Morrisons sales dip in tough market May 3, 2012 Morrisons posted a fall in underlying sales in its first quarter, reflecting tough comparatives with a bumper period of trading last year and customers switching to rivals who are promoting more heavily. The supermarket chain, which trails market leader Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury in UK market share, said on sales at stores open [...]
RAPID responses April 30, 2012 Gordon’s legacy [Re: A recession made in Downing Street – but not caused by cuts, Thursday] It is right to continue to criticise Gordon Brown for our economic position. By basing future expenditure plans on income levels at the top of a boom (and still running a deficit then), he left us in an unsustainable [...]
Troubling times for retailers to the squeezed middle April 29, 2012 SPARE a thought for the squeezed middle. No, not the ordinary family as defined by Ed Miliband, but the places they shop and the things they buy. The mid-market consumer firm is finding the going very tough indeed. There has been much written about Tesco’s troubles in recent months, punctuated by a series of ignominious [...]
Daisy to buy Wordlwide for £28m April 13, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down in early trading as investors digested data showing a slowdown of growth in China’s economy. Official figures released overnight showed that China’s economy grew at its slowest rate in almost three years. Gross domestic product increased by a rate of 8.1 per cent in the first quarter, down from 8.9 [...]
FTSE down as China growth slows April 13, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down in early trading as investors digested data showing a slowdown of growth in China’s economy. Official figures released overnight showed that China’s economy grew at its slowest rate in almost three years. Gross domestic product increased by a rate of 8.1 per cent in the first quarter, down from 8.9 [...]
Firms won’t be forced to offer third way pensions April 9, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT will not force companies to offer new “defined ambition” pensions, minister Steve Webb said yesterday as he announced plans to find a third way for private sector workers to save for their retirements. Webb wants more businesses to offer pensions that guarantee some certainty for employees, despite the near extinction of defined benefit [...]
Making things is not a soft option in the UK today March 26, 2012 IN THE last twenty years, I have watched the decline of British manufacturing, particularly in my own textile sector. While prices for food and luxury goods have risen steadily, high street clothing prices have become so cheap that UK manufacturers cannot be competitive in the mass market. According to the Working Futures report, which analyses [...]
Budget fuels crisis on the high street March 22, 2012 SOME of the UK’s most senior retailers yesterday slammed the chancellor’s supposedly pro-business Budget, saying his failure to address a planned hike in business rates will deal a blow to Britain’s ailing high streets. George Osborne has said he will cut corporation tax faster than planned to 24 per cent this year. But retailers were left [...]
FTSE SUFFERS BIGGEST FALL IN TWO WEEKS March 20, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index suffered its sharpest fall in two weeks yesterday, as concerns over materials demand in top consumer China hit commodities-linked sectors, marring a rally that had been part-driven by hopes for improving global growth. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 69.7 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 5,891.41, having rallied more [...]
FTSE pulled down by poor showing from energy stocks March 15, 2012 Britain’s leading share index slipped yesterday, weighed down by weakness in heavyweight energy stocks after recent gains, with investors also looking ahead to futures and options expiries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 4.71 points or 0.1 per cent at 5,940.72, having shed 0.2 per cent in the previous session following five [...]