economy UK inflation at highest since 2013, wages not keeping up with prices Bad news for consumers as British Inflation hit its highest level in three and a half years in April with prices up by 2.7 percent from a year ago. 16/05/2017
economy France: weak GDP growth ahead of final election round With the final round of the French presidential election looming, the focus was on anaemic economic growth in the first three months of the year. 28/04/2017
Netherlands Some smart electricity meters 'give readings nearly 600 percent too high' Consumers across Europe could be paying over the odds for electricity, according to a Dutch study that reveals some electricity meters can give readings as much as 582 percent too… 14/03/2017
USA Starbucks' customer support 'wanes' after CEO's refugee hiring promise Customer support for Starbucks has waned in recent weeks as customers negatively react to the coffee giant's promise to hire thousands of refugees 10/03/2017
economy UK shopping slowdown signals weaker growth British Retail Consortium sees drop in non-food sales as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development frets about Brexit uncertainty. 07/03/2017
economy French consumer confidence remains at near 10 year high French consumer confidence remained at its best level in more than nine years in February for the second month in a row. 24/02/2017
economy Brexit linked inflation deters Britons from spending As inflation picked up and prices rose after the Brexit vote British consumers cut back on spending in January. 17/02/2017
corporate Uber and Tesla take different roads over immigration row Uber's Travis Kalanick has quit President Trump's business advisory group while Tesla's Elon Musk stays to raise objections for "the greater good". 03/02/2017
economy Eurozone retail sales post biggest growth in two years Monthly Eurostat figures showed consumers stocked up on non-food products, such as clothing and electrical goods. 05/12/2016
economy Euro zone consumer confidence rises in November Euro zone consumer confidence rose much more than expected by economists in November, according to the European Commission on Tuesday showed. 22/11/2016
economy UK consumers says 'Brexit vote - so what?' A new survey finds British consumers were at their most confident in five years in September, though not in London which mostly voted against Brexit. 17/10/2016
economy Bank of Japan changes stimulus policy, denies it's running out of options The Bank of Japan is changing tack as it tries to get the economy growing again with an increased emphasis on the amount of interest paid to investors who buy government bonds. 21/09/2016
economy German businesses concerned by global economic weakness German business morale fell in January to its lowest level since February 2015. The Ifo economic institute says its business climate index dipped 25/01/2016
economy Japanese consumers still not spending enough Consumer spending in Japan unexpectedly fell in July, threatening the country’s gradual recovery. The development puts more pressure on policymakers 28/08/2015
United Kingdom Manufacturing figures for the UK fall ahead of election Britain’s economic growth, at the heart of political campaigning for next weeks poll, has slowed in the manufacturing sector. That’s according to 01/05/2015
Venezuela Queues outside Venezuelan supermarkets amid shortages Restrictions on food shopping in Venezuela, with shortages reported across the country 17/01/2015
u talk New EU food labelling rules EU moves to help consumers be sure about the food they buy come under scrutiny in this edition of Utalk. The question is from Ivan in Sofia 19/12/2014
u talk Choose carefully - the safety and quality of toys and games Consumer rights relating to the safety and quality of toys is the subject of this Utalk. The question is from Paul in Marseille: “As Christmas 10/12/2014
right-on Another option for European debt recovery Brussels has promised to raise awareness about the European Small Claims Procedure, a regulation that aims to make it easier for people to solve 12/11/2012
right-on Package holiday? No, a dynamic package! When I started research into this episode of Right On the term “dynamic packaging” kept cropping up. Dynamic what? I realised very quickly that it 28/05/2012
behind-markets Carrefour's hyper struggle continues Europe’s biggest retailer – Carrefour – which is struggling to win back investor confidence, did manage to stabilise sales in the first quarter 12/04/2012
u talk Empowering e-consumers This week in U Talk, Luc from Brussels posts the question on our website: “What are my rights when I buy something on the Internet?” Following two 02/09/2011
u talk What's on my plate? EU food labelling rules New food labelling rules intend to make it easier for European shoppers to know what exactly what they are eating. Damien from France asks what 12/08/2011
