The Commerce Department today revealed US retail sales slowed in January – this was attributed to the heavy snowfall which gripped parts of the country during the month. According to the Commerce Department, sales grew 0.3% in January on a monthly basis – the slowest gain in seven months. However, on an annual basis, sales [...]
Budget airline easyJet has today said it was hit by the severe wintry weather in Europe last month and was hit by costs of £31 million, which also included strike action by French air traffic controllers. However, taking this into account, the airline said revenue in its first quarter (the final three months of 2010) [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today revealed activity in the UK housing market fell in December as heavy snowfall gripped most of the country during the month. The Institution said new buyer enquiries were down, while new instructions from vendors fell to an 18-month low. Uncertainty surrounding the economy and the ongoing [...]
Airports operator BAA has today reported a sharp fall in passenger numbers at its six British airports in December – hit by the heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country during the month. BAA, which is majority owned by Spain’s Ferrovial, said the big freeze cost it £24 million as Heathrow and other airports [...]
The heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country last month was expected to impact negatively on retail sales. However, retail sales fell just 0.3% on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor. However, total sales rose 1.5% against 6% growth the previous year – a sharp drop but [...]
The heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country last month has hit more retailers, figures showed today. December 2010 was the coldest nationally since records began in 1910. Yesterday, Next – Britain’s second largest fashion retailer, said sales for the five months to Christmas Eve – at shops open at least a year – [...]
Music, books, DVDs and games retailer, HMV, has today said it is planning to close 60 stores over the next year. The announcement came after it revealed sales were hit by the recent heavy snowfall. The chain also continues to struggle amid tough competition from supermarkets and internet companies, such as Amazon. Shares in the [...]
The heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country last month resulted in a fall in sales at Next – Britain’s second largest fashion retailer. The company today announced sales for the five months to Christmas Eve – at shops open at least a year – were down 6.1%. However, online sales were up 8.7% [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, today revealed sales rose in the week to 18 December. The renowned employee-owned department store said sales grew 7% to £120.3 million, compared with the same period a year ago. However, this was down on the previous week’s record of £121 million. [...]
Christmas shopping could be hit with the expected return of heavy snowfall over the next few days, according to a report today. A survey by market research company, GfK NOP, found that almost one third of Christmas shopping in Britain is done in the two weeks prior to Christmas. Should the bad weather return, retailers [...]
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 [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, has announced that sales growth struggled last week as the cold snap meant shoppers stayed at home. The renowned employee-owned department store said “the snow has impacted both footfall and sales in shops where the weather has been particularly poor.” However, the [...]
Known as “Mega Monday”, today is expected to be the busiest internet shopping day of the year with online shoppers expecting to spend £22 million an hour – according to shopping comparison website Kelkoo. A staggering £537 million is expected to spent today as the majority of British consumers will have just received their final [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) today reported the heavy snowfall earlier in the year cost insurers £650 million in weather-related claims. Between December 18 and January 13, when snow and plummeting temperatures swept the country, there were around 335,000 claims, said the ABI. The majority of the claims came from motorists as a result [...]
As expected, the snowy and icy conditions experienced in the UK in January has resulted in a fall in retail sales. The severe wintry weather drove shoppers away from the High Street and resulted in a 1.8% fall in retail sales – the sharpest drop in 18 months. The official figures, from the Office for [...]
Discount clothing retailer Ethel Austin has entered administration for the second time in two years. The Liverpool-based retailer, which has 300 stores, will trade as normal while administrators MCR seek a new buyer. However, MCR could not rule out closures or job losses since there were “no guarantees” that a buyer could be sought in [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, today announced that takings recovered slightly in the week to 16 January compared with the previous week when heavy snowfall affected much of the country. In the week to 16 January, sales were up 11.1% on the same period a year ago. [...]
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 [...]
Research company Synovate has revealed that the recent heavy snowfall is having a major affect on the number of people visiting the High Street. The UK has been hit by the worst weather in 30 years and on Sunday 10 January, overall shopper numbers in non-food stores in the UK were down 14% compared with [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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