US inflation picks up as Fed considers pace of interest rate cuts November 13, 2024 US inflation increased on the back of stubborn housing costs, new figures show, strengthening the case for a gradual approach to cutting interest rates. The consumer price index increased to 2.6 per cent in October, according to figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, up from 2.4 per cent the month before but in line [...]
Do luxury products have a pricing problem? November 13, 2024 At some point, luxury brands all face the same question: How do you price a good at a level that implies desirability and exclusivity without making it completely exclusionary? The vast majority of luxury brands rely on the aspirational consumer just as much as the super-wealthy. McKinsey has estimated that around half of the luxury [...]
Just Eat shares spike after it announces Grubhub sale November 13, 2024 Delivery platform Just Eat has agreed to sell its American arm, Grubhub, to the US takeaway startup Wonder. Shares in Just Eat rose 19 per cent in early trades on the news. Just Eat sold the platform for $650m (£500m), a 90 per cent discount on the $7bn it paid in 2021—or, adjusting for inflation, [...]
Fuller’s pub boss warns Budget tax changes will drive hospitality to the brink November 13, 2024 The boss of pub chain Fuller, Smith and Turner has made a stark warning about the effect of recent tax rises on hospitality, warning it will increase inflation and drive businesses “to the wall”. Chair of the London-listed firm known as Fuller’s, Michael Turner, said that the changes to employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) announced [...]
‘Disaster Budget will kill UK farming’, warns chicken king Boparan November 12, 2024 Entrepreneur Ranjit Singh Boparan, whose empire ranges from Bernard Matthews to Carluccio’s, has warned the autumn Budget is a “disaster for business” and will “deliver a final fatal blow to the thousands of small family-owned farms”. Boparan added that the “inheritance tax raid” on farms announced in the Budget on 30 October “risks supply being [...]
Employer National Insurance hike a ‘significant burden’ and will impact working people, warns Thwaites November 12, 2024 The hike in employer National Insurance contribution (NICs), which was revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Budget, will place a “significant burden” on historic brewer, pub and hotel owner, Daniel Thwaites, the company has said. The Lancashire-headquartered group added that the increase, together with the rise in the National Living Wage, “make it less [...]
Bank of England’s Pill backs ‘gradual’ interest rate cuts despite ‘sticky’ pay growth November 12, 2024 Pointing to the pay figures from this morning, Pill said wage pressures remain "quite sticky".
Struggles continue at Asda as new owner looks to turn around supermarket giant November 12, 2024 The continuing struggles at supermarket giant Asda have been revealed with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s hoovering up its market share in the UK, according to new figures. Sales at the Leeds-based grocer totalled £4.242bn in the 12 weeks to 3 November, 2024, down from the £4.490bn it reported for the same period last year, the [...]
Wage growth comes in ahead of expectations despite loosening labour market November 12, 2024 Bank of England rate-setters received a mixed picture from the latest labour market figures, with progress on wage growth stalling even as unemployment crept up. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), pay growth excluding bonuses eased to 4.8 per cent in the three months to September, down from 4.9 per cent previously but [...]
US election shows voters care more about inflation than growth November 12, 2024 Donald Trump's re-election as President has raised fundamental questions for Labour's economic and political agenda, writes Chris Dorrell