But, again, that was happening in the recession. The expected drift towards cheaper supermarkets simply didn't happen.

 

I shop at Waitrose, admittedly I do not see very many poor or chavvy types in there so it could be the middle to upper classes simply spending more but Sainsbury's luxury food is flying off the shelves too, I bought the last 2 packs of Taste The Difference Ecuadorian prawns today, so nice :heart:

I shop at Waitrose, admittedly I do not see very many poor or chavvy types in there so it could be the middle to upper classes simply spending more but Sainsbury's luxury food is flying off the shelves too, I bought the last 2 packs of Taste The Difference Ecuadorian prawns today, so nice :heart:

To quote the late, great Alan Coren "I love Sainsbury's. They keep the riff-raff out of Waitrose" :lol:

The quarterly rise in employment, which was the largest since the ONS began collecting the data in 1971, was driven by a rise in both part-time and full-time workers.

 

Those in part-time work increased by 166,000 quarter-on-quarter to 7.9 million in the three months to July.

 

But the number of full-time workers soared by 121,000 to 21.2 million in an encouraging sign for the UK labour market.

 

The number of full-time students in employment rose by 47,000 in the three months to July, while those students classed as economically inactive fell by 62,000.

 

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/...al_Statistics__

A lagging indicator (as you've been told COUNTLESS times in this thread, but still seem to ignore) and for the second quarter. Let's see how employment figures are doing in quarter four, shall we?

To quote the late, great Alan Coren "I love Sainsbury's. They keep the riff-raff out of Waitrose" :lol:

 

LMAO :rofl: :rofl: that comment made me laugh lol, bless him, Call My Bluff was great with him on

A lagging indicator (as you've been told COUNTLESS times in this thread, but still seem to ignore) and for the second quarter. Let's see how employment figures are doing in quarter four, shall we?

 

if the positive news is a lagging indicator then so must the negative news be a lagging indicator too, evens itself out

if the positive news is a lagging indicator then so must the negative news be a lagging indicator too, evens itself out

:rofl:

 

No, that's not quite how it works. UNEMPLOYMENT is a lagging indicator. The others aren't. To my knowledge we have referenced falling business confidence and consumer confidence along with private sector GDP as sources for the likelihood of double-dip - not lagging indicators. We haven't referenced employment figures, let alone those for the second quarter which don't matter a jot now given there's been an emergency budget since then!

LMAO :rofl: :rofl: that comment made me laugh lol, bless him, Call My Bluff was great with him on

I always enjoyed his columns when I started reading Punch in the mid 70s. He was brilliant on the News Quiz on Radio 4 as well.

 

His daughter writes for The Observer and has obviously inherited some of his wit. Oh, and she's not a Marxist.

I always enjoyed his columns when I started reading Punch in the mid 70s. He was brilliant on the News Quiz on Radio 4 as well.

 

His daughter writes for The Observer and has obviously inherited some of his wit. Oh, and she's not a Marxist.

 

Yeah he was well witty, one of my fave people to listen to or read along with Peter Cook and William Donaldson ^_^

Britain's trade deficit between May and July is the worst since WW2, with imports outstripping exports by £13bn. So much for this export miracle that will save our economy according to Craig and the Conservatives!

 

Turns out I was wrong on this. The trade deficit was actually the worst since the 1600s, according to David Blanchflower. I await Craig's response, which will no doubt be some circumstantial survey from one particular company from Sky or the Telegraph.

Turns out I was wrong on this. The trade deficit was actually the worst since the 1600s, according to David Blanchflower. I await Craig's response, which will no doubt be some circumstantial survey from one particular company from Sky or the Telegraph.

Or a set of figures from Prada showing sales in the UK remain robust...

Blanchflower outlines the 6 reasons why a double-dip is likely, most of the reasons as direct or indirect consequences of the Coalition:

1. The terrible trade figures, which undermines the Coalition's assumption that public-sector cuts will be offset by strong exports

OECD says growth prospects for Britain and other countries implementing austerity policies are worse than they thought several months ago

Businesses are as pessimistic as they were at the height of the recession, according to accountancy firm BDO

Permanent job placements rose in August by its slowest pace for 10 months

Private-sector output growth is very moderate, much worse than the Coalition needs for its plans to work, according to the Purchasing Managers' Index

House prices are in freefall due to the prospect of job losses thanks to the cuts; prices registered their biggest fall since 2004

http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2010/0...-growth-england

Asda's falling sales have nothing to do with the economy bouncing back :rofl:

 

Asda's sales are falling because their food is $h!te and their drive downmarket is pushing people away

UK retail sales fell 0.5% in August from July...

 

UK retail sales suffered a surprise fall in August, the first drop since January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

 

Sales fell 0.5% from July, suggesting that worries about tax rises and budget cuts are starting to hit consumers.

 

The ONS added to concerns about spending by revising July's growth figures to 0.8% from 1.1% previously.

 

The data came as three retailers - John Lewis, Kesa and Kingfisher - said High Street conditions could worsen.

 

Non-food stores were the worst hit in August, with sales down 0.7%, driven largely by household goods stores.

 

Food stores saw a decline of 0.5%, according to the ONS.

 

Three-month data from the ONS showed a rise of 1.4% on the previous quarter.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

 

For the remainder of this year and into 2011, we anticipate more challenging trading conditions”

 

End Quote Charlie Mayfield Chief executive, John Lewis

 

Vicky Redwood, at Capital Economics said: "August's fall in retail sales could be the first sign that the surprising resilience of consumer spending recently could be coming to an end."

 

But she warned against reading too much into one month's figures.

 

However, many analysts believe the government's austerity drive, worries over job prospects, and January's planned VAT hike to 20%, are making consumers more cautious.

 

Retailer John Lewis on Thursday reported strong profits and sales growth, but said UK retailing as a whole faced a difficult time ahead.

 

In the six months to 31 July, John Lewis made profits of £110.5m on sales which rose 12.4% to £3.8bn.

 

Online grocery sales rose 54%, while growth at johnlewis.com topped 36%.

Retail warnings

 

But Charlie Mayfield, chief executive, warned of "economic headwinds" and said that "for the remainder of this year and into 2011, we anticipate more challenging trading conditions".

 

At Kingfisher, Europe's largest DIY retailer, its rise in profits was primarily due to cost-cutting and other efficiencies.

 

The owner of the B&Q and Castorama chains saw interim pre-tax profits rise 21.9% to £351m on sales down 1% to £5.45bn.

 

But sales were especially weak in the UK, and the consumer spending outlook would remain fragile, said chief executive Ian Cheshire.

 

At Kesa, which owns the Comet electrical goods chain in the UK, sales rose 4.3% in the three months to 31 July.

 

The firm said it was lifted by sales of televisions ahead of the World Cup football tournament.

 

The rest of the year is looking more difficult, however, it said, with chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin joining fellow retailers in giving a cautious outlook.

 

"After a positive first quarter we still anticipate that our markets will remain challenging for the remainder of this financial year," he said.

 

I do enjoy a good explosion in private sector activity, don't you? It's alright, I'm sure it's just around the corner...

UK retail sales fell 0.5% in August from July...

I do enjoy a good explosion in private sector activity, don't you? It's alright, I'm sure it's just around the corner...

 

It was natural that sales were going to fall in August compared with July

 

In August the world cup was over so the explosion in sales of beer and BBQ equipment and plasma tv's was over then there is the fact that millions go on holiday abroad in August so if they are in Spain or Florida or whatever they are not here to spend, then the weather in August was hideous, wet/cold/dull, that will have resulted in less BBQ stuff being bought, less summer clothing being bought, less ice cream etc

 

To just pin it on the economy is very simplistic IMHO

The World Cup was only for the first ten days of July, you can hardly pin that on a 0.7% fall!

The World Cup was only for the first ten days of July, you can hardly pin that on a 0.7% fall!

 

True but the weather turning bad compared with a glorious July and the fact that August is the traditional foreign getaway month are both major factors I reckon

 

True but the weather turning bad compared with a glorious July and the fact that August is the traditional foreign getaway month are both major factors I reckon

 

But the professional analysts would already have 'priced in' the World Cup and weather effects into their expectations, yet the figures still fell below their expectations. This clearly indicates consumer confidence is tumbling.

 

Why no response to Blanchflower's article btw? Do you accept the private sector/export boom you've been going on about is nonsense?

But the professional analysts would already have 'priced in' the World Cup and weather effects into their expectations, yet the figures still fell below their expectations. This clearly indicates consumer confidence is tumbling.

 

Why no response to Blanchflower's article btw? Do you accept the private sector/export boom you've been going on about is nonsense?

 

I am not convinced unless a pattern forms over a period of months, why would people be confident to spend in July when sales rose but not in August ? spending cuts and VAT rise have been known about since May

 

 

I am not convinced unless a pattern forms over a period of months, why would people be confident to spend in July when sales rose but not in August ? spending cuts and VAT rise have been known about since May

 

People generally didn't realise how severe the spending cuts would be and how many jobs would be lost, until news coverage of them started increasing in August. Opinion polls and consumer confidence graphs bear this out. But if you want, carry on ignoring the advice of the people who foresaw the financial crisis years in advance and who are now almost without exception warning that massive cuts will be a disaster (such as Blanchflower), and instead listen to the people like Mervyn King who were burying their heads in the sand up until the last minute during the financial crisis and no doubt will this time too.

People generally didn't realise how severe the spending cuts would be and how many jobs would be lost, until news coverage of them started increasing in August. Opinion polls and consumer confidence graphs bear this out. But if you want, carry on ignoring the advice of the people who foresaw the financial crisis years in advance and who are now almost without exception warning that massive cuts will be a disaster (such as Blanchflower), and instead listen to the people like Mervyn King who were burying their heads in the sand up until the last minute during the financial crisis and no doubt will this time too.

 

If it was down to the case of the rise in VAT in January retail sales would be going UP as people make big purchases before the VAT hike comes in

 

I still think it was due to millions being away in August and the $h!t weather but I will revise my opinion there if sales are still falling in November