Langton Capital – 2022-09-15 – Open or close? Energy, staffing, inflation, confidence, Amazon, T17 etc.:
Open or close? Energy, staffing, inflation, confidence, Amazon, T17 etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: We’re going to have to add moths to the growing list of pests – rats, mice, squirrels, foxes, roe deer, pigeons, various insects, those huge, plate-sized spiders etc – that are trying to eat or otherwise destroy our house or garden, or terrify us into leaving it. Because, though I managed to go several decades without thinking much about them at all, moths are now a thing with us. And they’re not those large, dust-covered things that bat themselves against your bedroom window of a night and which seem rather easy to deal with but rather those voracious, evil little blighters that you can hardly see but which, over a few weeks or months, can munch a hole in your carpet or carefully select your woollen pully from all those plastic ones and quickly shred it to ribbons. So if anyone knows of any way to get rid of the pests – maybe commercial sprays, sticky strips and vinegar water thrown over your left shoulder on a full moon etc – then we’d love to hear it. Pity those museums and the like that have to try to preserve fabrics for decades. On to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium at time of writing are £345 for one subscription, £595 for multiple, both plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE PUBS & RESTAURANTS: The Queen’s funeral & Bank Holiday arrangements: There is no obligation to close on Monday and nor do staff have a right to paid time off work. There is furthermore no real guidance and, as the Center Parcs debacle makes clear, for better or worse, businesses are making up their own minds. Below, comment on McDonald’s, Gregg’s, BrewDog & other… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Energy costs: A spokesman for Prime Minister Liz Truss said clarification on energy bill help for businesses will come next week… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Other business costs: The MA points out that business rates will soar by more than £2bn if August’s inflation reading is repeated in September and is used to calculate local business property tax rates… Staffing issues: Workforce management specialist Bizimply has suggested that ‘operators who underinvest in people and technology face an existential threat.’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Inflation: Kantar on Monday reported its belief that food price inflation was currently 12.4%. The ONS said yesterday that it was some 13.1% in the 12 months to August 2022, up from 12.7% in July and, given that the baskets may be slightly different, the two figures are close enough so as to not make much difference… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Consumer reaction: ASDA is reported to be limiting purchases of its budget range, Just Essentials, due to extremely high demand… C&C’s comment that it ‘has seen a slowdown in on-trade momentum over Q2 FY2023’ has attracted attention. Demographics: Rents are rising & younger people tend to rent. This removes some spending power for certain demographics – and gives some of it to others. In addition, the FT reports that rental interest in smaller, cheaper rentals is increasing in the UK… Consumer confidence. YouGov and the CEBR have reported that consumer confidence has fallen recently by its largest amount since the early part of 2020 when Covid reared its head. The index fell by 4.2 points in August from 103.0 to 98.8… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Other news: According to trade statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the export value of Japanese alcohol products reached a record of JPY114.6 billion in 2021, with China being the major export market. COMPANY NEWS: Stonegate Group has launched its ‘Future Leaders’ programme… A West Yorkshire Leon drive-thru has been approved, with the proposed development covering 2,368 sq ft of land just east of the A650 in Snowhill, Wakefield. Starbucks has entered into a partnership with DoorDash that will expand nationally in 2023. The two companies are currently testing delivery in Atlanta and will begin testing the offering in stores in Sacramento and Houston tomorrow. The state of California has initiated a lawsuit against Amazon accusing the online giant of breaching competition law and preventing sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere than on its platform… HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Heathrow announced that flights were disrupted on Wednesday, with some services between 1.50pm and 3.40pm will be affected to ensure silence over central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. A strike by French traffic controllers means that airlines are facing disruption on Friday. The French SNCTA air traffic control union in a statement cited inflation and its demand to hire more people as the reasons for the walkout, Reuters reported. In the US, STR reports that data from The Highland Group shows that economy, midscale and upscale extended-stay hotels reported monthly demand declines compared to the previous year… OTHER LEISURE: Games developer Team17 reported its interim results on Tuesday, seeing revenue increase 33% to a record £53.2m and adjusted EBITDA up 10% to £18.2m… Google has failed to overturn the record fine of €4.125bn levied against it for using the Android platform to help its search engine… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Zoom is reportedly set to expand into email and calendar apps. These, known internally as Zmail and Zcal, are likely to be announced in November. FINANCE & MARKETS: Commenting on yesterday’s CPI numbers produced by the ONS, The British Chambers of Commerce says the 9.9% number ‘confirms the sustained pressure businesses and consumers have been facing over the past year…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The ONS reports that average UK house prices rose by 15.5% in the year to July. It says this has risen from the 7.8% increase seen in June. A doubling in one month does look odd. Knight Frank says ‘the large jump in house prices recorded in July tells us more about how a stamp duty holiday can alter the course of the housing market than where prices are headed next.’ Sky considers why inflation is higher in the UK than in the rest of the G7. It says the weak pound (although the Euro is also ‘weak’) is partly to do with it. Sky says some smaller countries have higher rates. Reports that the new chancellor may scrap caps on bankers’ bonuses in order to help growth in the City. Sterling mixed at $1.1525 and €1.1556. Oil price up at $93.90. UK 10yr gilt yield down 2bps at 3.13%. World markets mixed but heading better yesterday and London set to open up around 27pts as at 6.30am. FORTHCOMING NEWS: A quiet week. Numbers now reported by Fever Tree, C&C and Artisinal Spirits. The Bank of England’s MPC announcement has been postponed following the death of the Queen. Official GDP stats on Monday, Labour Market stats and CPI numbers now out. Retail sales on Friday. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. |
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