economy - LJN Blog Posts - Landscape Juice Network2024-03-29T14:45:59Zhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/economyJuly 2013 retail sales figures up 3%https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/july-2013-retail-sales-figures-up-32013-08-15T10:58:59.000Z2013-08-15T10:58:59.000ZLandscape Juicehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/LandscapeJuice<div><p>Highlights:</p>
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<p>Estimates of retail sales for July showed continued growth in the quantity bought (or sales volumes) in the retail industry.</p>
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<p>Compared with a year ago (July 2013 compared with July 2012) the quantity bought in the retail industry increased by 3.0%. The main sources of upward pressure came from the predominantly food and non-store retailing sectors.</p>
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<p>Within the food sector, the quantity bought in July 2013 increased by 2.1% compared with July 2012. This was the highest increase since April 2011.</p>
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<p>Feedback from supermarkets suggested that the sunny weather boosted sales across a range of products including food, alcohol, clothing and outdoor items.</p>
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<p>Looking at the monthly picture (July 2013 compared with June 2013), the quantity bought increased by 1.1%. Again, there was strong growth in supermarket sales with a rise of 2.5%.</p>
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<p>In July 2013, the prices of goods sold in the retail industry rose by 1.8% compared with July 2012. This was mainly due to increases in the prices of goods sold in the food sector. This is consistent with the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) release for July 2013.</p>
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<p>In July 2013, the estimated weekly spend across all retailing averaged £7.0 billion, up from £6.8 billion in June 2013 and £6.7 billion in July 2012.</p>
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<p>Source: Office of National Statistics: <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rsi/retail-sales/july-2013/index.html">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rsi/retail-sales/july-2013/index.html</a></p>
</div>Economic recovery hopes boosted by drop in failing firmshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/economic-recovery-failing-firms2013-07-17T07:44:13.000Z2013-07-17T07:44:13.000ZLandscape Juicehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/LandscapeJuice<div><p>40% fall in companies in financial distress raises in second quarter, according to restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor.</p>
<p>The number of companies in financial distress dropped sharply in the second quarter, in the latest sign of improvement in the wider economy.</p>
<p>Businesses in a "critical" condition fell 39% to 3,001 between April and June compared with the same period a year earlier, according to a report by restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor.</p>
<p>Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies, said it was the "first real sign that the UK economy has turned a corner towards a sustained recovery".</p>
<p>She warned however the worst may yet be to come for so-called zombie businesses, which are smaller companies that have survived the recession but are chronically underfunded and do not have sufficient cash to take advantage of a recovery.</p>
<p>"We have real fears that many small and medium-sized enterprises will have serious financial difficulties at the time they least expect - during a recovery.</p>
<p>"Our experience has shown time and time again that many SMEs run out of cash during the recovery phase, as there is a real temptation to overtrade," Palmer said.</p>
<p>The Begbies red flag report, which monitors early signs of financial distress among companies, said that businesses in critical distress also fell 9% in the second quarter compared with the first.</p>
<p>Continue reading <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jul/15/economic-recovery-fall-in-failing-firms?CMP=EMCJOBTXT502I2&CMP=&CMP=&CMP=&et_cid=41960&et_rid=5759877&Linkid=recovery" target="_blank">Economic recovery hopes boosted by drop in failing firms</a></p>
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