Restaurant Group shares rise but Frankie & Benny’s falters

Restaurant Group shares pushed up this morning, despite disclosing a profit loss and intentions to close 33 outlets.

The business, who own chains such as Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito, made a half-year loss of £22.5 million in the first half of the year, with like-for-like sales dropping 3.9 percent. The Group called it a “challenging” period, with its Frankie & Benny’s chain in particular taking a hit.

The Group plans to close 33 of their 500 outlets, taking a £59.1 million charge. However, revenue across the Group as a whole rose 3.4 percent to £358.7 million.

Shares are currently up 6.44 percent at 433.65 (1036GMT).

Markets falter ahead of Yellen’s speech

Global markets edged down on Friday morning ahead of a keynote speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The dollar fell 0.14 percent on the dollar index just after open this morning, with global indexes remaining week.

Markets have been quiet all week ahead of Yellen’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday afternoon. There are expectations of a rate hike in the near future following recent hawkish comments from prominent Fed officials.

The FTSE 250 index is down 0.01 percent to 17,880.97, with the DAX down 0.18 percent (1054GMT).

Consumer confidence back up post-Brexit

Consumer confidence rose slightly in August, suggesting post-Brexit blues may be shortlived and spending may be getting back on track.

The YouGov/CEBR Consumer Confidence Index rose by 3.2 points in August, its biggest jump since February 2013 after it plunged in the wake of the European referendum.

CEBR director Scott Corfe said: “This month’s improvement in consumer confidence follows positive news from other areas of the economy and slightly punctures the arguments of those who predicted immediate economic Armageddon following a Brexit vote.”

The index now stands at 109.8, up 3.2 points from July.

26/08/2016