UK BRC Shop Price Inflation Hits Record 8.0%
UK shop price inflation hit a record high in January as retailers offered fewer discounts amid rising input costs, data published by the British Retail Consortium showed Wednesday.
The BRC- NielsenIQ shop price index rose 8.0 percent on a yearly basis in January following a 7.3 percent gain in December.
Overall food price inflation increased to 13.8 percent annually. Reflecting higher food production costs, prices of fresh food were up 15.7 percent. At the same time, non-food prices moved up 5.1 percent.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said as retailers still face ongoing headwinds from rising energy bills and labor shortages, prices are yet to peak and will likely remain high in the near term.
“Until inflation starts to slow it’s unlikely that people will feel better about their personal finances or be willing to spend more and it will be a few more months before any fall in global commodity or supply chain costs work through to shop prices,” Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight, NielsenIQ said.
Due to the slowdown in motor fuel inflation, consumer prices grew 10.5 percent on a yearly basis in December, which was the weakest in three months and core inflation held steady at 6.3 percent.
The UK central bank has raised its interest rates over the last nine consecutive meetings, taking the bank rate to 3.50 percent, the highest level since October 2008. The bank is widely expected to lift the rate again by 50 basis points on Thursday.
Photos: Sean Payton’s career through the years
The Denver Broncos are finalizing a deal with Sean Payton to be the franchise’s next head coach. Payton coached the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to January 2022, winning Super Bowl XLIV by beating Peyton Manning and the Colts 31-17.
Read more about the road Payton, a former Eastern Illinois quarterback, took to become Denver’s 19th head coach.
O-I Glass Stock Gains 7% On Quarterly Results
Shares of O-I Glass, Inc. (OI) are gaining over 7% on Wednesday after reporting its fourth-quarter results.
OI is currently trading at $20.73, up $1.48 or 7.66%, on the NYSE. The stock opened its trading at $21.10 after closing Tuesday’s trading at $19.25. The stock has traded between $11.51 and $22.34 in the past 52-week period.
O-I Glass’s fourth-quarter profit dropped from last year, but beat the Street estimates.
The company’s bottom line came in at $13 million or $0.08 per share, down from $43 million or $0.27 per share last year. Adjusted earnings were $60 million or $0.38 per share for the period. Analysts expected earnings of $0.32 per share.
The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 6.3% to $1.69 billion from $1.59 billion last year.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. Q1 Profit Decreases, but beats estimates
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC) revealed earnings for first quarter that decreased from the same period last year but beat the Street estimates.
The company’s bottom line came in at $14.59 million, or $0.25 per share. This compares with $133.61 million, or $2.11 per share, in last year’s first quarter.
Excluding items, Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $21.77 million or $0.37 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $0.24 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 60.9% to $176.23 million from $450.89 million last year.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q1): $14.59 Mln. vs. $133.61 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q1): $0.25 vs. $2.11 last year.
-Analyst Estimates: $0.24
-Revenue (Q1): $176.23 Mln vs. $450.89 Mln last year.
PTC Inc. Q1 Profit Increases, but misses estimates
PTC Inc. (PTC) revealed a profit for its first quarter that increased from the same period last year but missed the Street estimates.
The company’s bottom line came in at $75.04 million, or $0.63 per share. This compares with $46.09 million, or $0.39 per share, in last year’s first quarter.
Excluding items, PTC Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $117.97 million or $0.99 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $1.03 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 2.0% to $466.91 million from $457.72 million last year.
PTC Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings (Q1): $75.04 Mln. vs. $46.09 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q1): $0.63 vs. $0.39 last year.
-Analyst Estimate: $1.03
-Revenue (Q1): $466.91 Mln vs. $457.72 Mln last year.
Oil Futures Settle At 3-week Low As Crude Inventories Rise
Oil prices dropped to a three-week low on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing an increase in crude inventories last week in the U.S.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $2.46 or about 3.1% at $76.41 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $82.84 a barrel today, down $2.62 or about 3.1%.
Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude inventories in the U.S. rose by 4.1 million barrels last week, rising for a sixth straight week. Crude inventories were expected to rise just 0.4 million barrels last week.
Gasoline inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week.
Crude oil inventories rose by another 6.33 million barrels last week on top of last week’s 3+ million-barrel build, the API report revealed on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, today decied to keep their output policy unchanged.