Retail sales fall during January as economists expect inflation to drag further on spending February 17, 2017 Retail sales grew at the slowest pace in more than three years, with economists pointing to inflationary pressure starting to weigh on consumer spending. Sales fell by 0.3 per cent month-on-month during January, with 1.5 per cent annual growth the slowest since November 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics. Sales also declined quarter-on-quarter, [...]
Business secretary Greg Clark says Peugeot-maker PSA wants to build on Vauxhall’s success February 17, 2017 Business secretary Greg Clark has called his talks with the French government and PSA "constructive", saying the French firm wants to build on the success of Britain's Vauxhall business. In a short statement, Clark said the PSA "stressed that they valued highly the enduring strength of the Vauxhall brand, underpinned by its committed workforce". Clark jetted to Paris [...]
Business secretary Greg Clark heads for Paris talks with French government and PSA over possible GM deal February 16, 2017 Business secretary Greg Clark has travelled to Paris for talks with the French government and PSA over the french company's prospective takeover General Motors’ European Opel operations, including Vauxhall. Clark is to meet with French industry minister Christophe Sirigue and PSA just hours after Unite’s Len McCluskey said he was seeking “urgent talks” with PSA. The union leader [...]
Argos fined £1.5m for not paying workers the national minimum wage February 16, 2017 Home Retail Group has been fined £1.5m for not paying 37,000 Argos workers the national minimum wage. The business said it was paying back current and previous workers £64 each, with the total cost coming to £2.4m. If the company pays back HM Revenue and Customs within 14 days, it will only have to pay £800,000. Read [...]
The City of London’s policy chair is taking up the chairman role at the firm which runs the UK’s cash machine network February 16, 2017 The firm responsible for running the UK's 70,000-strong cash machine network has appointed the City of London's policy chair as its new chairman. Mark Boleat, who will chair the policy and resources committee at the City of London Corporation until May and is also deputy chairman of think tank TheCityUK, will join Link Scheme as chairman shortly. [...]
A weakening diamond market has pushed Gem Diamonds to mothball a mine February 16, 2017 Low diamond prices have pushed Britain's Gem Diamonds to mothball its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana. Gem Diamonds, which works in the Letseng mine in Lesotho and the Ghaghoo mine, will place the mine on care and maintenance with immediate effect, resulting in an annualised care and maintenance cost of $3m (£2.4m), post settlement expenses. Shares in the [...]
Canada Goose fluffs up the market by revealing plans for $100m listing February 16, 2017 High-end US coat maker Canada Goose has announced plans to raise $100m by listing on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. The listing will give the firm, backed by Bain Capital, the ability to pay down debt and expand sales in the US. And in what could be seen as a stroke of marketing genius, the [...]
British steelworkers vote in favour of Tata’s reforms to pensions February 15, 2017 Steelworkers in three unions have voted in favour of proposals that will see their pensions benefits cut. The proposals will see Tata Steel pump £1bn into the sprawling Port Talbot steelworks in exchange for workers accepting changes to their pension schemes. More than 70 per cent of the steelworker members of GMB, Community and Unite [...]
Broken-hearted: sales drop at John Lewis on the week before Valentine’s Day February 14, 2017 Sales at retail bellweather John Lewis fell in the second week of February, signalling that the sector may be heading for another poor performance this month after retail sales dropped in January. Total sales at John Lewis for the week to 11 February were £73m, down two per cent on the same week last year. [...]
Car prices have surged five per cent since the Brexit vote – with large SUVs up 12.3 per cent February 14, 2017 Average new car prices have risen 5.2 per cent since the Brexit vote on 23 June last year, according to industry research. What Car? magazine said the price changes have cost the consumer nearly £2bn in just seven months, after a "perfect storm of rising inflation and the car industry's efforts to increase dealer profitability". [...]