Lowe’s Clothes Help to Put Peacocks on Fashion High

A successful start to its collaboration with Pearl Lowe, the musician-turned-fashion designer, helped Peacocks, the fashion value retailer, to solid Christmas trading.
Peacocks, which has 546 stores in the UK, said that like-for-like sales in the eight weeks to January 2 were up by 17% on the same period last year. Sales overall rose by 13%.
Richard [...]

Poundland Shrugs off Woolies’ Effect

Poundland, the discount retailer, enjoyed a bumper Christmas as shoppers opted for value in stocking fillers, decorations and cards.
The group, which claims to be Europe’s biggest single-price discount retailer, said that like-for-like sales during the five weeks to January 3 had been up by 4.4% on the same period last year.
Jim McCarthy, the chief executive, [...]

Measuring the Impact of the Labour Market on Interest Rates

The Times is publishing regular briefings to coincide with the Target Two Point Zero competition for sixth-formers, run with the Bank of England. The contest challenges students to play the role of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and choose the best level of interest rates. This week: the labour market.
Why does the MPC scrutinize labour [...]

CBI Pours Cold Water on Green Shoots for Economy

A tentative recovery in Britain’s financial services sector will fizzle out soon, posing fresh questions about a revival in the wider economy, according to the CBI.
In its latest quarterly survey, which is published, the employers’ group says that banks, building societies, dealers and other financial institutions are at their most pessimistic since December 2008, when [...]

Santander Stamps Its Name on Banks

Spanish banking giant Santander will begin rebranding its Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches. About 300 branches in London and the south-east will be the first to undergo the name change.
By the end of the month, the group aims to have rebranded all 1000 of its Abbey and B&B branches. It plans to carry out [...]