Retail footfall dropped by more than a quarter in week after Christmas January 2, 2023 Footfall across the UK’s retail destinations dropped by more than a quarter in the week after Christmas compared with the week before, figures show. Retail expert Springboard said footfall last week was 27.7 per cent lower than the week before, and 19.7 per cent down on the same week in 2019. It was just 7.2 [...]
MoD accused of ‘blowing millions’ on car hires while cutting Army size January 2, 2023 The Ministry of Defence has been accused of “blowing millions” of pounds on hire cars and taxis last year while cutting the size of the Army. A freedom of information (FoI) request by the PA news agency revealed the MoD spent £16.6m on hire cars for staff in the year to November, up from £12.9m [...]
Vodafone CEO frontrunner critical of telecoms sector January 2, 2023 Vodafone’s former non-executive director and ex-EE chief has publicly criticised the bureaucracy of European telecoms. Olaf Swantee, a Dutch businessman and key figure in the continent’s telecom sector has stated that the sector’s biggest companies are too complex and centralised. He stated that the sector needs to listen to customers. Swantee is rumoured to be [...]
Next: Fashion chain starts January sales early ahead of update January 1, 2023 Fashion chain Next is set to shine a light on the health of the retail sector in the aftermath of the “crucial” Christmas shopping period. Investors will be closely watching the clothing and homeware giant’s trading update on Thursday for detail on its sales figures over the festive season. In August, chief executive Lord Wolfson [...]
Gloomy skies: London’s FTSE 100 set for a rocky start to 2023 January 1, 2023 FTSE 100 could benefit from China re-opening but global headwinds threaten The London market kicks off 2023 with a gloomy backdrop as the UK is forecasted to plunge into recession and economies globally wrestle with sky-high inflation amid the energy and cost crisis. After the extreme volatility of 2022, the FTSE 100 Index is expected [...]
Families facing ‘groundhog year’ in 2023 as living standards to be squeezed December 30, 2022 Families are facing a “groundhog year” as further squeezes on living standards take place in 2023, a think-tank has warned. While the year ahead may offer economic policymakers some relief, with signs inflation will ease and interest rates peak lower than feared, family finances face a repeat of 2022’s squeeze as the cost-of-living crisis deepens, [...]
2023 set to be just as ‘horrendous’ as 2022 with falling pay and soaring energy bills December 30, 2022 Next year looks set to be just as “horrendous” for many families’ living standards as this year, as they are hit with falling pay and soaring energy, tax and mortgage bills, a think tank has warned. Households face a cost-of-living “groundhog year” with disposable incomes plummeting even further than in 2022, which saw the biggest [...]
House price growth falls for fourth consecutive month, worst run since 2008 December 30, 2022 House prices have plummeted for the fourth consecutive month by 2.8 per cent in December, the worst run since the financial crisis of 2008. Nationwide’s latest House Price Index shows this month proved to be another sharp slow down in growth down from 4.4 per cent in November. House prices fell by 0.1 per cent [...]
Government ‘sabotaging’ efforts to resolve strike waves, new TUC boss claims December 29, 2022 The new general secretary of the TUC has accused the Government of “sabotaging” efforts to resolve the wave of strikes continuing to sweep across the country. Paul Nowak takes over the job amid the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest in a generation, with leaders of health, rail, civil service, teaching and postal unions increasingly angry [...]
Govt accused of ‘rank double standards’ as civil servants paid £30m in vouchers December 29, 2022 The Government has been accused of “rank double standards” after giving almost £30 million in high-street vouchers to civil servants amid a pay freeze prompted by the cost-of-living crisis. Sixteen Whitehall departments in 2021-22 paid out a combined total of £29.57 million to staff in the form of ‘reward and recognition’ vouchers, a third more [...]