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The City: Christmas and competition
It’s a cliché to say that it’s tough on the high street; just look at the household names that have issued profits warnings over the past few weeks. They range from WH Smith to Philip Green, despite his paying himself a £1bn-plus dividend. Yet, despite reports of house-price inflation taking off again, the Bank of England cut interest rates in August because of fragile consumer spending, and there are even predictions that the general state of the economy is so bad that hopes of staving off a dismal Christmas have been all but abandoned. Note how the London market slipped by 10% in October (but has since rebounded) because of the fears that high energy prices will provoke greater reluctance to open wallets and purses. ...
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