EU referendum: Tory MP Michael Fabricant discusses leaving the EU, in-fighting and the way forward for the splintered Brexit groups February 8, 2016 “The UK may be 25 miles off the coast of Calais, but culturally it’s 25 miles off the coast of Boston, Massachusetts, or Brisbane, Australia,” says Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield and former Conservative Party vice-chairman. Fabricant, who readers may know from his wryly written tweets that get him into occasional trouble, is a man [...]
Business is better off in the EU – now it’s time to say so January 28, 2016 After a life working in and running large businesses like Marks & Spencer, I have been asked why I wanted to chair the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign. The answer is simple. Nothing is more important for British business at the moment than our place in the European Union being under threat. Being in the [...]
Davos 2016: An outlook as chilly as the setting January 22, 2016 So much for a fourth industrial revolution. It’s an inexorable law of the World Economic Forum that each year’s summit must be more crowded, expensive and pessimistic than the last. Whether it’s robotics, fintech or climate change, you can take your pick of this year’s buzz-themes – many dreamed up with the aid of handsomely [...]
The tradition of Christmas shopping on the high street could be about to come to an end January 20, 2016 We’ve come to that time in the New Year when retailers and investors alike look back on the data accumulated by shops throughout the Christmas season. Next was the first retailer to release the data and it wasn’t great news – either for them or for other high street retailers, as we had disappointing updates from everyone from [...]
UK economy on track for growth despite global turmoil, EY Item Club forecasts January 17, 2016 Consumer spending will help fuel UK economic growth in 2016, according to new forecasts, painting a more positive picture amid global market turmoil which has wiped trillions from global equities this year. The economy is expected to grow at an accelerated rate of 2.6 per cent in 2016, up from 2.2 per cent last year and previous forecasts [...]
The count is in: These are the retail winners and losers for Christmas 2015 (according to Hargreaves Lansdown) January 15, 2016 After a busy few days chock-full of Christmas retail results, we're finally beginning to get a sense of who the winners and losers of 2015's festive period might be. Yesterday, Tesco surprised investors with better-than-expected results, rounding off a solid performance among the UK's traditional supermarket sector – although Asda is still yet to report. Marks & [...]
Ted Baker posts double-digit sales growth over Christmas January 13, 2016 Ted Baker has avoided the warm weather woes hurting other fashion retailers this year to post a double-digit increase in sales over Christmas. The figures The lifestyle brand increased retail sales 10.1 per cent in the eight weeks to 9 January. Its ecommerce arm performed particularly well, with sales up 39.1 per cent. Average [...]
Yorkshire Tea makes for a Brand new firm on list January 13, 2016 It’s that time of the year again. YouGov has published its BrandIndex Buzz score rankings for 2015, and for the second year in succession Aldi and Lidl are the brands with the greatest score. This is whether a respondent has heard something positive or negative about a brand in the last two weeks. The German [...]
Retailers sound alarm bells after one of toughest Christmas periods on record January 13, 2016 UK retailers have suffered one of their worst Christmas trading periods on record, according to new research showing a surge in the number of companies struggling to make ends meet. Turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor said 26,013 UK retailers entered the year in significant financial distress – nearly double the amount recorded in the fourth quarter [...]
FTSE 100 index opens up on supermarkets as share price of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer rise following Morrisons results January 12, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened higher this morning as housebuilders and supermarkets made gains. The UK's blue-chip index rose 0.2 per cent to 5,883 points, led higher by Tesco, Sainsbury's and housebuilder Berkeley Group. The index made gains despite continued scepticism about the state of the Chinese economy. Read more: And they’re off – Shire and Baxalta agree $32bn [...]