Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Latest: GSK shares jump as hedge fund Elliott builds stake
- Mid-cap FTSE 250 index hits peak
- City vacancies jump 70% this quarter
- Online job vacancies up; UK restaurant reservations jumped on Monday
- Corporate pandemic winners…
- Deliveroo: Orders surged 114%..but ‘prudent’ on guidance
- The Hut Group boosted by demand for beauty and nutrition
- Naked Wines: Sales growth ahead of forecasts
Just in: US retail spending soared almost 10% last month, in another sign that the American economy is recovering strongly from the pandemic.
Retail sales surged by 9.8% in March compared with February, and much stronger than the 6% rise which was expected.
Retail sales explode in March as consumers use stimulus checks to spend heavily. Retail sales rose 9.8% for the month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That compared to the Dow Jones estimate of a 6.1% gain and a decline of 2.7% in February. https://t.co/0ogQmzyd0r pic.twitter.com/DxCznfuhbL
JUST IN: U.S. retail sales accelerated in March by the most in 10 months as business reopenings, increased hiring and a fresh round of stimulus checks emboldened shoppers https://t.co/QTMgyT1TVI
*U.S. RETAIL SALES INCREASED 9.8% IN MARCH; EST. 5.8%
*U.S. MARCH RETAIL SALES EX-AUTOS, GAS RISE 8.2% M/M; EST. 6.4%https://t.co/Kq613faAOV
Retail & food services seasonally adjusted sales were $619.1b in March 2021, up 9.8% from February 2021 and up 27.7% from March 2020. https://t.co/kx4PEcY4yc #CensusEconData #RetailSales pic.twitter.com/GcD1wW4wWC
Retail sales grew 9.8% in March, crushing expectations. The recovery appears to be unfolding rapidly (although remember, 85% of Americans got a stimulus check!) pic.twitter.com/bzXJIKcB1N
Elliott’s Management’s interest in GlaxoSmithKline comes after the UK drugs firm took a backseat role in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, points out Reuters:
Britain’s GSK warned in February of a bigger than expected fall in 2021 earnings as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt other healthcare treatments and it invests in new medicines ahead of a split from its consumer products business next year.
Rather than developing its own COVID-19 shot, GSK has so far focused on supplying its vaccine booster to other drugmakers. But a project with Sanofi has been delayed, and China’s Clover has ended its deal with the British drugmaker.