Morrisons confirms strong Christmas trading
UK supermarket giant Morrisons has today confirmed strong trade over the festive period with like for like sales increasing by 6.5% in the six weeks to 3 January. This figure strips out the impact of new stores and is broadly in line with figures released by likes of Tesco and Sainsburys earlier this month. Even though Morrisons is on the verge of losing chief executive Marc Bolland to Marks & Spencer it seems to be business as usual at least for the time being.
Outside of the UK supermarket sector Christmas trading has been mixed with some companies performing significantly better than others. This would indicate that the improvement in the UK economy is not as yet widespread and could also confirm the opinion that the recovery is at this moment in time fragile and without a solid base.
The first quarter and the second quarter of 2010 will be vital as an indication of the strength and direction of the UK economy for the whole of the year. Inflation has picked up in the short-term, but is expected to fall back, and there is now a growing argument that UK base rates should increase to reduce the potential threat of inflation by stifling credit at source.
Share this..
Related stories
Pension pots fall by 60% over last decade
Research by Life and Pensions shows the true problems within the UK pensions sector with the average personal pension pot having fallen by 60% over the last decade. While some of the fall can be attributed to the dot-com boom at the start of the last decade, which may well have artificially inflated pension pots, there is no doubt that the recession, changes in the tax regime and the longest reces...
Read MoreMoneyfacts: Crunch fears for buy-to-let
Buy-to-let investors will have to pay more for a mortgage due to the credit crunch.Figures from the financial website show that the average initial deposit required from borrowers has risen over the past year, from 17 per cent to 20 per cent.This counteracts the slight fall in overall house prices detected over the past few months.Keeping initial deposits low and the amount borrowed high is especi...
Read MoreIcelandic government set date for referendum
The Icelandic government has now set a date for a referendum which will give the Iceland population the opportunity to vote on the proposed compensation package to be paid to the UK and the Netherlands governments. In reality this is the return of a loan financed by the UK and the Netherlands government which will be used, or that was the idea, to repay savers who lost out in the Icelandic banking...
Read MoreWhen will pressure on the pound reduce?
Over the last few weeks the UK pound has been under consistent pressure against the dollar with concerns about the UK budget deficit and the massive UK sovereign debt. The last couple of days have seen David Cameron clarify the position regarding UK finances and yesterday we saw Fitch suggest that the UK government needs to reduce the budget deficit by at least £83 billion over the next four year...
Read MoreThree quarters of homeowners to avoid Hips
As the furore over the introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) continues, property website Rightmove has reassured sellers that only 25 per cent of home owners will be obliged to have a pack.The news comes as the government has decided that only households with four or more bedrooms will have to have a compulsory Hip as standard.According to Rightmove, only 221,954 larger properties on the m...
Read More