Wells Fargo faces two more lawsuits over bank accounts scandal September 27, 2016 Wells Fargo is facing fresh legal action from both employees and investors over the ongoing bank account scandal. The US retail bank, which agreed to pay a $185m fine for creating two million unauthorised bank accounts, is now looking at class action lawsuits from employees who were let go over the claims and investors who [...]
Consumer spending eases back after summer splurge September 27, 2016 UK shoppers cut back in September following a summer splurge, though it has not dented the confidence of retailers, a new survey has found. The CBI’s distributive trades survey found 38 per cent of shops said sales volumes were down on September last year, while 30 per cent reported growth. The score of minus eight [...]
Second chance for BHS? An open letter to David Anderson, managing director of the newly online-only retailer September 27, 2016 Dear David Anderson, Whether it’s BHS or Woolworths, we all love a good phoenix from the ashes story, especially when it involves a great British brand. News that BHS is to be reincarnated online has been met with a cautious welcome. Cautious because the challenges ahead are considerable: in addition to the reputational damage the [...]
Boohoo upgrades forecast for the second time this year September 27, 2016 Online fashion retailer Boohoo upgraded its forecasts again today after announcing bumper sales growth and profits for the six months to the end of August. Boohoo upgraded its full-year sales guidance for the second time in two months. At the beginning of August, the online retailer upped its expected sales growth to between 28 per cent [...]
Free from foods set to soar as four in 10 Britons opt for specialised diets, according to Nielsen September 27, 2016 More than 40 per cent of Britons now avoid certain foods and followed specialised eating regimes such as gluten, sugar or hormone-free diets, according to data from Nielsen. Almost half (49 per cent) of people now avoid foods containing antibiotics or hormones, while 45 per cent opt out of eating artificial additives and 42 per [...]
New flavours and quirky marketing help popcorn burst in popularity as sales rise 14 per cent to £120m September 26, 2016 Innovations in flavours and marketing, as well as snackers acquiring a taste for healthier treats, have pushed popcorn sales up 14 per cent in the last year. Total UK popcorn sales rose to more than £120m in the 52 weeks to 16 July, according to market intelligence group IRI. Both volume and value sales increased, [...]
Business groups write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to campaign against changes to business rates September 25, 2016 Groups representing retailers and small businesses have come together to write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to urge him to pull back on changes to business rates. Business rates are being re-evaluated, and changes proposed for the way business rates are valued could "sink individual businesses into hardship", the lobby groups warned. Read more: West End gets [...]
Economists are expecting more positive data on consumer confidence this week as shoppers shrug off the Brexit vote September 25, 2016 Consumers' worries about the economic impact of the Brexit vote are fading, as economists are expecting positive data on sentiment to be released this week. Confidence in the UK economy slumped immediately after the EU referendum, but now economists are expecting an uptick. Read more: West End gets Brexit boost as sales to tip over [...]
Happy Brexiversary – these are the funds that have performed the worst since the EU referendum September 23, 2016 It's been three months since the Brexit vote. A lot has happened – but some of the worst hit (apart from David Cameron and George Osborne) were property funds. Several funds were forced to block withdrawals after the Brexit vote – closing the gate on £15bn-£20bn worth of funds – because investors were taking out so much money; several more imposed fair [...]
Gender is secondary at Walmsley’s GSK September 23, 2016 If the patient isn't responding, change the medicine: that's been the crude, but long-running, summary of some investors' prescription for Britain's biggest pharmaceuticals group. So for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) investors, the least important aspect of Emma Walmsley's appointment as its next chief executive is her gender. That doesn't make it unimportant, of course: as the global [...]