Why the UK is falling out of love with fashion: M&S, Debenhams and Ted Baker offer solutions to the high street clothing crisis January 24, 2017 In 2016, Britons were focused less on fashion, and more on enjoying themselves. We ate out and drank more, but spent less on clothes. In other words, we “shifted towards the experience economy”, according to Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics. “Since Brexit, the components within the economy holding up well have been consumer expenditure [...]
Sainsbury’s chairman lambasted for using staff to revamp country home January 23, 2017 Sainsbury's chairman David Tyler has been taken to task by the company board for using a supermarket employee and supplier to help refurbish his country home in East Sussex. Tyler, who was appointed chairman in 2009, was given a warning by the board after an internal investigation found that a Sainsbury's employee and supplier helped in [...]
Petra Diamonds’ gleaming results fall slightly below analyst expectations January 23, 2017 Sales and production sparkled in the first half of the year for Petra Diamonds, but flat rough diamond prices took a toll on revenue. The figures The diamond and gemstone producer said revenue is expected to increase 48 per cent to $228.5m (£183.5m) in the six months to 31 December due to increased sales volumes. However, it missed analysts' expectations of $236m due to [...]
US dollar edges up as commenter in chief Donald Trump prepares for office January 20, 2017 The US dollar has rallied ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump, contributing to weakness in sterling and the euro. Bond yields on US Treasuries also rose. The dollar index against a basket of other currencies rose as much as 0.6 per cent from its low point at the start of European trading. The pound [...]
Weak retail sales in December have pushed sterling below $1.23 January 20, 2017 The pound plummeted today after retail sales figures were much weaker than analysts expected. Sterling fell 0.47 per cent to 1.2284 against the US dollar. Sales in December fell by 1.9 per cent month-on-month – the largest monthly fall since May 2011 – which was considerably more than the 0.1 per cent drop analysts predicted, Martin Beck, senior economic advisor at EY said. [...]
China reports slowest year of economic growth since 1990 January 20, 2017 China today reported its slowest year of economic growth in more than 25 years. The nation’s economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2016, down from 6.9 per cent in 2015, according to official data. The figure represents the nation's slowest reported growth since 1990. Read more: China's crude oil output is falling “Perhaps inevitably, [...]
Fitbug shares are back: Here’s what’s going on January 19, 2017 Fitbug shares have resumed trading after being halted on Wednesday, as the Aim-listed tech company released a trading update. Shares closed down more than 40 per cent to 0.400p on Thursday, after rocketing more than 400 per cent in late afternoon trading on Wednesday which had prompted the company to suspend trading. Read more: Fitbug shares have been [...]
In the doghouse? Pets at Home shares fall on softer merchandise sales January 19, 2017 Pets at Home's latest update announced "softer than anticipated" merchandise sales – knocking its share price down more than nine per cent, at the time of writing, to 216.40p. The figures Group revenue rose 4.4 per cent to £203.7m, though merchandise revenues were flat at £177.4m. The growth was propelled by its services business (including veterinary practices [...]
Halfords share price jumps as investors are rewarded following its spending spree January 19, 2017 Halfords pumped-up its share price by over nine per cent this morning after delivering a podium performance from its retail division and rewarding investors with a special dividend. The figures In the firm's third quarter trading update, group like-for-like revenue for the 15 weeks to December was up 11.4 per cent. Retail performed well, growing by seven [...]
City Moves for 19 January 2017 | Who’s switching jobs January 19, 2017 GFT Technologies Christian Ball has been appointed head of retail across the Atlantic region at GFT, a provider of business, technology and design consulting to global banks. Christian brings extensive experience with him to spearhead GFT’s retail banking team and is joining the firm from Meniga, one of the top-performing fintech companies in Europe. In the [...]