Supermarket sales slide into reverse as price war hits petrol pumps August 10, 2015 A fierce supermarket price war at both the tills and the petrol pumps has caused sales in the sector to shrink for the first time since records began over 20 years ago. With retailers kicking off another round of petrol price cuts today, fresh data shows how supermarket giants’ troubles are dragging on the UK’s [...]
Dairy farmers blockade Morrisons distribution centre over falling milk prices August 7, 2015 Dairy farmers have stepped up their protests against supermarket price wars, saying they will not be “bullied by British retailers”. This week has seen a swathe of protests directed at supermarkets including Morrisons and Asda. Last night farmers and their families staged a human blockade at Morrisons' regional distribution centre in Bridgwater. Unions [...]
Tesco and Sainsbury’s vs Asda and Morrisons: Britain’s biggest retailers row over Sunday trading laws August 5, 2015 British businesses are readying for a fight over government plans to shake up Sunday trading rules. The government will today open a formal consultation on proposals to give local areas the power to allow large shops to open for longer on Sundays. Current laws allow smaller shops to stay open all day, but limit larger [...]
Tesco’s ban on sugary drinks is fine – as long as the government keeps away and consumers can still vote with their feet July 28, 2015 As a libertarian, I don’t quite know what to think about Tesco’s decision to drop Ribena and other sugary drinks for kids. On its own, I can see the advantages. As part of a broader trend, it’s a little worrying. So why might Tesco be doing this? Let’s take it for granted that Tesco [...]
Supermarket wars: Growth at Co-op Food for first time in a year, as Tesco and Asda decline yet again July 28, 2015 The Co-Operative supermarket is back in growth for the first time in a year, as Sainsbury's reclaims its second place position in the sector. The sector experienced slight growth for the 12 weeks to 19 July, with sales up 0.8 per cent year on year – though this was generally experienced by the smaller [...]
David Cameron looks to City for new business advisory group with bosses from BP, EasyJet and Santander July 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed a new slate of 19 City leaders to his business advisory group, including more than a dozen chief executives of UK blue chips. The chief executives of BP, Legal & General, EasyJet, Land Securities, the London Stock Exchange Group, Persimmon, Asda, ARM, Severn Trent and Rolls Royce all [...]
Golf Comment: Danny Willett’s European Masters win is sign of changing of English guard July 27, 2015 Danny Willett’s triumph at the European Masters on Sunday, his second win in eight months, was a great response to going close at the Open a week earlier, but it was also symptomatic of a wider trend. Read more: Willett hails his resilience after securing third Euro Tour success It was further evidence that [...]
Diesel prices to fall below petrol for the first time in 14 years as Morrisons cuts 2p off a litre July 20, 2015 The battle has just heated up on the front line of the supermarkets' price war, after Morrisons announced plans to cut 2p a litre off the price of diesel, meaning the cost of diesel will fall below petrol for the first time in 14 years. Read more: Has Morrisons put its darkest days behind it? Morrisons' [...]
Marks & Spencer leading the FTSE losers: Why clothing boss John Dixon’s departure gives M&S two major headaches July 17, 2015 Marks & Spencer is leading the FTSE 100 losers this morning, after it confirmed its executive director of general merchandise John Dixon had quit. M&S' share price opened down, and has continued to tumble throughout early trading. At pixel time, itwas down 1.3 per cent. When Dixon took up the role in [...]
Golf Comment: Spieth’s no Open and shut case July 14, 2015 THERE’S no question who the favourite is for the Open Championship, but there is very good reason to doubt that Jordan Spieth will be able to complete the third leg of a Majors grand slam at St Andrews this week. Yes, Spieth is on the crest of a wave. His recovery from a bad first [...]