Economy

Report shows growth in gift cards for start of 2014

Consumer gift card and voucher sales have soared in the first quarter of 2014, increasing by 17 per cent from…

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April hallmarking figures up by a fifth, 9ct gold up almost 50%

Figures released by The Birmingham Assay Office have revealed that the total number of articles hallmarked for April increased by…

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FEATURE: The End of the Gold Rush

The gold price has stabilised, and the slump in gold hallmarking has bottomed out. And now that the commodity traders…

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UK economic outlook ‘exceptionally strong’, says CBI

The CBI has announced that the economic outlook for the next three months is “exceptionally strong and broad-based”, and growth…

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March retail sales jump 4.2%, says ONS

Overage retail sales across the UK rose by 4.2 per cent in March compared with the same period in 2013,…

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Q1 hallmarking figures rise 23%, gold jewellery on the up-and-up

The number of articles hallmarked across the four UK assay offices rose by 23 per cent in the first three…

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BRC welcomes European Parliament vote on card payment fees

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has welcomed a vote by MEPs for an overhaul of the European payments market, which…

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Hallmarking figures for 9ct gold rise more than 33%

Figures released today by the Birmingham Assay Office show that the number of 9ct gold items hallmarked across all four…

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Three-month retail sales growth ‘in line’ at 2.8%, says BRC

The three-month average growth in retail sales to the end of February was 2.8 per cent, according to the latest…

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H&T pawnbrokers’ 2013 full year profits dip 60%

The UK’s largest pawnbroking group, H&T, has revealed that pre-tax profits slumped a hefty 60 per cent to £6.7m, for…

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