Recession knife-edge: Consumer spending on credit at £1.3bn as house prices continue to slide May 2, 2023 Britain’s better than expected economic performance since the turn of the year is poised to have lured consumers into splashing the cash on their credit cards, new numbers out this week are tipped to show. Families are tipped by markets to have borrowed £1.3bn in March, which would signal spending in the UK is holding [...]
Coffee beans and ready meals send food inflation soaring yet again – and peak is yet to come May 2, 2023 Food inflation reached new highs in April soaring 15.7 per cent, according to new data, with the cost of convenience food such as ready meals and coffee beans increasing due to supply chain woes. While shop price inflation fell slightly by one per cent in the month to 8.8 per cent, food prices remained at [...]
Eurozone grows marginally in first quarter as outlook for 2023 remains weak April 28, 2023 The eurozone grew only marginally in the first three months of 2023 and at a rate lower than market expectations after stagnation at the end of last year, preliminary data showed on Friday. Gross domestic product in the eurozone expanded by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, below expectations in a Reuters poll for [...]
Property: Has spring sprung? Mini budget ripple blamed for keeping a lid on monthly sales April 28, 2023 UK residential transactions in March 2023 totalled 89,560 which was 19 per cent lower than the same month a year ago but 1 per cent higher than February 2023, according to HMRC. The seasonally adjusted figures also show the total of non-residential property purchases, including commercial and factory property was 10,640, three per cent higher than [...]
Unilever makes mayo from food inflation as Ben & Jerry’s owner sales soar April 27, 2023 Unilever, owner of Ben & Jerry’s and Hellman’s Mayonaise, has raised its expectations for the rest of the year after strong sales off the back of rising prices. The conglomerate which deals in everything from beauty products to homeware and nutrition to ice cream, reported underlying sales growth was up 10.5 per cent to almost [...]
Sainsbury’s profits takes inflation and cost of living hit as supermarket faces stark choice April 27, 2023 In its full year results for the year ending 4 March 2023, Sainsbury’s pre tax profits fell from £854m to £327m as the retailer battled to keep its pole position as one of the UK’s largest supermarkets. The supermarket giant said it was impacted by non-cash asset impairments, driven by a higher discount rate, and [...]
FTSE 100 close: Persimmon and Standard Chartered peg losses on London index April 26, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 skidded lower today despite a decent batch of results pumping up banks and house builders. The capital’s premier index lost 0.49 per cent to close at 7,852.63 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.04 per cent lower to [...]
Pret hikes price of coffee subscription in wake of soaring inflation April 26, 2023 Pret-A-Manger has revealed that it is increasing the price of its subscription service by £5 in the wake of soaring inflation. The London-born coffee chain said that the price of its ‘Club Pret’ loyalty service is rising from £25 to £30, however, fans of the cafe will now also receive a 10 per cent discount [...]
FTSE 100 close: London ends down ahead of Google and Microsoft results as Primark owner slumps April 25, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged lower today as investors fretted over the state of a batch of big tech results on Wall Street rolling in over the coming days. The capital’s premier index shed 0.27 per cent to drop to 7,891.13 points, while the domestically-focus mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Nestlé: Nespresso and Kit-Kat maker hikes prices and sweetens sales growth April 25, 2023 Share price in Kit-Kat maker Nestlé were up as the food giant beat profit expectations while hiking the price of its goods. The Swedish packager, which owns brands such as Nespresso, Smarties Nesquik and Maggi stock cubes, reported a sales growth of 5.6 per cent to CHF23.5bn (£21.2bn) in the first leg of the year [...]