year holiday season, breaking a five-month softening trend and forcing a market rethink of policy easing expectations. The size of the seasonal distortion makes the January data particularly hard to read, but economists say it is [...]
Miners buoy FTSE as Greece remains on knife edge February 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as investors continued to cling onto hopes that Greece could be steered away from financial meltdown. Greek party leaders were set to meet again today to hammer out a reform deal in return for the new €130bn rescue from the IMF and EU. Leaders of [...]
Inflation slows as shops keep cutting prices February 7, 2012 SHOP PRICE inflation dropped in January, figures out today from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed, as last year’s VAT rise fell out of the calculation. Overall, inflation dropped to 1.4 per cent from 1.7 per cent in December, helped by falling commodities prices and declining freight costs, as well as ongoing promotions and discounts. [...]
Tesco’s slice of market shrinks January 31, 2012 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has seen its market share fall under 30 per cent for the first time in almost seven years as it struggled to recover from its dire Christmas trading performance, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco’s market share – based on a measure of how much money has gone through its [...]
UK slides down inflation rankings January 31, 2012 Consumer price inflation in the UK fell to 4.2 per cent in December, taking it out of the top three in the 34 advanced economies of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Prices across the OECD rose by 2.9 per cent in the year to December, with the highest rate in Turkey at 10.4 per [...]
Tesco sales growth slows January 31, 2012 Sales growth at Tesco has slowed to just half that of the broader grocery market as rivals like Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury gain share, data showed. Market research by Kantar WorldPanel showed grocery sales in Britian climbed 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to January 22 compared with 4.8 per cent in [...]