Mega's been fibbing...

[GRG55]

All the while he's been trying to convince us things in Blighty (otherwise known as Brown'sville) have been going pear shaped, he's been dutifully spending on the High Street after all :eek:

Economic gloom abounds, except in UK shops

Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:21am EDT
By Gerrard Raven
LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in British retail sales pierced the global economic gloom like a rare shaft of sunlight on Thursday...
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...21293720080619

[a read beyond the headlines will dispel the euphoria, however ]

[metalman]

Re: Mega's been fibbing...

All the while he's been trying to convince us things in Blighty (otherwise known as Brown'sville) have been going pear shaped, he's been dutifully spending on the High Street after all :eek:

Economic gloom abounds, except in UK shops

Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:21am EDT
By Gerrard Raven
LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in British retail sales pierced the global economic gloom like a rare shaft of sunlight on Thursday...
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...21293720080619

[a read beyond the headlines will dispel the euphoria, however ]

thx for the link and no criticism but these sites that split stories into 3 or more pages... like we are reading a godamn newspaper. designed to increase page views and ad hits i suppose. annoying. takes real effort to get to the end.

[GRG55]

Re: Mega's been fibbing...

thx for the link and no criticism but these sites that split stories into 3 or more pages... like we are reading a godamn newspaper. designed to increase page views and ad hits i suppose. annoying. takes real effort to get to the end.

There's a "view on single page" option at the bottom of the first page of text for people like you and me that hate the ads.

[Chris]

Re: Mega's been fibbing...

All the while he's been trying to convince us things in Blighty (otherwise known as Brown'sville) have been going pear shaped, he's been dutifully spending on the High Street after all :eek:

Economic gloom abounds, except in UK shops

Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:21am EDT
By Gerrard Raven
LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in British retail sales pierced the global economic gloom like a rare shaft of sunlight on Thursday...
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...21293720080619

[a read beyond the headlines will dispel the euphoria, however ]

Not everyone agrees that retailers are having a party right now:

Office of National Statistics spending claims are bizarre, says Sir Philip Green


By David Litterick and Richard Fletcher


Leading retailers and economists have slammed the Office for National Statistics after it published sales figures that suggested Britons were spending at the fastest rate for 30 years.
Despite rising inflation, higher fuel bills, lower consumer confidence and a slowing economy, the ONS said sales volumes grew by 3.5pc last month - the largest jump since 1979 - taking the annual increase in sales to a staggering 8.1pc.

The upbeat figures have increased the chances of an interest rate rise, said economists, who warned that the figures should be taken with a "pinch of salt".

Sir Philip Green, owner of retail chains BHS and Arcadia, said the figures were bizarre, given the economic situation. "These figures in no way reflect the current trend. They are totally misleading. I have no idea where they collect this information from. I'd love to know. Can I join the club that is seven points up in May?"

He admitted that the month had seen an improvement, but cautioned against seeing it as a consumer recovery. "May was better. But we had the first week of sunshine following weeks of rain, sleet and even snow, which released a huge amount of pent-up demand. For anyone to read anything else into these numbers would be wrong and dangerous."
Justin King was equally dismissive. "The ONS doesn't appear to understand how people shop," the Sainsbury chief executive said. "These figures are based on a small basket and exclude promotional activity." The figures sit in stark contrast to other surveys of the retail sector. The British Retail Consortium, for instance, said sales values rose by just 4.6pc in May, or an even smaller 1.9pc on a like-for-like basis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cngreen120.xml