Retail sales: Eurozone recovery looks set to last this time, but France lags behind September 3, 2015 The Eurozone looks set to finally break free from the doldrums of persistant stagnation with survey figures pointing to the strongest economic growth in the currency-bloc for four years. Markit’s composite purchasing managers’ index – which gauges business activity across all sectors of the economy – edged up to 54.3 in August, further in excess [...]
FTSE closes up after positive Ashtead results – London Report September 3, 2015 Britain’s leading share index ended higher yesterday, buoyed by results from industrial equipment hire group Ashtead and by opening gains on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 closed up at 24.77 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,083.31, broadly in line with European indexes and Wall Street. Stocks were more upbeat as investors bet that the [...]
Halfords shares in a spin after poor cycle sales September 3, 2015 SHARES in bikes-to-car parts retailer Halfords took a downhill course yesterday after this summer’s wet weather hit cycling sales in the second quarter. Group like-for-like sales dropped 1.3 per cent in the eight weeks to the end of August – with cycling recording a sharp fall of 11 per cent. The company blamed the poor [...]
Falling crude oil prices drop Canada into its first recession since 2009 September 2, 2015 Canada has officially entered a recession, after their economy shrank again in the second quarter of this year, by 0.5 per cent. Plunging oil prices were blamed for putting the country back into recession for the first time since the financial crisis, though the 0.5 per cent GDP contraction beat forecasts. Lower oil [...]
Halfords share price plummets on poor summer bike sales September 2, 2015 Shares in car and bike maintenance retailer Halfords fell more than 7.7 per cent to 470.6p in early trading, after this summer's soggy weather hit its bicycle sales. The figures Like-for-like sales at the company dropped 1.3 per cent in the eight weeks to the end of August – although for cycling specifically the fall was 11 [...]
The Hut Group eyes acquisitions after securing £210m loan September 2, 2015 FOOTWEAR-to-protein shake online conglomerate the Hut Group has secured a £210m loan with its banks as it eyes further expansion. The firm, which counts retail veterans Sir Stuart Rose and Sir Terry Leahy among its backers, said it has replaced a £80m loan with a £210m credit facility provided by six banks, including Barclays and [...]
Holiday season boosts sales at shopping malls September 1, 2015 SHOPPERS snapping up shoes and beauty products ahead of their holidays helped to boost retail sales in August, according to one of Britain’s biggest shopping centre owners. Hammerson, which owns the Bullring in Birmingham as well as north London’s Brent Cross shopping centre, launched the Hammerson Retail Tracker — or Hart — earlier this year [...]
German retail sales accelerate to beat forecasts with 3.3 per cent growth August 31, 2015 German retail sales beat expectations, gaining 3.3 per cent year-on-year despite eurozone confidence being shaken by the Greek debt crisis. Economists were forecasting a growth of just 1.7 per cent so Germany’s bullish sales figures come close to doubling expectations. Monthly figures showed retail sales jumping by 1.4 per cent from June to July, according [...]
As Amazon lays off engineers, it giving up on smartphones after disappointing Fire sales? August 27, 2015 Remember Fire, Amazon’s first foray into smartphones? Amazon probably wishes it didn’t. The internet retailer is laying off “dozens of engineers” after disappointing sales of its smartphone, released in the UK one year ago, and the company is also curbing parts of its hardware development, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The layoffs were all [...]
China fears hit again to push FTSE back down – London Report August 27, 2015 DESPITE rallying from China-related fears on Tuesday, the UK’s top share index sank yesterday, ending up not far from its lowest closing levels since the end of 2012. Data showing an unexpected pick-up in UK retail sales and an increase in mortgage approvals offered encouraging signals on the domestic economy but failed to stem selling. [...]