Banks lead FTSE up after bond auctions boost January 13, 2012 Banks led the FTSE 100 up this morning as they were buoyed by tentative signs of recovery in the Eurozone. European shares and the single currency rose after positive comments on the region’s outlook from the European Central Bank and the success of Spain’s bond auction yesterday. Meanwhile Italy launched a €4.75bn bond auction today. [...]
Co-op buys David Sands shops after strong trading January 10, 2012 SUPERMARKET chain the Co-operative Group reported strong trading figures for the four weeks to 31 December yesterday, as it announced it had bought 28 convenience stores in Scotland from the David Sands group. Co-op, run by chief executive Peter Marks, has previously said it wants to increase the number of stores it runs across Britain [...]
Tesco loses market share in run-up to Xmas January 10, 2012 Britain’s biggest retailer, lost grocery market share in the run-up to Christmas as rivals fought back against its price-cutting campaign and cash-strapped shoppers flocked to discount stores, according to new data. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said grocery sales rose 4.8 per cent in the 12 weeks to 25 December. That lagged a 5.9 per cent [...]
It’s crackers! Experts count the cost of Christmas lunch December 22, 2011 IF you’re heading to the supermarket today to pick up the ingredients for Christmas dinner, then along with your shopping trolley there’s one other basket you shouldn’t forget – the inflation basket. Choosing between broccoli and carrots may not seem like a crucial decision, but with food inflation and supermarket price wars hitting the cost [...]
Retailers hit as consumers cut spending December 18, 2011 RETAIL sales are continuing to slump as consumer spending power is hit by inflation, government spending restraint and the Eurozone crisis, according to research published yesterday by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). Spending is down 1.7 per cent compared with November, the CEBR claims, and down 0.3 per cent on last December [...]
Supermarket price war hits food inflation December 13, 2011 THE PACE of price rises slowed slightly last month as the supermarket price war cut inflation and petrol prices fell, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, but the cost of living is still soaring relative to wages. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to November, down [...]
Inflation falls to 4.8pc December 13, 2011 The (CPI) inflation figure in the UK fell to 4.8 per cent in November, down from five per cent the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics. Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation – which includes mortgage interest payments – fell to 5.2 per cent from 5.4 per cent. The fall was partly due [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD December 11, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Betfair Group will announce its interim results tomorrow. The sports-focused online gambling exchange is betting on seeing the numbers in their favour. ● Domino Printing Sciences will announce its preliminary results tomorrow. The company is lasered in on industrial printing equipment. Carpetright, Britain’s largest carpet retailer, will also roll out its preliminary [...]
Price slashes couldn’t save sales at Tesco December 8, 2011 TESCO sales fell for the fourth quarter in a row yesterday, hitting the bottom end of analyst forecasts. Like-for-like UK sales, excluding VAT and petrol, dropped 0.9 per cent, equalling last quarter’s decline. This comes despite Tesco’s attempt to revive sales with its £500m Big Price Drop campaign. The marketing drive enticed an extra 346,000 [...]
Indian retail reform plans put on hold December 7, 2011 INDIA has suspended plans to open its $450bn (£286bn) supermarket sector to foreign firms such as Wal-Mart, backtracking from one of the government’s boldest reforms in years in the face of a huge political backlash. The retreat, within two weeks of the policy being mooted, is another nail in the coffin of Prime Minister Manmohan [...]