World Cup boost to UK retail sector
Believe it or not, despite the poor performance of the English football team at the South African World Cup, there was a significant boost from the event for the UK retail sector. Between May and June this year we saw sales increase by 0.7% at a time when many had been forecasting doom and gloom for the UK retail sector. So will this give UK consumers the boost they need?
While there's no doubt that the short-term increase in consumer activity during the World Cup will come to an end now that the event is over we may well have seen the start of a return of the feel-good factor. However, there is certainly no room for complacency with regards to the UK economy at a time when budget cuts will inevitably eat into consumer funds and retail activity. Despite a more hopeful outlook in the short to medium term it was very evident this week that the Bank of England is still concerned about the short-term situation in the UK.
Against this backdrop it is very easy to get carried away with regards to the recent retail figures, no matter what is actually going on underneath the surface.
Share this..
Related stories
Minimum-wage increased by 2% from October
The minimum wage will increase by 2% from October 2010, or 13p, coming in at £5.93 an hour. This increase is in line with the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission but is well behind the retail price index which is the common measurements of inflation. Recently the UK government reminded the Low Pay Commission that it also had an obligation to consider the competitiveness of small to medium-si...
Read MoreInterest rates look set to hold
The Bank of England looks set to hold interest rates at 5.75 per cent when it meets this week to assess the impact of five interest rate rises already this year on the economy. Economists and business leaders have both called for the Bank to leave rates where they are - which would be good news for homeowners, who have seen mortgage payments rise over the past few months, and also for retailers wh...
Read MoreUK banks still short of capital
In a disappointing move for the UK banking sector and the UK government, the Bank of England still believes that many UK banks are still short of capital adequacy. This is despite the fact that billions upon billions of pounds of taxpayer's money has been poured into the sector, with little return as yet. So what exactly is going on?
While it would be wrong to suggest that the UK ba...
Bank tempted by half-point hike in May meeting
The Bank of England considered raising interest rates by 0.5 per cent to 5.75 per cent in its May decision.Minutes from the May meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC) show unanimity on the eventual decision to raise the base rate by 0.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent.Despite not having raised rates by a half-point since chancellor Gordon Brown granted the Bank independence on rate-setting in 19...
Read MoreHas Gordon Brown alienated the business sector in the UK?
Despite Lord Mandelson criticising some of the UK's more prominent business leaders, who backed the Conservative party pledge to reduce the increase in national insurance, Gordon Brown yesterday repeated his concern that business leaders have been "duped". The initial attack by Lord Mandelson produced a furious backlash from the business arena and now Gordon Brown is literally provoking the same k...
Read More