All posts tagged: slump

France’s great consumption slump

France’s great consumption slump

“Consumers have only one priority, and that’s to have food on their plates,” observed Michel Biero, Lidl’s number two in France. “And they do so with canned tuna rather than salmon, and minced beef rather than rib steak.” In his opinion, one figure in the sales of the company’s more than 1,600 supermarkets in France illustrates the difficulty French people have in making ends meet: the popularity of “flash sales,” with power tools, food processors, and textiles at knock-down prices. The “bargain bins” used to entice many customers when they were filled up with discounted products twice per week. But that’s no longer the case. “Before the Covid-19-related crisis, the war in Ukraine and the inflationary crisis, non-food products accounted for 10% of store sales; today, we’re between 6% and 6.5%. Anything over €10 is selling less well,” said Biero. Despite the fall in inflation – it fell to 1.2% in September year-on-year, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), down from 4.9% a year earlier – the recovery in consumption, …

Allegri admits regrets as Juve slump continues with draw against Roma

Allegri admits regrets as Juve slump continues with draw against Roma

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said he had regrets following a string of poor results after they drew 1-1 with AS Roma on Sunday. Allegri stormed off the bench and threw his jacket on the ground, seemingly in frustration, after the final whistle with his side having won only two of their last 14 Serie A matches. “There are regrets, naturally we could’ve done better during this period, but football is vicious like that, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” he told DAZN. “We risked losing a game that we were in a position to win at the start of the second half.” Despite four consecutive Serie A draws, Juve can still wrap up qualification for next season’s Champions League in their next match against Salernitana. They have also reached the Italian Cup final and will face Atalanta on May 15. “The important thing now is to concentrate on the next game, as that is the match ball for the Champions League, then we have the Coppa Italia final,” Allegri said. “The club will evaluate …

Match-owned Archer hits over half a million installs amid dating app slump

Match-owned Archer hits over half a million installs amid dating app slump

It’s been almost one year since Match Group announced the launch of Archer, the online dating giant’s first app for gay, bi, and queer men. Since rolling out to New York last June, Archer has been downloaded more than 685,000 times, according to estimates from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Archer completed its U.S. rollout this past October. With Match and other online dating companies facing a downturn, Archer’s growth is certainly notable. Match’s last earnings results showed a decline in Tinder paying users, the company’s flagship app and one of the top dating platforms on the market. However, despite reaching over half a million installs, Archer still has a long way to go before it catches up to heavyweight Grindr, which amassed over 10 million downloads in the past year alone and has a total of 87 million worldwide installs per Sensor Tower data. Another established competitor, Scruff, has more than 17 million all-time mobile app installs. Unlike its rivals, who have been accused of fostering a toxic hookup culture, Archer has a fresh …

House prices suffer unexpected slump amid rising mortgage rates

House prices suffer unexpected slump amid rising mortgage rates

Thanks for joining me. House prices fell by 0.4pc in April compared to March, according to the lender Nationwide. A typical home was worth £261,962 which was up 0.6pc compared to the same time last year. 5 things to start your day  1) HSBC plunged into succession battle as chief executive quits | Noel Quinn to step down during politically delicate period for global bank 2) Lithium miner submits plans to drill in Durham | Renewable energy storage and EVs drive demand for domestic lithium supply 3) Musk deepens ‘hardcore’ job cuts at Tesla | Billionaire calls for anyone not ‘excellent, necessary and trustworthy’ to be axed amid race to control costs 4) Amazon shrugs off China threat to post record start to year | Amazon executives are increasingly focusing their attention on competition from Chinese shopping sites 5) Slavery did not make Britain rich, finds report | New book reveals colonialism delivered only ‘modest gains’ amid debate over reparations What happened overnight   Asian stocks fell with most of the markets in the region closed …

MEMORY PIECE Is No Sophomore Slump

MEMORY PIECE Is No Sophomore Slump

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko When I first read Lisa Ko’s debut novel The Leavers, I felt completely consumed by the story of a young Chinese American man who had been adopted by white parents. Ko possesses this ability to flesh out her characters with such care and attention to detail. So the moment I heard that her second novel, Memory Piece, was coming out, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. It’s the 1980s, and three friends — Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng — come of age determined to make their mark on the world. Giselle Chin is a performance artist, and even locked herself in a mall for an entire year, chronicling her experience for art’s sake. Jackie Ong is a programmer who creates her own social media space in her spare time. Ellen Ng is an activist, working to create a communal space for marginalized folks in need of a home. The three women make their own ways in the world, each moving in and out …

Elon Musk’s Tesla suffers sales slump in ‘unmitigated disaster’ for billionaire | Business News

Elon Musk’s Tesla suffers sales slump in ‘unmitigated disaster’ for billionaire | Business News

Tesla has reported a sharp fall in worldwide sales amid increased competition and slowing demand for electric vehicles. The carmaker said it delivered 386,810 vehicles during the first quarter of the year – down nearly 9% on the 423,000 it shipped from January to March last year. It marks the first year-on-year quarterly sales decline for the company in nearly four years. Tesla said the fall was “partly” due to disruption to shipping in the Red Sea region and an arson attack at its gigafactory in Berlin. It also blamed the phasing in of an updated version of its Model 3 sedan at its factory in Fremont, California. Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk noted that rival electric carmaker BYD had also experienced a slump in sales. He wrote on X: “This was a tough quarter for everyone.” However, some commentators blamed the controversy surrounding Mr Musk, along with increased competition from rivals and declining “excitement” about electric vehicles generally. Wall Street tech analyst Dan Ives described the results as “an unmitigated disaster that is hard …

Rashford’s England rivals circle as his United slump goes international | England

Rashford’s England rivals circle as his United slump goes international | England

Gareth Southgate did say. When the England manager announced his squad for the Wembley friendlies with Brazil and Belgium, he made clear that Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish faced competition for their Euro 2024 places from the next generation of wide attackers – specifically Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer. There was also a prominent namecheck for Jarrod Bowen. As the dust settled on the international window, which was defined for Southgate by injury chaos and the usual debate about who had advanced their claims or hurt them, it was easy to go back to those words. And to process another round of them that, for Rashford in particular, did not sound encouraging. It was a testing couple of games for Rashford, a player who seems to deal only in the wildest of extremes. Southgate preferred Gordon on the left in the 1-0 defeat against Brazil on Saturday and he liked the way the Newcastle player imposed himself on his debut. Rashford came on for him in the 75th minute and how he struggled, his involvements …

Germany on ‘crash course’ with net zero as electric car sales slump

Germany on ‘crash course’ with net zero as electric car sales slump

Thanks for joining me. Britain is on track to exit recession after the economy expanded at the start of the year. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2pc in January, according to the Office for National Statistics. 5 things to start your day  1) Morrisons posts £1bn loss as debt interest payments soar | Interest costs amounting to £735m help push the retailer further into the red 2) Britain’s worklessness crisis fuelled by young people, officials warn | Nearly three million under-25s are staying out of the jobs market, latest figures show 3) Millions of households face £200 jump in energy bills | Plans to boost UK’s energy security with gas-fired power stations to cost consumers £5bn 4) Porsche warns push into electric cars will hit profits | Carmaker faces ‘challenging year’ as EV sales remain below target 5) Ambrose Evans Pritchard: Nuclear fusion for the grid is coming much sooner than you think | Britain is on the brink of striking gold in the race for limitless energy What happened overnight  Asian shares mostly …

Wallabies slump to new low in world rankings as Italy rise

Wallabies slump to new low in world rankings as Italy rise

SYDNEY : Twice world champions Australia have fallen to an all-time low of 10th in the world rankings after Italy’s victory over Scotland at the weekend bumped the Azzurri up to ninth. Winger Louis Lynagh, the son of Wallabies great Michael, scored a try on debut as Italy beat the championship-chasing Scots 31-29 in Rome on Saturday to secure a first home win in the Six Nations for 11 years. The Wallabies won only two of nine tests under Eddie Jones last season and crashed out of the pool stage of the World Cup for the first time after losses to Fiji and Wales. Australia next play in July when they host the eighth-ranked Welsh for two tests and Georgia for one in their first outings under new coach Joe Schmidt. There have been a few glimmers of hope for Australian rugby in the first three rounds of the new season of Super Rugby Pacific, where wins over the dominant New Zealand teams have been rare in recent seasons. The New South Wales Waratahs stunned …

Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump Manga Artist Was 68

Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump Manga Artist Was 68

Akira Toriyama, the Japanese manga artist who created the incredibly popular Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump series, has died. He was 68. Toriyama died March 1 from an acute subdural hematoma, the official Dragon Ball website revealed on Friday and that his funeral was already held by close relatives. “He has left many manga titles and works of art to this world. Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years,” a statement on the website said. The statement continued, “We hope that the world of Akira Toriyama’s unique works will continue to be loved by everyone for a long time to come.” One of Japan’s best-known and most-loved manga creators, Toriyama is indelibly linked with Dragon Ball, a series he created, wrote and illustrated that was first serialized in 1984. The martial arts-heavy series, which gave the world characters like Goku, Piccolo, Bulma and Krillin, was subsequently adapted into equally popular anime series by Toei Animation (Dragon Ball and …