Is the recession over on the high street?
Today's news that UK retailer Next has increased its own internal profit forecast for the current year, after announcing interim figures which were ahead of analyst expectations, would appear to suggest that the UK recession is ending on the high street. When you consider that Next is at the higher end of the food chain which is the UK retail sector, this is definitely a good sign for the future and some think which investors will no doubt ponder.
Better-than-expected growth in the company's underlying business took many analysts by surprise after experiencing one of the most destructive recessions of recent times. It will be interesting to see how other retailers on the high street respond and whether in fact their figures are moving in the same direction as Next. However, it has to be said that Next is one of the most proactive and business savvy retailers on the high street and has been very quick to reposition itself in different economic environments in the past.
Whether the forthcoming increase in VAT will impact upon short to medium term sales remains to be seen because ultimately the UK government had reduced VAT to help the high street in the depths of the recession.
Share this..
Related stories
British Airways needs to reduce costs
Last week's revelation that British Airways made a loss of £400 million for the 12 months to March 2009 has shocked many in the city. While it has been clear for some time that the likes of British Airways were struggling under the UK recession, and the worldwide recession, a company which has turned a £1 billion profit last year into a £400 million loss obviously needs urgent attention.
...
Summer chaos is set to hit British Airways
After a period of relatively friendly relations with workers and unions, British Airways directors were today issued with confirmation that employees are not willing to take on further job cuts, a pay freeze and the cost saving measures proposed by the company. It has only been days since the company managed to get the agreement of thousands of staff to either work some hours free or switch to par...
Read MoreTop economist believes UK base rate could remain low for years
Gerard Lyons, the chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, has today issued his own comments and opinion on the UK economy. In direct contradiction to the vast majority of economists in the city he believes that the Bank of England has been hinting for some time that UK base rates will remain low for years to come and that deflation is the major problem rather than inflation. So who is right?
UK unions threaten rail disruptions as job security brought into question
The RMT union has today announced plans to ballot 3500 workers in relation to potential job losses after Stagecoach and rival Go-Ahead Group issued warnings on the state of the UK rail network and the potential for passenger volumes to fall in the short to medium term. The unions have approached the companies in question with regard to job security for their members although no formal comment has...
Read MoreNational Express set to feel more pain
It has been revealed that the Cosmen family, the largest individual shareholders in National Express, have been discussing various issues with leading investors and trying to drum up support for a reassessment of company's terminated merger talks with Stagecoach. As we covered yesterday, there is very strong investor opinion with regard to the re-opening of potential talks with Stagecoach, althoug...
Read More