J Sainsbury plc has warned that the conflict in the Middle East will impact both our customers and our business, raising the prospect of lower profits this year as geopolitical pressure feeds through into household budgets and supply chains.
The BRC cautioned that the Easter uplift, which arrived earlier than usual this year, fell short of what retailers had been banking on, leaving many in no mood to celebrate as April's cost pressures begin to bite.
Franchisees have had to put prices up. We've worked really hard not to do that, but we've had some significant incremental cost flow through the employment changes that came through. A lot of brands have really pulled back - they've either put their prices up massively or they've pulled back on their service. I think we've got the balance right in terms of how we've approached it.
In February, new car registrations reached 90,100, marking the best performance for the month in 22 years and the highest volume for February since 2004. The 7.2% year-on-year increase reflects a recovery in consumer confidence, with much of this momentum driven by private retail buyers returning to showrooms after a period of cautious spending.
Typical of Trump, he is boasting about the performance of the U.S. economy in the most hyperbolic terms. He even declared that his economy is 'the greatest ever in history' in a recent interview on Fox Business Network. He points to the stock market and allegedly low inflation to back his claim.
U.S. economic growth slowed in the final three months of last year, dragged down by the six-week shutdown of the federal government and a pullback in consumer spending. The nation's gross domestic product - the output of goods and services - increased at a 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday, down from 4.4% in the July-September quarter and 3.8% in the quarter before that.
If you're feeling anxious about the economy, you're not alone. Consumer confidence is at its lowest in more than a decade. Americans are worried about inflation, a possible recession, and job security-and that anxiety is reshaping how they spend. Even high earners are pulling back. Households are cutting big-ticket indulgences like vacations, fine dining, and designer fashion and redirecting spending toward essentials like groceries and personal care.
It pushed the US dollar index to a four-year low and continues to drive gold and silver to fresh record highs this morning. Trade and geopolitical uncertainty, tied to an increasingly unreliable American friend and ally, as well as growing concerns about what will happen to the Federal Reserve's credibility once Jerome Powell leaves office (it will fly out of the window), continue to weigh on the US dollar.
Twice as many Americans believe their financial security is getting worse than better, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian, and they are increasingly blaming the White House. The poll, conducted by Harris, will be a further blow to Donald Trump's efforts to fight off criticism of his handling of the economy and contains some worrying findings for the president.
The average American has always been misinformed about basic economic and political realities, but not to this degree. Something has fundamentally changed in how people perceive the economy, and this is far more than just media misinformation (which does play a big part). We can actually measure people's sentiment in myriad ways, and with the holiday season on the horizon, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to a seven month low of 88.7 in November, missing analysts' expectations today of 93.2.
While overall footfall fell for the sixth consecutive month, there was some good news on High Streets, which saw positive shopper traffic after a disappointing September. With consumer confidence remaining weak ahead of the possibility of a tax-raising Budget, many households have stayed away from shopping centres and retail parks. However, a Friday Halloween brought some welcome relief, delivering a late-month boost for retailers.
Selfridges has blamed a slump in the number of international tourists shopping for luxury goods in the UK and weaker consumer confidence for a fall in annual sales, as the retailer racked up losses for a fifth year in a row. The upmarket department store chain reported a 7% decline in sales in the 48 weeks to 4 January 2025 to 775m compared with 835m recorded over the 53 weeks of its previous year.
Almost £1 billion was wiped off the stock market value of Britain's biggest retailers on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank warned that consumer confidence is sliding sharply ahead of the autumn budget. The bank's so-called fear index points to rising anxiety across all income groups, with shoppers concerned about job losses, frozen tax thresholds, and the prospect of further fiscal tightening from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
