Begbies Traynor has reported a 39% rise in revenues from £37.5m to £52.3m.

Pre-tax profits also rose from £0.5m to £2.7m in the six months to the end of October. The group has said that it expects to reach market expectations for the full year.

Chief executive Ric Traynor commented: “I am pleased to report a strong financial performance in the period, which is a testament to the benefit and integration of our recent acquisitions and maintains our track record of growth in revenue and adjusted earnings.”

“This strong performance, and an anticipated increase in national insolvency numbers following the removal of the Government’s pandemic support measures, leaves us confident of delivering market expectations for the full year,”

Ocado has said that it is expecting its strongest ever Christmas period.

The group released results for the 13 weeks to 28 November, with £547.8m of revenues. This was down from £570.1m in the same period a year earlier.

“The investments we have made over the past year mean we have significant capacity for growth in 2022 and we will continue to invest in facilities, systems and people in the year ahead to deliver on our long-term growth potential,” said Melanie Smith, the chief executive officer.

“We are working hard to manage current industry challenges, and Ocado Retail has great momentum as we get ready for another record Christmas and further strong progress next year.”

The expectations of a strong Christmas sparked a rally in Ocado with shares rising over 8% in early trade on Tuesday.

There was also optimism around legal proceedings related to the technology powering their robotic warehouses.

“The market has taken a positive view of Ocado’s collection of news, despite some of it being negative,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“It’s a massive relief to the business that it won the first-round ruling in a patent fight with Autostore over technology linked to robot warehouses.”

“While the legal fight is still ongoing, the results so far mean investors can worry less about Ocado having to pay out money for patent infringement or having its reputation tarnished. However, Autostore is going to fight the ruling to the very end so there is still an underlying risk associated with the matter.

The United States has released the highest reading of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, for 40 years.

On Friday, the CPI reading for November was reported as 6.8% and 4.9% excluding food and energy.

Higher food and fuel prices were the main driver behind the jump in inflation.

“US inflation came in at 6.8%, up from 6.2% in October and in line with forecasts. The reading which is the highest level in nearly 40 years comes as little surprise to the market due to the ongoing supply chain issues, robust consumer demand and base effects from last year kicking in,” said Dan Boardman-Weston, CIO at BRI Wealth Management.

“This is likely to add further pressure to the Fed to quicken the withdrawal of quantitative easing and raise interest rates sooner than expected.”

With inflation now at higher multi-year highs, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve and their December meeting and expectations of a faster pace of tapering will be high.

The Federal Reserve, like all central banks around the world, have been scrutinised for their approach to monetary policy, given the strong recovery from the pandemic. Today’s reading will leave the Fed with little option but to tighten policy in an effort to bring soaring prices under control.

Stock markets were little changed on the news with the FTSE 100 spiking higher 20 points on the news before falling back to trade slightly higher at 7,325 at the time of writing.

Primark owner, Associated British Foods, reported this morning that Primark had been trading strongly and sales had been ahead of those in the same quarter last year.

The group has seen  “significant progress” and business across its grocery, sugar, ingredients and agriculture had also continued strongly.

“In terms of the Omicron variant we haven’t really seen much of an effect on footfall,” chief executive John Bason said this morning after results were released.

“Our financial performance this year more than ever demonstrates the resilience of the group. This comes from the strength of our brands, the diversity of our products and markets, our geographic spread, conservative financing and an organisation design that permits fast and flexible decision-taking,” he added.

Primark has 400 stores across Europe and the US.

Nexus Infrastructure has posted strong results and has returned to profit after difficulties in the pandemic.

Revenues grew from £125.7m to £137m and the group reported a profit of £3.8m.

 “The group has an important role to play in delivering sustainable infrastructure for the UK.  We have achieved a strong recovery from Covid-19, delivering profitable growth, reinstating the dividend whilst making excellent progress on strategy,” said chief executive, Mike Morris.

Although Nexus has made way to recovery, there is a way to go before it surpasses 2019 results where revenues were £155.1m.

Following the full-year results, shares increased 1.29% on Friday morning.

The UK’s GDP grew just 0.1% in October, highlighting the minute growth.

As firms struggle amid shortages and supply chain issues, the economy came to a standstill and was well below analyst expectations of 0.4%.

The economy was pushed by demand for second-hand cars and a growth in business at employment agencies.

 CBI Lead Economist, Alpesh Paleja, commented on the figures: “Growth disappointed in October, reinforcing concerns about the resilience of the UK’s economic recovery to the Omicron variant and the impact of further restrictions.

“We need to create consistency in our approach and build confidence by reducing the oscillation between normal life and restrictions as we learn to live with the virus and its variants.

“Meanwhile, supply pressures remain acute and further rises in inflation are looming. We expect growth to build further momentum ahead, but more action is needed to address longer-term challenges, including “scarring” from COVID and poor productivity.”

Restaurants and hotels fared badly in October, where output fell by 5.5%.

“Early evidence suggests growth in November might have been a bit better. Nonetheless, at such low rates of growth, the government’s “Plan B” COVID-19 restrictions could be the difference between the economy growing or contracting in December,” said Paul Dales of Capital Economics.