The pandemic is throwing up the unexpected when it comes to the economy. Ben Broadbent notes that 2020 may be the weakest year on record for UK output but unexpectedly ‘retail spending growth is the strongest.’
The Bank of England’s deputy governor also makes the point that we should not get too fussed about the idea of ‘double-dip recession’ when we see the data for the current first quarter of 2021 because everything about the behaviour of the economy is ‘highly unusual’.
Charts showing strong retail spending run contrary to the narrative of last year.
Fashion and homewares star Next, sneakers and leisurewear chain JD Sports and beauty and protein retailer The Hut Group have done splendidly, says Alex Brummer
The FTSE 250 firm, which helps the likes of Bet365 and Ladbrokes with their online betting, said profits for 2020 would be ahead of expectations by at least £268 million.
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ASIA:
Wall Street firms in Hong Kong including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on Monday moved to reduce exposure to Chinese telecom companies named in a U.S. ban on investments in companies Washington considers linked to China’s military. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley said in filings to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong that they were beginning steps to terminate 500 Hong Kong-listed structured products they issued to investors with links to values of telecom companies China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom or local indexes including the Hang Seng Index – whose components include the telecom companies. US custodian bank State Street said that information published by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) mention that an exchange traded fund which State Street manages was no longer appropriate for U.S. individuals or companies to invest in.