Whether it’s a small retailer or convenience store, all properties must comply to the new leglislation by the 6th April 2015 but large chain supermarkets will be required to adhere to the ruling by the same date of this year. While there is no evidence that hiding cigarettes, cigars and tobacco will stop people from smoking, it might help others from starting again after an absence. The supermarkets have stated that staff training will be required to ensure that the store ahderes to the new rules and will ensure that they are fully compliant in good time.

Smaller supermarket stores, such as Sainsbury’s Local and Tesco Express do not have to comply to the rules until 2015, as the ruling only goes on the square-footage of that particular store. Health professionals and anti-smoking lobbiests welcome the new law, and state that smoking should not be seen as part of everyday life, as it once was and also it takes the promotional aspect of smoking away from younger, more impressionable children. It’s thought that the hiding of the cigarettes will stop the encouragement of smoking or starting to smoke. Tesco, which is the UK’s largest retailer, will be trialling a new kiosk ahead of the legislation to test the effectiveness and to test customer reactions to the change in look.

As the firm had a rocky ride towards the end of 2011, with a warehousing IT error causing problems in October which it quickly amended, and in 2010 when it floated on the stock market with 500p shares it has had its ups and downs. Thankfully, all is looking up for the group with increases in sales by 5.8% over a nine-week period leading up to the festive rush, in which it saw another 9.3% rise in December alone, trade has been increasing ever-since.

With a tough economy and having major competiton, SuperGroup has led with a strong performance and despite forecasts mentioning that Christmas sales were going to be down, the company is delighted at the sales figures. Over that nine-week period, sales increased to £79 million, up 22% overall, even though wholesale revenues were 4% lower due to payments received in January it sees the chain’s overall sales grow an astonishing 54% in this fiscal year since May 2010.

With Regent Street being the flagship store and opening up the first of its four floors before Christmas, the sales figures are seriously promising for the start of the new year. Since February 2011, the group’s share prices which were £18.20 were hit by a drop of 4p to 547p at the end of the year, but the groupis confident in its new stores and online sales moving into 2012 and the end of the 2011/2012 financial year.

Non-food products saw slashed prices as the retail giant tried to bring more sales for the forecasted reduction but it wasn’t enough. Cost-cutting by the firm is said to offset the fall in sales but with the 128-year old brand seeing a 1.8% drop in just 13 weeks of trading up to New Year’s Eve, the 703-stores could not bring more customers through the doors. The food sector of Marks & Spencer still managed to be competitive but although the overall festive outcome wasn’t as disastrous as many predicted, performance figures still looked grim.

Competitors Debenhams saw a 6.5% increase in sales in the five-weeks before the turn of the new year and stamps itself in the winners’ circle for department stores. Majestic Wine, the wine specialist and Dunelm, the furnishing chain, also managed great figures for Christmas 2011 compared to the previous year. With shop price inflation easing, from 2% to 1.7%, consumers are expected to begin to buy more items from the high street shops, but as ever with forecasts some are on the money and some are way off the mark.

In recent years, Marks & Spencer has performed remarkably well, but even though discounts were set on hair and beauty products, electrical, footwear and clothing, it couldn’t stop the decrease in sales. However, the brand which has 300 overseas stores saw a 1.8% increase in sales and a 0.5% hike on like-for-like basis. Ongoing management costs are going to be tightened and promotional activity will be rejigged in a bid to offset the reduced sales.

The group managed £697 million in profits this year, although that’s down on the £714 from the previous year and a far cry from £1bn in 2006/7. With the last week in December being a record in sales in the food sector, this has also helped with the annual sales figures, but the group is wary of another tough year with the Olympics and European Championships in 2012 could cause another dip in performance.

Wonga.com claims that student loans, which are backed by the government, encourage students to borrow too much, even though those loans are rated at 1.5-5.3%. As students are generally known for buying the latest gadgets as well as needing money for books and material, it’s easy to get carried away but with short-term loans, that need repaid within a month, it can cause financial problems and live beyond their means. As student loans should be used for living costs and necessities, many people find that they overspend and with Wonga.com being their to add more debt, the move has been slammed by many.

Financial experts find the promotional activity of Wonga.com immoral and uncouth, but Wonga.com retorted saying that all loans should be thought about wisely and as their loans offer a short-term relief from payments, it can be handy for those that need money fast and have no other way of getting hold of £100-1,000 within a few hours.

Although offering students loans isn’t Wonga’s main focus, the website was amended to stop promoting their loans to students and more focus is being put on the customers that will benefit from short-term and payday loan companies. The company stated that no more Tweets would be released that were directly aimed at students and have withdrawn their involvement in that practice.

The chairman of the group, Graham Sims, is taking the lead in reducing the firm’s expenditure on 18 loss-making outlets this month and 49 in February. Since being saved from administration five years ago by RCapital the company tried to continue building the brand back up with the Channel 4 show Big Chef Takes on Little Chef, where top-celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, added new cuisine the menus but alas the promotional activity simply hasn’t been enough for the ageing brand.

Graham Sims started in 1997 working for Little Chef, flipping burgers, and climbed the rankings to chairman, but with the soft approach not working, drastic measures are now being taken to slice spending and costs, in order to keep the most profitable outlets running smoothly. The main competition that has made the dire sales for the restaurants is down to motorway service stations offering more variety but even the “Grab and Go Takeaway” method akin to a fast-food joint has helped in the short term but other restaurants are simply dragging the financials down.

Sims has high hopes for the brand over the next few years, where 40-50 branches will be opened as franchises and running a different business model will hopefully help the group get back to where it once was. With quality menus, quick takeaways and revamped restaurants, the chairman has big plans for the company and will develop more profitable areas and sites around the UK.

Even though there is due to be a 6.4% increase in graduate vacancies this year, which is up from 16,408 graduates from 2011, the survey of 100 employers revealed that the increase in applicants is far higher than the 2.8% increase from last year. Employers are, however, set to change their expected recruitment targets compared to last year, which are still 6% lower than the figures prior to the recession. Compounding the problem is the sheer number of graduates that are leaving university this year, which is 50,000 more than it was in 2007, making competitiveness for job placements even tougher than before.

Employment opportunities for graduates are becoming lower and lower, as 19% of last year’s graduates are filling the roles for this year, and as more than 50% of recruiters stating that candidates with no work experience would struggle to be given a job, the outlook for university students is grim. Adding to the problem, around 25% of graduates were actually turned down for job roles for being over-qualified.

Investment banker jobs have been increasing 9% each year, although recruiters tend to only take graduates that have had industry placements, and despite the Government’s freeze on recruitment, there is set to be a 21.9% increase in graduate roles in the public sector, taking on an expected 500 more roles compared to last year. With the “big 4″ sectors of retail, high street banking, IT and engineering taking around 4,000 jobs between them, there is also an expected and marked rise on its way. However, salaries for graudates tend to remain stagnant at £29,000 even after three years, which makes the labour market remain quite flat.

As the fuel and utility bills have been soaring in recent times, and the Government’s official figure of 5% for inflation, something had to change to entice more consumer spending. Retailers have done a sterling job in keeping prices low, despite fierce competition, discounts, promotions and online savings that are available. Inflation on food rose by 4.2% last month, up 0.2% from November, while there was a 0.5% drop to 0.3% on non-food inflation which is a marked change for both retailers, consumers and suppliers.

As commodity prices take a while to make a difference on the shelves, consumers will most likely see the changes over the next few months, which will time nicely as shoppers will have recovered financially from the Christmas spending that saw many retailers have their best Christmas sales for years. Packet and tinned food prices have taken quite a hit and this will both help consumers and affect the overall spending power that people have in the UK. With extra money in their pocket, shoppers are more likely to continue the upward trend of spending instead of penny-pinching, which ultimately will help bring the country out of the recession once and for all.

Consumers in the Princesshay Shopping Centre stated that the small yellow signs were too difficult to see, which explained that the area was being used for tracking trends. The Path Intelligence technology has been used in the shopping centre, and claims it is already widespread across the UK, and state that if consumers wish to not partake in the program they can simply turn off their mobile phone to stop the signal. Lobbiests are angered as there is no permission asked and claim that people will feel like their are being followed without knowledge.

The research of consumer trends gives an idea of consumers’ movements from shop to shop through a device located in each shop, and this means that shopping patterns can be monitored. The tracking firm states that it is a tool used to enhance customer service and explains how effectively the shopping centre is being used. No personal data is taken or stored, as it merely links up the phone signal that passes the device within the shops and relays the information to the central processing unit.

Customers of the shopping centre are outraged and claim that they should not need to switch off their mobile phones if they want to opt out of the research, and it could mean that customers will shop elsewhere in the future. The Path Intelligence CEO assures shoppers that there is no way the information invades personal information or affects their privacy as it merely shows the signals as dots around the shopping centre.

Although the market is relatively stagnant and has been for the last five years, the sales are creeping up and John Lewis is standing strong again in the high street. With other major high street names such as HMV losing as much as £38m in the first half of 2011, and set to lose more for the rest of the year, despite selling the book shop Waterstones earlier this year. Hopes are pinned on last minute sales to bring the sales figures back up before the end of the year.

Spending power in Britain has dropped by around 3% which is having a knock-on effect for shops around the country, which translates to around £970m less money being circulated. With the increase of fuel bills, utilities, a VAT increase and food prices increasing, people in the UK simply have less money to spend. As retailers will have to pay their final rent bill on Christmas Day, there are hopes held for a last minute boost of sales for everyone involved.

Again, a snowy period before Christmas might hamper the spending and Christmas present buying that retailers are expecting and this is putting added pressures on companies around the UK. As John Lewis invested heavily in advertising, the return on that investment won’t be seen until the new year, and after the January sales.

The new proposals wouldn’t have been put into place until 2013, but now lenders can assume a responsibility in looking at each mortgage proposal in depth to see if there is a believable repayment plan in place for anyone opting for an interest only mortgage. Borrowers should not expect low prices to remain that way if there is a fixed period, but as ever, there will be an affordability selection process before any mortgage is granted. It is hoped that the FSA will nail down the plans for future mortgages before the economy gains speed, to assist in maintaining progress rather than causing more damage.

Unlike some mortgages that were given out between 2005-2007, which did not ensure there was a payment plan after the interest-only mortgage, the new proposals will make sure that there are less defaults in the future. Between 2007-2010, around half of the mortgages granted were given without any checking of income or financial viability, and in many cases, borrowers were left with no money after living expenses and payments, which is why residual income or consumer spending hit an all-time low. Around 30% of mortgages were interest-only, at the height of the market, and barely any had repayment plans in place after the period was up. These facts alone can be enough to see off banks, lenders and the economy crashing.