British retailers cheer Christmas sales, but City analysts warn of coming storm January 15, 2023 Britain’s largest retailers kicked off 2023 strongly last week, posting better than expected Christmas sales, signalling the consumer is holding up a bit better than feared. Tesco’s like for like sales were 7.9 per cent higher, while Marks and Spencer pocketed a 7.2 per cent rise. Sainsbury’s also posted record Christmas sales. Those bumper numbers, [...]
FTSE 100 close: ASOS and Centrica pop to crystalise strong start to 2023 January 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 built on gains yesterday that propelled to its highest level since 2018 after a series of British bellwether retailers posted a decent set of results this morning and the owner of British Gas skyrocketed. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.89 per cent at 7,794.04 points, while the domestically-focused, mid-cap FTSE 250 [...]
Tesco: Bumper Christmas sales will put shares in the spotlight this morning January 12, 2023 TESCO enjoyed a bumper Christmas period, it told markets this morning, with like-for-like sales up nearly 8 per cent despite bruising economic headwinds. The supermarket told markets this morning it had seen customers switching to Tesco across December. The boost meant revenues hit a cool £19.7bn in the UK and Ireland for the quarter to [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on defensive plays, BA’s new uniforms and Elon Musk’s fall from fortune January 10, 2023 The Notebook is a new feature for 2023, allowing the City’s biggest names to get a few thoughts off their chest. Today it’s the turn of Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at interactive investor It has been widely reported that the UK is on the brink of recession while a third of the global economy [...]
FTSE 100 close: China reopening boosts Antofagasta and London miners January 9, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 has today extended its robust start to the new year, fuelled by mining giants clinching gains on investors betting commodity prices are on the rise as China dismantles pretty much all of its Covid-19 restrictions. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.33 per cent to close at 7,724.93 points on the opening day [...]
RAC calls on Tesco and others to cut fuel prices as costs fall January 6, 2023 The RAC has called on Big Four supermarkets such as Tesco to further cut fuel prices as diesel and petrol prices fell by around 9 per cent in December. Data published today by the motoring group show that petrol went down by 8.4p to 151.1p per litre in December, whilst diesel decreased by 9.4p to [...]
The Meal Deal Inflation Index: Tesco, Greggs, Boots and more January 5, 2023 Times are hard – with a cost of living crisis, inflation, and seemingly constant grey skies. Add strikes to the mix and it’s almost too much to get out of bed. But there is worse than even that – the hardy meal deal, the friend of the cost-conscious Londoners, is no longer quite the value [...]
Sainsbury’s boosts pay as part of £205m inflation package January 4, 2023 Sainsbury’s is investing £185m in pay bumps for staff as the supermarket looks to retain staff during a period of high inflation and rising cost of living. Pay will increase to £11 per hour for retail staff, with London workers paid £11.95. It represents a 10 per cent pay hike over the past year when [...]
Cost of living fears don’t stop Brits spending record £12bn in supermarkets in run-up to Christmas January 4, 2023 BRITS brushed off cost of living and recession fears to spend a record £12bn in UK supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas.
Grocers set for £550m tax reduction over next three years January 3, 2023 UK supermarkets and grocers will benefit from an almost £550 million tax cut over the next three years, according to new analysis. It comes after more than half a million retail properties in England and Wales were revalued as part of a shake-up to the business rates system of property taxes. Analysis of official government [...]