Langton Capital – 2022-08-26 – Energy costs, supply issues, business confidence, holidays, houses etc:
Energy costs, supply issues, business confidence, holidays, houses etc:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Well, as D follows A, B and C, it’s Friday, it’s August, there’s a long weekend coming and it’s quiet. And Langton is joining the crowds in that we will be away for the short business week starting Tuesday and back, for what might well be an unbroken run-in to Christmas, on 5 September. Have a great weekend, Bank Holiday and end of August. 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 ENERGY COSTS: There are two impacts here, one on the consumer and the other on businesses. For comments regarding businesses, see Pubs & Restaurants. The consumer: Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap for households is to rise from its current £1,971 to £3,549 from 1 October. The rise, which was broadly expected, is nonetheless very material and it is likely to change consumer behaviour in Q4 this year and thereafter… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. The Federation of Small Businesses has warned that firms are experiencing rises of around a 424% in gas costs and 349% in electricity since the beginning of last year… The Guardian has reported that some smaller firms are being asked to pay energy deposits to their suppliers, in some cases running up to £10,000… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Supply issues: Co2. Unrelated to strike action at Felixstowe, the BBPA has urged the government to intervene after CF Industries announced a temporary closure of its only remaining plant in the UK… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Craft beer: A report by market.us has suggested that the global craft beer industry is forecast to grow to$107.9bn by 2031… Other costs. In never rains, it pours. The Caterer reports that the hospitality sector is seeing ‘unsustainable’ rises in insurance premiums… Retail in general: In what is clearly a lumpy series that also includes the impact of inflation, the CBI Distributive Trades survey saw retail sales grow by 37% YoY in August compared to -4% in July… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Business confidence: The ICAEW has produced its Q3 report on UK business confidence saying that it has fallen into ‘negative territory, as companies face a cost of doing business crisis, alongside the cost of living crisis that consumers face…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. COMPANY NEWS: Rosa’s Thai is set to open in Wimbledon on 8 September, located on Wimbledon Hill Road. Starbucks franchisee 23.5 Degrees will open its 90th store on 26 August in Blaydon, Gateshead. The company has a strong pipeline of approved stores and plans to reach 300 stores by 2027. Gaucho is planning to open in Cardiff’s St David’s Centre. Taiwanese bubble tea company Gong cha is planning to expand into Europe via the opening of 10 stores in Belgium by the end of this year. Starbucks is reported to have opened its 500th store in Indonesia. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Research by Holiday Extras has suggested that demand for holidays remains strong. Perhaps it would, wouldn’t it… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Staycations: The RAC has issued traffic warnings for the bank holiday, as 12.5 million trips are set to take place. Friday will be the busiest day, with 4.3 million trips planned, followed by Saturday’s 2.3 million and then Sunday and Monday’s 1.3m each. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is encouraging Londoners to rediscover the city with new film, art and nature trails across the capital… Overseas travel. Travel Weekly reports that travel agents are seeing holiday sales ‘tick along’ despite increasingly negative media reports about the cost-of-living crisis. High-street agents said they have not detected any drop-off in sales, with late bookings for short-haul destinations still dominating enquiries, and remained optimistic about future sales. Flight Centre Travel Group has reported FY22 results and says that ‘this emphatic rebound [in sales] signifies the importance of meeting people and customers face-to-face despite the enormous logistical challenges currently existing in the industry.’ Workers at Chiltern Railways, Northern Trains and Transpennine Express have voted to strike, though no dates have been given. OTHER LEISURE: Price rises of the Sony PlayStation 5 have added £30 to the cost of the console in the UK. Sony says this is due to inflation. Nintendo is keeping the price of its Switch unchanged. Cineworld shares managed to drop another 31% yesterday (just 0.88p) to fall to 1.92p. Peloton, another lockdown darling that has suffered as Covid-19 has waned, has reported financial Q4 numbers saying that it made an operating loss of $1.2bn with revenue down some 28%… Cannabis company Love Hemp has seen its shares suspended on the Aquis market after and enquiry into comments made about its financial position. FINANCE & MARKETS: Research by Capital Economics suggests that house prices in London could fall by 12% over the next two years as a result of the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. UK car production rose by 8.6 per cent in July, the third consecutive month of growth. Business confidence has fallen – see Pubs & Restaurants above. Sterling mixed at $1.1821 and €1.1854. Oil a shade lower at $100.12. UK 10yr gilt yield down 6bps at 2.62%. World markets better yesterday. London due to open up around 21pts as at 6.30am. FORTHCOMING NEWS: Quiet in what will be a short week next week. Half year numbers from PPHE and Sportech on Thursday with the manufacturing PMI coming out on the same day. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: Nick is taking a well-earned break & is back after the Bank Holiday. |
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