Are UK supermarkets ready for Brexit? September 25, 2019 “One can say very clearly what the direction will be: higher prices, less choice, and poorer quality, because all of those dimensions have been improved by these open trading relationships that we’ve had over the last 40 years […] Brexit, almost in whatever version it is, will introduce friction, it will introduce barriers. That makes [...]
FTSE 100 slides as Brexit and impeachment worries hit markets September 25, 2019 Britain’s FTSE 100 benchmark is braced for its worst day in a month after dipping this morning following dramatic political developments on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday. The blue-chip index opened 0.5 per cent down before sliding further to almost 0.9 per cent, with investors fearing news of an official impeachment inquiry into president [...]
Sainsbury’s outperforms big four rivals September 17, 2019 Sainsbury’s was the best performing of the big four supermarkets, according to industry data for the latest 12 week period, as the UK grocery market returned to growth. The supermarket saw sales dip 0.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to 8 September. Read more: Aldi targets London expansion as profit falls Rival grocers Tesco. [...]
Can you Brexit-proof your investment portfolio? September 16, 2019 The future of Brexit is unknown, but investors and traders need to be proactive if they are to avoid any sudden shocks. Here’s how you might Brexit-proof your investment portfolio. The UK hasn’t left the EU yet, but Brexit is already wielding its influence over the financial markets. For the past three years, investors and traders [...]
Morrisons extends Amazon partnership as it delivers flat half-year sales September 12, 2019 Morrisons has posted flat sales in the first half as it unveiled a new multi-year partnership with Amazon Prime amid challenging conditions in the grocery sector Read more: Morrisons to expand Amazon online delivery service across the UK The figures Morrisons like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT ticked up 0.2 per cent in the six [...]
Goldman prepares to take iQ public in £2bn float September 8, 2019 The chair of Aston Martin, who has overseen a quartering of its share price since listing last year, is preparing to hit the markets with another firm. The owners of iQ Student Accommodation, which is chaired by Penny Hughes, are planning to take the company £3.5bn worth of assets public, Sky News reported. Goldman Sachs [...]
Britain must try to sail beyond the Brexit debate in order to find the stars September 2, 2019 Sadly, many of the great quotations in history are simply not accurate. One of my favourite apocryphal quotes is (wrongly) credited to Sir Francis Drake, supposedly written just before the intrepid explorer set off on the Golden Hind on his dazzling circumnavigation of the globe. Drake is supposed to have said: “Disturb us, Lord, when [...]
Travellers have reservations about Hostelworld August 21, 2019 Hostelworld, the hotel-focused online booking platform, has reported a drop in revenue for the first half of this year, as summer appetite from holiday-goers disappointed. Revenues tumbled from €42.6m (£39m) in the first half of 2018 to €38.8m during the first six months of 2019. Gross bookings for the company fell by four per cent, [...]
Sainsbury’s shares lifted by strong performance but hottest day fails to revive flagging grocery sales August 20, 2019 Sainsbury’s led FTSE 100 risers this morning following the news the supermarket had put in its strongest performance since November 2017. The supermarket put in the strongest performance of all the big four grocers, but still saw its market share slip 0.6 per cent over the past 12 weeks, according to Kantar data released this [...]
Sheffield United preview: Blades bringing overlapping centre-backs to the Premier League August 8, 2019 Overlapping centre-backs. To those well versed in the basics of football tactics it sounds incongruous, like something experimentally toyed with on Football Manager, or conjured up by an over-ambitious Sunday league side. But this season it is a legitimate approach which will be seen in Premier League grounds all across the country. That’s because Sheffield [...]