Stock markets rally on Russia-Ukraine talks, oil prices dip – as it happened
- UK consumers turn to supermarkets' cheaper own-label products
- First Russian superyacht seized in British waters
- Over 7,000 finance jobs move from London to EU due to Brexit
- Oil prices extend losses as traders worry about demand drop from China
- Closing summary
- Ukraine live updates
More than 7,000 finance jobs have moved from London to the European Union as a result of Brexit, according to consultants EY.
While the total is far less than the 12,500 job moves forecast by firms after June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the bloc, more could follow, EY said in its latest Brexit Tracker.
Staff and operational moves across European financial markets will continue as firms navigate ongoing geo-political uncertainty, post-pandemic dynamics and regulatory requirements.
The grocers are also adapting their pricing strategies in response to the rising cost of goods. One trend we're already tracking is the move away from selling products at round pound' prices. The percentage of packs sold at either 1, 2 or 3 has dropped significantly from 18.2% last year to 15.9% this March.
Two years on since the first lockdown, we can assess what permanent changes the pandemic has made to the grocery landscape. The real story of Covid-19 has been the acceleration of online shopping, and retailers have built their digital capacity to match a seismic change in demand. 12.6% of sales were made online in March 2022 compared with just 8% three years ago. Shoppers over the age of 65 are leading the charge - the proportion of this demographic buying online has doubled from 9% to 18% over the past three years.
What we're buying has shifted too and some of the recipes we learnt during the lockdowns have become firm favourites. For some, baking seems to have gone from fad to hobby as flour volume sales are 28% higher than in March 2019. The dry pasta market is also 17% larger compared with two years ago. There are hints too that people have become permanently more germ-conscious with liquid soap volumes up by 11%.
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