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CBI downgrades growth forecast to -0.4% amid ‘lacklustre outlook’

CBI has downgraded its GDP growth outlook significantly, to -0.4% in 2023 (from 1.0% in its last forecast), after a “turbulent year both politically and economically”. It said the reason behind the latest change is that the economy is likely to have fallen into a recession in Q3 2022, and…

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Job cuts will continue into 2023, warns Amazon CEO

Amazon has confirmed that further cuts to its workforce should be expected in 2023, as the group continues its annual operating planning review, following reports it was planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs. In an open letter to staff, CEO Andy Jassy said team leaders across the group were…

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Amazon shares fall as group predicts sales slowdown

Amazon has seen its shares plummet by as much as 20% after it warned of a slowdown in sales for the upcoming quarter.  It comes as the group reported that sales hit $127.1bn (£110bn) in the quarter ended 30 September, 2022, a rise of 15% against the prior year yet…

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Business energy bills to be capped under new gov scheme

The government has unveiled a new plan that is set to cap wholesale energy bills for businesses for an initial six-month period from 1 October.  The Government Energy Bill Relief Scheme, unveiled today (21 September) by business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, will reportedly bring support for households, businesses and public sector…

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Energy bills to be capped at £2,500 a year from October

Prime minister Liz Truss has announced today that energy bills for typical households will be capped at £2,500 annually for their gas and electricity bills from the start of this coming October. The news comes as her first major policy announcement, and according to Sky News, the new price guarantee…

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Retailers call for strong leadership and high street support from new PM

The retail industry has urged Liz Truss to work alongside the sector and provide “strong leadership” amid the deepening cost-of-living crisis, as she succeeds the role of prime minister today (6 September). The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that while the retail industry is ready to work with the new…

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Food prices rise at fastest rate since 2008, BRC finds

New data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ index has shown that food prices have risen at their fastest rate since 2008 in August, with an increase of 9.3% after an initial 7% increase last month.  The BRC reported that fresh food was more than 10% more expensive…

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Inflation hits new 40-year high at 10.1%

Inflation has once again broken records with a new 40-year high recorded last month, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 10.1% in the 12 months to July 2022, up from 9.4% in June.  According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the biggest contribution to this figure was rising…

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In conversation with the CIO of the ‘Amazon Prime of mattresses’

How was Mattress Online started?  Mattress Online was started back in 2003 by Steve Kelly, an industry expert in the mattress and bed industry, and Steve Adams, an entrepreneur in e-commerce. The starting point was bridging traditional retail with the next step, which was getting it online. Bear in mind,…

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Shop vacancies fall for third quarter in a row

In the second quarter of 2022, the overall GB vacancy rate decreased to 14.0%, which was 0.1 percentage points better than Q1 and 0.5 percentage points better than the same period last year, according to the BRC. This was the third consecutive quarter of falling vacancy rates. All locations saw…

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