Value retailer Bonmarche sees shares plunge

Shares in clothing retailer fell over 15 percent this morning, after its CEO Beth Butterwick confirmed that trading conditions had been “challenging” since Christmas.

Bonmarche saw like-for-like sales rise by 0.4 percent in the 13 weeks to March 25th, up just 0.7 percent on the year.

Butterwick said in a statement this morning: “The continued colder weather has been unhelpful in kick-starting real demand for spring products. Overall, consumer confidence does not appear buoyant.”

Bonmarche (LON:BON) is currently trading down 9.57 percent at 170.00 (0924GMT).

Oil up on Fed comments

Brent crude oil is up 2 percent this morning at $40.22 a barrel, perhaps helped by upbeat comments from Fed chair Janet Yellen. She confirmed that the world’s largest economy was on a solid course, and on track to justify more interest rate hikes.

Commodities shares have also risen this morning, led by the mining sector; Anglo American (LON:AAL), Glencore (LON:GLEN) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) were all up around 3 percent.

UK productivity falls for last quarter

British productivity fell by 1.2 percent in the last quarter, according to official figures, adding to doubts about the near-future of the UK economy.

Measured by output per hour, labour productivity saw the biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis – and 14 percent where it should be, according to analysts.

08/04/2016