All Analysis articles – Page 6
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Retailers silence the critics
The government’s competition watchdog has cleared retailers of profiteering after a review of the road fuel market, but has still ordered an in-depth investigation after it found “cause for concern in the growing gap between the price of crude oil when it enters refineries, and the wholesale price when it leaves refineries as petrol or diesel”.
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Analysis
COMMENT: Yet another fuel market study - probably not the last!
So yet another investigation into the road fuel market is upon us and those veterans of the fuel retailing industry will probably shrug with frustration – they’ve seen it all before.
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Analysis
COMMENT: Oil prices - who profits?
As I had to write the PRA’s response to the ‘short and focused’ Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into the retail fuel market, I thought it would be a good time to reveal some facts.
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Analysis
MONEY TALK: A shortage of diesel could make prices jump even higher
Back in March, when I wrote that pump prices of £2 a litre could be expected very soon, even a few close friends and colleagues told me that I was a pessimist and/or alarmist.
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Analysis
PIPELINE: Margins in focus as retail prices soar
Spreads between different grades of gasoline have widened sharply in the past month with the value of octane soaring.
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SHOP TALK: The joy of soft drinks in the sun
Call me old-fashioned, but I can remember when soft drinks were all about the taste and refreshment but nowadays they seem to be all about the packaging and the fact that you can recycle the cans and bottles.
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Analysis
SERVICE CENTRE: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know
This story clearly demonstrates that it’s not what you know but who you know. Steve Smyth of Harwood Bros Motors (Wootton) Ltd with a forecourt shop and Lushington Garage at Ryde on the Isle of Wight, wrote to say that he was a new retailer with PayPoint.
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Analysis
COMMENT: There’s a lot to do to meet CCC targets
The Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) Monitoring Framework report was released last week, tracking the Government’s progress in meeting carbon budgets and climate targets.
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Analysis
COMMENT: Fuel retailers are being unfairly blamed for sky-rocketing fuel prices
Retailers are being unfairly blamed for fuel prices skyrocketing and while there are reports of individual sites increasing prices excessively, this is absolutely the exception and not the rule.
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Analysis
MONEY TALK: Switch it off, or turn it down.
It seems that no sooner had the government boldly declared that there would be no windfall tax on energy suppliers, they decided that there would be something called an ’energy profits levy’ on energy suppliers, intended to raise £15bn for the Treasury.
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Analysis
COMMENT: To remain even remotely competitive at the pump is a tough job!
Growing up, from a very early age, my father drilled into me a key business principle: the majority of successful decisions are all about timing. As true in life as it is in business.
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SHOP TALK: Sun’s out, (burger) buns out
Just before writing this, I read that this was going to be a barbecue Bank Holiday with lots of people planning to celebrate the long weekend by throwing burgers on the grill.
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Analysis
LEGAL: Do retailers really need licences for music or TV?
Many retailers play music or moving pictures on televisions in stores to boost sales, enhance a friendly atmosphere and create a better work environment for their staff.
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Analysis
COMMENT: Our sector is vital and will continue to be so
With global energy markets reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and widespread protests by Just Stop Oil, I have certainly had an interesting first few weeks as chief executive officer of UKPIA.
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Analysis
MONEY TALK: We’ve got enough problems, without the ‘Saviours of Planet Earth’
In common with many other parts of the world, we’re seeing shortages of various goods and commodities – partly as a hangover from the Covid epidemic still causing disruption in China, and partly as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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Analysis
PIPELINE: UK and Europe fear for diesel supply without Russia
UK and European diesel importers face an ominous challenge to meet diesel demand as Russian supply gets frozen out of the market.
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SERVICE CENTRE: Image issues and banning unwanted customers
A couple of months ago I pondered the question of the unholy mix of fuel, food and flowers in a forecourt operation and the ‘bad press’ it often gets.
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Analysis
LEGAL: Economic Crime Bill - targeted crackdown or blunt instrument?
The lofty sounding Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022 and the Register of Overseas Entities – is it a ‘targeted crackdown’ or a blunt instrument?
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Analysis
PITSTOP: Shell Recharge Fulham
Mystery motorist on a mission… Shell Recharge, Fulham Road, London