GDP
This coverage examines how UK gross domestic product (GDP) trends affect the retail sector, analysing economic growth, consumer confidence, and spending behaviour. Reporting highlights the implications of GDP fluctuations for retail sales, investment decisions, and operational planning — offering insight for executives, managers, and professionals responding to wider economic conditions.
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Mar- 2020 -26 MarchComment
Preventing inevitable recession from becoming depression
The global economy is heading into a recession, initially at least a pretty severe one. The measures introduced by governments in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus are having a dramatic effect on huge swathes of economic activity. There is the direct loss of output and employment…
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24 MarchEconomy
Covid-19 brings UK economy to temporary standstill, says KPMG
The impact of the Covid-19 virus is expected to see the UK economy contract by 2.6% in 2020, according to KPMG UK’s latest quarterly Economic Outlook. A protracted outbreak could also result in a more severe impact than the downturn experienced in 2008-09. However, it said the economy is expected…
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11 MarchBusiness Bites
ROUNDUP: Business rates holiday announced by chancellor Sunak
In his maiden budget, the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a £30bn fiscal stimulus package to help combat the impact of coronavirus on the British economy including a one-year total suspension of business rates for small retail, leisure and hospitality businesses. Headline measures include: A £12bn plan to provide…
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Feb- 2020 -18 FebruaryEconomy
Consumer confidence reaches record-high in February
The IHS Markit Household Finance Index reached a record-high of 47.6 in February, up from 44.6 last month. IHS Markit, the global information provider which compiles the survey, said it is the highest index reading since the survey began 11 years ago. The firm added that while the figure is…
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14 FebruaryAnalysis
German stagnation, Javid out, RBS gets environmental, Norton no-show
The German economy has stagnated due to significant falls in spending and exports. New figures show that GDP ‘flat lined’ (financial jargon for neither growing nor contracting) in the final quarter of 2019, bad news since economists and analysts had hoped that it would grow about 0.1%. It means Germany’s…
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11 FebruaryAnalysis
Yes, the trade barriers are coming
I think both Leavers and Remainers probably expected this in the long run – Michael Gove announced yesterday that businesses should “accept” that frictionless trade with the EU will be impossible whatever agreement is finally reached by the deadline of 31 December this year. This is the cost, he says,…
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Jan- 2020 -17 JanuaryAnalysis
The trillion-dollar club has gained Google as a member
Remember at school when teachers used to explain how one million was an essentially incomprehensibly large number? I recall one of mine showing the number represented on a huge rolled out piece of paper as wide and long as a carpet, with precisely one million individual dots. I was about…
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Apr- 2019 -10 AprilEconomy
Business confidence ‘crashes’ to lowest point since 2012
Business optimism has “crashed” to its lowest level since September 2012, according to a new report from accountants and business advisors BDO. BDO’s Optimism Index, which shows how businesses expect output to develop in the next three to six months, plummeted to 96.10 in March from 99.79 in February. According…
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Feb- 2019 -19 FebruaryEconomy
Majority of shoppers say Brexit won’t affect spending
A survey of over 2,000 consumers conducted by PwC has shown that more than 60% of respondents said Brexit will not and has not affected how much they will spend for the year ahead. The findings in PwC’s 2019 Retail Outlook revealed respondents in the north east of the country…
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Oct- 2018 -9 OctoberAdvice
The Brexit dividend may be nearing an end for UK retailers – so what now?
Much has been made of the potential ‘Brexit dividend’ that the economy may enjoy if the UK parts company with Brussels in March next year, with the argument polarising commentators and economists. One sector of the economy that benefitted initially after the referendum is retail, as international shoppers were able…
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