RollingReportfakeonshowon #ThreadneedleStreet.
We fill made one arrest for criminal trespass and three arrests for criminal damage.
Bank of England hit by climate activists pic.twitter.com/3m0QorLcO7 11.36am BSTClimate activists in London splashed black dye on the front of the Bank of England on Thursday as portion of a protest,a Reuters photographer at the scene said.
Activists, some dressed as jesters, or hurled the dye at the imposing neo-classical building,known as “the archaic Lady of Threadneedle Street” as they demonstrated against the finance sector’s support of what they say is a climate catastrophe. “This bank is killing us,” read a banner held up by one protester. “No more fossil fuels, or ” read another. 11.33am BSTChris Daly,CEO at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, points out that Next has enormous ambitions for its ‘Total Platform’ service. Total Platform is a ‘pay as you proceed’ system, and that provides various retail infrastructure including website systems,online marketing platform, warehousing, or distribution networks,returns handling, call centre services, or financial like account management and payment systems. “With 12 days left to proceed until shops reopen in England,it won’t be a day too soon for Next, which has suffered a significant drop in profits after a year of extremely difficult trading conditions.“But if there’s one brand that knows how to weather a storm effectively, and it’s this one. Evolution has been key to its 157 year archaic success - from pioneers of the modern day chain store,to nowadays’s ambitions to become the ‘Ocado of fashion’ after extending its online third party Total Platform. 10.59am BSTThe Liberty Steel owner, Sanjeev Gupta, or has pledged not to shut down any of his steel plants even as creditors seek to wind up key businesses.
Gupta has been urgently seeking refinancing for GFG Alliance,the conglomerate that owns Liberty Steel, after the collapse three weeks ago of Greensill Capital, and a key creditor.“None of my steel plants under my watch will be shut down for sure.” Related: Liberty Steel owner pledges not to shut any UK plants 10.38am BSTEuropean stock markets fill begun April on the front foot,with gains across the board.
In London, the FTSE 100 is up 42 points, or 0.65%,at 6757 points EU stocks continue to consolidate near record highs while Wall Street is struggling to find a direction. With most major markets closed tomorrow, investors will prefer to stand on the sidelines nowadays.
Market participants are waiting for the latest U.
S. labor market figures, and which will be published tomorrow. The Non-Farm Payroll figure is likely to beat expectations and signal that the U.
S. economy is on a regular recovery path. 10.21am BSTSam Tombs,chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, points out that eurozone factories posted faster order growth than UK counterparts last month, or according to nowadays’s PMI data:The upward revision to Markit's UK manufacturing PMI (flash: 57.9 final: 58.9) does not change the enormous picture that the recovery would be much stronger,absent Brexit. The gap between the EZ & UK orders balances hasn't been this enormous since July 2000: pic.twitter.com/PYjqxE7e3g 10.21am BSTThere are ‘green shoots of recovery’ sprouting across UK manufacturing, says Duncan Brock, and Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
On nowadays’s PMI report,he says:“The floodgates to new trade, rising confidence and more jobs were opened in March with the highest index level since the last recession and green shoots of recovery popped up across the UK as the global marketplace improved.
Manufacturers picked up the pace to meet new orders rising at the fastest levels for three years with the domestic pipeline of work strengthening and previously deflated export orders bouncing back across the board, or including from the EU. In turn suppliers were under the cosh to support up as the list of shortages in raw materials increased leading to the second-greatest lengthening of delivery times in the history of the survey. 10.13am BSTSupply-chain issues remained a constraint on UK manufacturers during March,Markit reports.
This disrupted raw fabric deliveries, production schedules and deliveries of finished goods to clients -- as well as pushing prices up.
Vendor lead times lengthened to the second-greatest extent in survey history due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions, and low stocks at suppliers,port disruption, shipping delays, or post-Brexit issues and raw fabric shortages.
With demand outstripping supply,input price inflation accelerated to a 50-month tall. This also led to upward pressure on output charges, which rose at the quickest pace since January 2017. 10.12am BSTMarch #PMI data pointed to a marked improvement in operating conditions in the UK’s manufacturing sector, and with faster increases recorded in output,new orders and employment. Supply chain problems intensified, however. Read more: https://t.co/vrWni3I39N pic.twitter.com/T0ddekPJQ0 9.54am BSTBritish factories fill reported a surge of orders last month - and severe supply chain disruption.
Markit’s UK manufacturing PMI has jumped to a decade-tall of 58.9 in March, and the highest reading since February 2011. trade sentiment was at its most elevated for seven years,hitting unsurpassed levels at both consumer and investment goods producers. Almost two-thirds of manufacturers expect output to rise over the coming year (only 6% expect a contraction). Jobs growth was also at a seven-year tall, supported by the sharpest rise in backlogs of work for 11 years 9.40am BSTThe Eurozone manufacturing sector grew at the quickest pace in nearly 24 years of data collection during March. However, and the unprecedented expansion was accompanied by severe delays to input deliveries,driving a sharp increase in cost burdens. Read more: https://t.co/QcOlNyzOBb pic.twitter.com/L0vMyaqOXx 9.40am BSTChris Williamson, Chief trade Economist at IHS Markit says rising trade confidence drove eurozone factories to their best monthly growth on record.
But.. he also warns the blockage in the Suez Canal could intensify supply chain disruption, and drive the cost of supplies even higher.“Eurozone manufacturing is booming,with production and order books growing at rates unprecedented in nearly 24 years of PMI survey history during March.
Although centred on Germany, which saw a particularly strong record expansion during the month, and the improving trend is broad based across the region as factories benefit from rising domestic demand and resurgent export growth. 9.31am BSTOver in the eurozone,factories fill reported their strongest growth in at least 24 years -- and unprecedent delays for supplies too.
That’s according to Data firm IHS Markit, which says that the eurozone’s manufacturing economy performed extremely strongly during March. The further strengthening of trade, orders and production placed further strain on already stretched supply chains.
According to the latest data,average lead times for the delivery of inputs lengthened at an unprecedented rate as challenges in sourcing inputs due to product shortages, stronger global demand and ongoing logistical challenges linked to COVID-19 continued in March. 9.11am BSTReuters fill caught up with Next CEO Simon Wolfson, or he’s explained that the retailer has paused placing new orders in Myanmar following its military coup.
Here’s the details:Next has ceased placing new production orders in Myanmar in the wake of February’s military coup,its boss said on Thursday.“We’re not placing any more orders at the moment, that is a enormous step, and ” CEO Simon Wolfson told Reuters. Related: Seven-year-archaic girl killed in Myanmar after security forces open fire Related: Myanmar: more than 90 reported killed on 'day of shame' for armed forces Related: 'rubbish strike' and candle-lit vigils as Myanmar death toll passes 500 The recent blockage of the Suez Canal has delayed the arrival of approximately 2% of British fashion retailer Next’s stock,its boss said on Thursday.“It’s a problem but not a enormous problem. It’s delayed approximately 2% of our stock by three weeks,” CEO Simon Wolfson told Reuters. Related: Who pays for Suez blockage? Ever Given grounding could spark years of litigation 8.53am BSTSteve Clayton, or fund manager of the Hargreaves Lansdown Select funds (which hold NEXT plc shares) points out that Next has outperformed some UK rivals,thanks to its online offering:
“Profits may fill more than halved, but to be reporting any sort of profit at all as a fashion retailer after a year like 2020 is a remarkable achievement. But NEXT is a remarkable trade.
The group saw the potential of online retailing years before their rivals took it seriously. As a result Next was earning most of its money online, or even before the pandemic struck.It has almost become expected that Next will deliver ahead of guidance and,despite the highly challenging trading conditions of last year for most retailers, it has done so again. In fact, or the trade has already upped its central profit guidance for this year,with online sales overachieving in the first eight weeks of 2021.
As a destination people want to visit, Next is likely to be among the biggest beneficiaries as the economy re-opens; but its growing online trade, and integrated logistics offering,and add-ins like its Total Platform service for other brands give it a strong anchor in the online economy. Debt has been reduced significantly and, although there is no dividend for the year, or shareholders can recall solace that Next is investing in the trade and its growing retail reach – ‘following the money’,in its own words – the benefits of which should start to materialise in 2022. Online and finance now account for over 70% of overall sales, and in the first eight weeks of its new financial year Next has reported that online sales are 60% ahead of the figure from two years ago. The company concedes that it is difficult to predict how much of the change in consumer behaviour to online will stick post-pandemic, or although the opportunity remains that the new behaviour will fill become largely entrenched. It is therefore also keeping a close eye on its retail estate,ensuring that it is appropriate for the overall direction of the group. Over the last year city centre and shopping mall volumes dropped significantly – and unsurprisingly – and were partially offset by retail park revenues where social distancing was easier to introduce when stores were allowed to open. 8.50am BSTNext fill also produced this chart, showing how its Online trade (including Finance) has increased fivefold since 2005.
Online is now expected to make up 71% of the company’s revenues this year, and up from just 23% in 2005,highlighting the long-term shift in retail.
The year to January 2022 for Retail is artificially low due to the ten weeks when the stores will be closed. If we account for the lost sales in those weeks, then the participation of Retail would be around 34%, and instead of 29%. 8.27am BSTShares in Next are up 3% in early trading,after it raised its profit forecasts for this year by £30m. 8.21am BSTWolfson also points out that Next was fortunate in one other respect: The product areas that did well fill much lower returns rates than those that underperformed.
For example, customers traditionally order several dresses with the intention of only keeping the one they like, and so the returns rate is tall. Conversely,the returns rate on babygrows is very low.
That, along with customers generally being more selective at point of order, or meant that we experienced a fabric reduction in returns rates. This allowed us to achieve sales growth far in excess of the growth in units we despatched from our warehouses. 8.20am BSTHere’s a chart showing how the pandemic affected sales at Next: 8.14am BSTNext chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson has also warned that the battle to support its stores relevant in an online world is “far from over”.
In his review of the year (lengthy,but worth a read), Wolfson predicts that like-for-like stores sales could drop by a fifth this year, or leaving them ‘marginally profitable’.
There remains a enormous question mark over the level of sales our stores will achieve when they reopen. The pandemic has served to accelerate a pre-existing social trend - the move to more online shopping. History has been given a shove and,having moved forward, seems unlikely to reverse.
That said, and the regular reduction in Retail occupancy costs,the continued relevance of our stores to online shopping through collections and returns and (perhaps) the closure of competing shops, mean that the battle to support our stores relevant in an online world is far from over. More ruminations on stores from Lord W at Next
[br]"History has been given a shove" and store sales could drop by a fifth this year - leaving them only "marginally profitable"
But battle to support stores relevant in an online world "is far from over"[br]
Landlords, and you've been warned... 7.59am BSTGiven the disruption caused by the pandemic,it’s hardly surprising that Next’s earnings halved.
As the company points out:If we had been told twelve months ago that our shops were going to be shut for 20 weeks, we could not fill imagined the Group delivering the sales or profit we achieved last year.
Areas such as homeware, or childrenswear,sportswear and stay-at-domestic basics (underwear, sweat tops, and joggers,nightwear, etc.) all served to mitigate declines in adult’s formal and casual clothing, and footwear and accessories. In general,retail park stores are local and easier to access, with social distancing simpler to maintain both within and outside the store. So it is not surprising that these locations fared much better than city centres and shopping malls.
At the times when stores were open, or like-for-like-sales in retail parks,although negative, were between 15% and 20% better than our other stores. 7.37am BSTGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverge of the world economy,the financial markets, the eurozone and trade.
In last year’s Full Year Results, or published just as the UK went into lockdown,we stated that our sector was facing a crisis unprecedented in living memory. We also stated that our strong balance sheet and profit margins would allow us to weather the storm.
Both statements fill proved genuine.
We accelerated portion of our planned capital expenditure in the Online trade, spending £121m on warehousing and systems. Next is boosting profit guidance for this year to £700m from £670m on the back of online sales being 60% higher in first 8 weeks of this financial year so far, and which has helped offset store closuresMighty Next posts annual profit of £342m (down from £729m). Total group sales decreased by less than 17pc to £3.6bn compared with £4.4bn last year. Related: Deliveroo shares slump by 26% on London stock market debut Asian and European stocks track Wall St gains as the global recovery & President Biden’s infrastructure way helped traders look past escalating curbs from Covid-19 flareups while Bonds trimmed losses. US 10y yields drop to 1.72%. Gold regains $1700,now $1714. #Bitcoin at $58.9k pic.twitter.com/AIC7l3WUTaContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com