Up The High Street... UK Retail Sales Drop
UK Retail Sales, Lloyds Banking Group, BT, McDondalds
UK retail sales fell in May despite last month's revival, according to the
latest British Retail Consortium's figures. Overall sales fell by 0.8% over last year, a
contrast to April when sales were buoyed by sunny weather, the BRC says. It reports that food sales slowed after an April
boosted by April, although they were up 5.4% for the three months March-May
compared to last year.
Lloyds Banking Group is cutting about 1,660 jobs
after deciding to close all Cheltenham & Gloucester branches and
overhauling its loan and mortgage arms. C&G will disappear from the High Street from November, but the brand will be kept for mortgages and savings.Lloyds said C&G customers would be able to use Lloyds TSB branches. It added that the job losses were "regrettable".Almost 3,000 jobs have already been cut since Lloyds' merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).
BT has said it will cut about 15,000 jobs this year, mostly in the UK, and has reported an annual loss of £134m. The firm also said it had cut 15,000 jobs in the past year, which was 5,000 more than had been expected.
McDonald's,
the world's largest fast food chain, on Monday reported another strong
month of sales in May as its low-price menus continued to attract
budget-conscious consumers in the US and Europe. The group's
global comparable sales rose 5.1 per cent year-on-year in May,
supported by a 2.8% increase in the US, and a 7.6%
increase in Europe. Comparable sales in Asia rose 6.4 per cent, in
spite of weakness in China, where its western-style restaurants have
lost out to cheaper, traditional competition.
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