Boxing Day sales 2015: UK footfall soars to defy online sales which dominated Black Friday and Christmas Eve December 27, 2015 Black Friday and pre-Christmas shopping may have been a letdown for brick and mortar retailers, but Boxing Day certainly delivered. In-store shopper traffic soared by 3.36 per cent year-on-year on 26 December, according to data from retail intelligence firm FootFall, showing that the rise is mainly driven by an increase in shopping centre footfall counteracting [...]
World’s largest economies: UK could overtake Germany and Japan to become world’s fourth biggest economy December 26, 2015 The strength of the UK's economic performance has been underlined as it was named the fifth biggest economy in the world for the second successive year and forecast to eventually overtake Japan and Germany. In its annual league table of world economies, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) forecast the UK to become "the best performing economy" [...]
Sirius Minerals share price jumper after it signs with the China’s Huaken International December 24, 2015 Shares in Sirius Minerals jumped as much as 11.2 per cent to 15.57p per share today after the Aim-listed company clinched a deal with a Chinese company. Chinese importer and exporter Huaken International has agreed to buy 500,000 tonnes of polyhalite over a seven-year period from Sirius' York Potash mine. It's an "offtake" agreement, something that's agreed before a [...]
Mortgage approvals dip in November – but are still 25 per cent higher than the same period last year December 24, 2015 It may be hours before the great Christmas getaway begins, but the British Bankers' Association (BBA) hasn't let that get in the way of bringing you Serious News. This morning the organisation said the number of loans dished out to homebuyers has dipped, falling to 44,960 in November, down from 45,463 in October. No festive frivolities there… The [...]
Wandisco share price leaps after big data contract wins December 24, 2015 Shares in big data company Wandisco jumped this morning, after it unveiled two "significant" new contracts with (unnamed) companies in the financial services and telecoms sectors. Shares were nine per cent higher at 85p in early trading. In a statement yesterday the company – one of the few listed companies able to boast headquarters in both California and [...]
FTSE 100 set to drop five per cent over the year on mining, oil and banking stocks December 24, 2015 The FTSE 100 is set to end the year lower than it started thanks to disappointing performances in the mining, oil and gas and banking sectors – after it reached highs in excess of the 7,000-point mark in March, April and May. The index hovered around 6,250 points in early trading, up 0.1 per cent, [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index makes strong gains on the back of commodities December 23, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed sharply higher on Wednesday, with the bounce-back led by mining companies with oil companies not far behind. The UK's top blue-chip index closed 2.6 per cent up at 6,240 points, as the dead cat bounce in resources continued. "Stock markets have been encouraged by a stabilisation in commodity prices which has picked up [...]
Brent crude oil price rises as US stockpiles drop less than expected – despite disappointing Opec report December 23, 2015 Oil rose slightly this afternoon after figures by the US Energy Department suggested stockpiles of crude oil fell sharply last week – just hours after a report by the world's largest oil cartel said prices aren't expected to rise to pre-2015 levels until 2040. The price of Brent crude oil rose more than two per cent [...]
Eurotunnel has record breaking year for freight – despite Calais migrant crisis December 23, 2015 Despite Operation Stack holding up thousands of lorries in Kent, Groupe Eurotunnel reported a record breaking year for its freight shuttle service. The company said that a week after "Le Shuttle Freight" carried the 23 millionth truck through the Channel Tunnel since commercial services started, Eurotunnel hit a new all-time record. Eurotunnel carried just under 1.5m trucks [...]
UK GDP revision: Economic growth weaker than expected December 23, 2015 UK economic growth was slower than previously thought between July and September, weighed down by a worse than expected performance in the dominant services sector. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revised its estimate for UK economic growth in the third quarter to 0.4 per cent from 0.5 per cent. Additionally, the annual growth rate was snipped [...]