Eurozone retail sales fall July 5, 2011 Retail sales in the euro zone slipped in May from April with a sharp fall in economic powerhouse Germany, data showed on Tuesday, as the single currency area prepared for a likely interest rate rise. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said month-on-month volumes of retail sales fell by 1.1 per cent in the 17 [...]
Centrica says gas costs are hitting profit June 28, 2011 BRITISH energy giant Centrica has said its profits in the first half of 2011 will be lower than last year, and hinted that it could raise household bills to help offset this drop. Centrica said UK residential energy will deliver just half the operating profits that it did in 2010, blaming higher commodity and operating [...]
Customers go cold over energy price hikes June 28, 2011 Energy companies measured a drop in buzz earlier in June as it was announced that Scottish Power would be increasing its prices in August, with other companies expected to follow suit and announce increases in the coming weeks. Feeling the pinch from the significant increase in wholesale prices for gas and electricity, plus the apparent [...]
We will muddle through amid economic woes June 26, 2011 IT’S amazing how far we’ve come in a short period of time. Back in early February, financial markets were still pricing in the chances of a Bank of England rates rise in May. Now, with the release of minutes from June’s MPC meeting, a rate hike isn’t fully expected until July 2012. As a result, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 22, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BA CABIN CREW VOTE FOR PEACE DEAL British Airways cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly to accept a peace deal, ending 18 months of conflict in one of the most bitter recent industrial disputes. Unite said members voted 92 per cent in favour of what it described as an “honourable settlement’’, with eight per [...]
Ofgem demands UK energy market shake-up June 22, 2011 Ofgem has told the country’s biggest utilities it believes sweeping reforms are needed to the retail gas and electricity market to encourage competition at a time of rising energy prices. “We will pursue breaking up the stranglehold of the Big Six on the electricity market to encourage more firms, like new arrival the Co-op, to [...]
Banks and commodities fall as Greek debt crisis lingers June 20, 2011 BANKS and commodity stocksdragged Britain’s top index lower yesterday, as Greece’s lingering debt crisis looks likely to stall the FTSE’s progress near-term, analysts said. Investors reacted negatively after European finance ministers postponed a final decision on extending a further €12bn in emergency loans to Greece. The International Monetary Fund weighed in, saying it needed to [...]
Energy prices keep Eurozone inflation high June 16, 2011 HIGHER energy prices kept Eurozone annual inflation well above the European Central Bank’s target in May, data showed yesterday, strengthening the case for an expected ECB interest rate rise in July. Eurostat said consumer prices in the 17 countries using the euro were flat month-on-month in May and confirmed its earlier estimate of a 2.7 [...]
Inflation held up by steeper food prices June 14, 2011 INFLATION is widely expected to balloon past five per cent in the coming months, after rising food costs held the consumer price index to a two-and-a-half year high of 4.5 per cent in May. May’s steady rate on the CPI “represents just a temporary pause in an upward trend which could take inflation to 5.5 [...]
Sterling’s slump is costing us all dear June 12, 2011 WELCOME to price hike Britain. Wherever one looks, consumer goods and food are becoming dearer. Energy prices are rocketing. One fundamental reason for these increases is the collapse in the value of sterling since the recession, a development which has been insufficiently well understood by the UK’s political establishment. Sterling’s slump is a dramatic reversal [...]