‘Beast from the East’ keeps shoppers at home as consumer spending growth slows to 2.0 per cent in March April 10, 2018 Consumer spending growth slowed in March as extreme weather brought about by ‘the Beast from the East’ kept shoppers at home. Data from Barclaycard found that consumer spending grew by 2.0 per cent in March, its lowest level since April 2016, dropping from 3.8 per cent in February. In-store spending was particular affected, contracting by [...]
Financial services bosses back the City to remain Europe’s hub after Brexit April 9, 2018 The vast majority of global financial services bosses believe London will remain at the pinnacle of the European industry after Brexit in spite of widespread fears that leaving the EU will dent the UK economy, according to a survey of bosses at big firms. Some 88 per cent of the more than 100 senior leaders [...]
Multiple snow storms cripple high street retail sales in March April 6, 2018 The UK high street was hit with the second worst like-for-like sales on record in March as the bad weather kept shoppers indoors. Year-on-year sales dropped by 10.1 per cent for the month, according to figures released today by accountancy firm BDO. Read more: Hammerson treads water on Intu takeover as it awaits Klepierre’s next [...]
Forty per cent fall in demand for diesel pushes new car sales down by nearly 16 per cent in March April 5, 2018 The ongoing onslaught against diesel cars continues to push down UK sales, with sales for new cars slumping by 16 per cent in March. Demand for diesel was down nearly 40 per cent compared with the same month last year, while alternatively fuelled vehicles (AVFS) were up 5.7 per cent . Demand for petrol was [...]
Blockchain firm targets “failing” online retailers April 3, 2018 Online retailers, often blamed for Britain’s high street funk, are set to face their own disruption from an artificial intelligence-driven platform. Blockchain firm Eligma is planning to raise £17m from the sale of tokens later this month. The digital currency can be used across a range of online stores. The firm has created a platform [...]
Commodity investors: how to hedge your US dollar exposure March 29, 2018 For quite some time now, low interest rates have prompted investors to look for investments with the potential to deliver decent levels of growth. If anything, this desire has intensified in the past year or so as inflation in the UK has picked up. Annual Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) – the measure of price growth [...]
Shirt pull: Classic football kits have never been bigger business thanks to the 90s fashion boom and looming World Cup March 28, 2018 During this summer’s World Cup you will be nearly as certain to spot a football fan sporting a France shirt from 1998 or West Germany’s block-patterned effort from 1990 as you are to see someone kitted out in the latest England kit. Vintage football shirts have not only become commonplace at stadiums, in the pub, [...]
Businesses set to boost investment and expect price inflation to slow, as effect of sterling’s deprecation wanes – Bank of England March 28, 2018 Businesses surveyed by the Bank of England are expecting price inflation to slow, according to a business conditions summary published today. Input cost inflation, such as rises in the price of raw materials, had eased slightly and businesses regarded the inflationary impact of sterling’s drop in value to have peaked. Of the 308 businesses with [...]
Last week in the City March 23, 2018 This week, China warned the US that it is not afraid of engaging in a trade war, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again, and Facebook shares plummeted after allegations that millions of users' profile data had been harvested. The FTSE 100 was down 3.5% over the course of the week by mid-session on Friday. [...]
Focus On Hackney: How the London Overground caused a price surge in E8 March 23, 2018 Though the area around Hackney Central is better known as hipster central, the property prices certainly don’t reflect the salaries of young, freelance creatives. The E8 postcode has seen some of the most dramatic house price rises in the whole of London, a trend that has survived the plateau-ing – and declines – of recent [...]