The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported UK retail sales rose 0.3% in November – albeit slower than the revised 0.7% in October. However, the figure was in line with expectations and was driven by sales of toys, sporting accessories and jewellery. Demand for clothing, footwear and households goods remained weak The ONS [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed some optimism among retailers for the Christmas period. Many believe the Christmas period will be no worse than last year – despite consumers being fearful of the Government’s spending cuts and unemployment. According to the BRC’s snapshot of 17 major retailers, which represents up to 51% of the [...]
Falling temperatures led to a slowdown in retail sales in November, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed today. According to the BRC, values were just 0.7% higher compared with November 2009 as consumers are cautious about the uncertainty surrounding the economy and are fearful of spending cuts and rising taxes. The cold weather and snowfall [...]
There is worrying news for the economy today after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail sales growth eased in September. The BRC said consumers are holding off purchasing big-ticket items as they prepare themselves for massive spending cuts, introduced by the Government to slash the budget deficit. Many reports have suggested economic growth will [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today announced UK retail sales growth slowed in July as Government spending cuts dented consumer confidence. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales grew 0.5% in July compared with a year ago, down from 1.2% in June. However, food sales remained strong but big-ticket items were weak. Sales over the last [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today said UK retail sales rose in June due to the hot weather in the latter part of the month. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales rose 1.2% in June compared with the same month a year ago, and were up 0.8% from May – the best reading since March. [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today reported a rise in UK retail sales for the month of May. The Consortium said sales were boosted by the warm weather, as well a high demand for clothing. Furthermore, the forthcoming World Cup tournament boosted television sales, while non-food non-store sales surged 21.9% – the strongest performance [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today reported a sharp fall in UK retail sales for the month of April. According to the BRC, the total value of sales fell by 0.2% in April on an annual basis, while the like-for-like drop was 2.3% – the steepest fall since December 2008. However, the figures suggest [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, today announced that sales grew 10% in the week to 10 April, compared with the same period a year ago. The renowned employee-owned department store said customers are still spending despite the uncertainty over next months’ election. The firm has been outperforming [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today revealed the High Street continued its recovery in March with UK retail sales rising at their fastest rate in almost four years. According to the BRC, the rise was boosted by Easter shopping as consumers stocked up on chocolate, food and drink for the Easter weekend. The BRC [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today revealed the High Street recovered in February after a dismal January, which saw shoppers avoid the stores due to the heavy snowfall. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales were up 2.2% on the year but analysts issued caution since the figures compare with poor trading in February 2009. [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a disappointing performance for the High Street for the month of December. Official figures showed that UK retail sales rose by just 0.3% in December compared with the previous month. On an annual basis, sales were up 2.1% but both monthly and annual figures were lower [...]
Supermarket giant Morrisons has beat its rivals by announcing strong Christmas trading results. The Bradford-based retailer said like-for-like sales in the six weeks to January 3 rose by 6.5%. Meanwhile, total sales grew 11.2% as the supermarket attracted a record number of customers and the strong festive performance resulted in Morrisons increasing its market share [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shops in Central London enjoyed their best December since records began in 2002, with sales up 12% on year. The report came just a week after the BRC reported that Britain experienced an annual 4.2% rise in sales during December. Both sets of figures will boost hopes that the [...]
Discount clothing retailer Primark joins other major retailers by announcing bumper sales over the festive period. Primark’s parent group, Associated British Foods, said the chain is benefiting from consumers opting for cheaper clothes with sales particularly strong in the UK and Spain. The group said: “Trading results for this period were very encouraging and ahead [...]
Fashion and homewares chain Matalan has joined other major retailers by posting strong Christmas sales. The retailer, which is traditionally based in out-of-town locations, said like-for-like sales for the 13 week period ending 2 January grew 9.3%, with like-for-like sales for the five weeks over Christmas and the New Year up 13.7%. The chain, which [...]
Further good news for the UK economy emerged today after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said exports in November soared to £20.2 billion – the highest since October 2008. The rise was fuelled by sales of consumer goods and chemicals, according to the ONS. The ONS said that Britain’s global goods trade gap narrowed [...]
Supermarket giant, Tesco, has announced a sharp rise in Christmas sales and follows strong sales from other major retailers, boosting hopes that the economy has finally emerged from recession. Tesco, which is the UK’s largest retailer, said it experienced its best Christmas in the UK for three years with total UK sales in the six [...]
In its economic survey for the fourth quarter of 2009, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said the UK economy appears to be “on the brink of leaving recession”. The UK has been lagging behind other economies and is now the last major economy that is still in recession. Official figures due to be released [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today announced that the High Street experienced the strongest December for eight years, boosting hopes that the UK economy will have emerged from recession in the fourth quarter. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales grew 4.2% by value during December as last-minute Christmas shoppers boosted sales. However, the BRC [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
