Average profitability of businesses in Britain services sector declined to its lowest in more than four years in first quarter of 2018 as retailers found struggling to deliver their services, according a data released by UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday (22).
Britain has witnessed a series of store closures and financial meltdowns this year, including well-known high-streets chains such as department store House of Fraser and electronic retailer, Maplin.
The ‘net rate of return’ for services business declined to 17.2 per cent in the first three months of 2018 from 18.4 per cent recorded in the forth quarter touching its lowest since 2013.
An abnormal rash winter pulled down British economic growth to slowdown rapidly in the first three months of this year. ONS has highlighted that the first quarter witnessed a huge number of profit warnings from retailers as well as biggest quarterly fall in retail sales in a year.
Factories have performed a bit better. According to ONS, the net rate of return for the manufacturing sector fell to 15.0 per cent in the first quarter from 15.9 per cent recorded in the last quarter of 2017. However, this figure is marked as the third best reading since 1997.
Meanwhile, the net rate of return for all private non-financial businesses increased for the first time in 1.2 years, to 12.6 per cent from 12.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, supported oil and gas sector.
Profitability of oil and gas exploration and extraction businesses improved their performance for a third quarter running supported by growing global demand and an upward movement in the crude oil prices.
The British economy slightly moved up during April-June period. However, households remained under pressure as the payments were barely kept pace with inflation which has been triggered by pounds decline after Brexit vote in 2016.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)