UK weather: Has this autumn been warmer than normal? Turns out October 2014 has been colder than the 20-year average October 31, 2014 Has this October really been “unseasonably warm”? This week two retailers have blamed the weather for poor sales. First up it was Next, which has become renowned for generally being so cautious on its guidance that it surprises on the upside. It was forced to lower its full year guidance, however, saying autumn had [...]
Warm weather leaves Next feeling the heat October 29, 2014 HIGH street retailers saw shares hit yesterday after Next warned its profits would slip lower due to the “unseasonably warm” October weather that impacted its winter clothing sales. Next said third quarter sales were up 5.4 per cent, almost half the 10 per cent expected, knocking shares as much as three per cent during early [...]
Top economists reject Paul Krugman’s call for government intervention to curb Amazon’s market power October 29, 2014 Rarely far from controversy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman caused quite the stir in his New York Times column a couple weeks back. Krugman argued that e-commerce giant Amazon "has too much power, and it uses that power in ways that hurt Americans". Furthermore, state intervention was necessary to protect the public. Amazon drew Krugman's [...]
Markets keep their cool as Federal Reserve ends quantitative easing October 29, 2014 The Federal Reserve has announced the end of its monthly $15bn bond-buying programme, adding that its intention is to maintain low interest rates for "considerable time". The Fed was more bullish on the state of the US labour market, and all its members with the exception of one voted to draw quantitative easing (QE) to [...]
Next share price drops on back of profit warning as warm weather hits sales October 29, 2014 High street retailer Next has warned that profits will be lower than expected for the full year as a result of warm weather, pushing its share price down this morning. Sales for the third quarter were up 5.4 per cent, almost half the 10 per cent originally expected, saying weather this autumn had been "unseasonably [...]
US consumer confidence hits seven-year high October 28, 2014 AMERICAN consumer confidence shot up to a seven-year high this month, according to an industry survey published yesterday. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up in the next couple of months, the Conference Board’s findings will provide a boost to retailers across the pond. Respondents to the survey were more optimistic about both the US jobs [...]
Barclay brothers’ Shop Direct taps into smartphone shoppers October 28, 2014 Littlewoods owner Shop Direct yesterday said booming online sales on mobile phones helped to double profits at the business last year. The online retailer, owned by billionaire brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, said nearly half of all online sales were made via mobiles last year. The boom helped pre-tax profits at the group [...]
Drug legalisation: What was learned from Colorado’s marijuana experiment October 28, 2014 It's almost two years since the US state of Colorado voted to legalise the recreational use of marijuana. With several US states set to vote on similar initiatives and the debate surrounding the war on drugs more raging more furiously than, the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank, has released a paper examining the effect [...]
Plasma TVs are officially dead as LG is the last major company to end production October 28, 2014 LG is the latest, and last, major electronics maker to end production of the screen which was once the height of super-size TV technology – the plasma screen. This time last year LG, Samsung and Panasonic were the only major manufacturers still in the plasma market after seventeen years. Panasonic earlier this year stopped making [...]
Cold weather boosts sales as shoppers buy winter wardrobe October 27, 2014 RETAILERS saw strong sales growth in the year to October after cooling temperatures prompted delayed purchases of winter clothes. Figures released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) yesterday show 48 per cent of retailers reported a rise in sales volumes in the year to October compared to 17 per cent who said they fell. [...]