All Columnists articles – Page 7
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
A perfect storm hit oil prices in March. Just as global demand was being destroyed by the effects of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia ramped up production to unprecedented levels in a price war, alienating Opec allies and non-Opec rivals alike. Oil prices halved in March as a result, with ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
We are living in a time of uncertainty with the ongoing Covid-19 situation, which has affected each and every one of us. Convenience stores, especially those open all hours on petrol forecourts, act as lifelines to their customers, keeping communities connected and providing vital services to those who need them ...
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Analysis
Greggs on a ’roll’
I confess to not being a massive fan of Greggs products but obviously loads of people are, including Mr West who is very partial to a Greggs sausage roll or two. In the town where I live, there are always queues of people wanting a sausage roll or other Greggs ...
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Analysis
Cloudy crystal ball
My crystal ball looking into the future of petrol retailing has scarcely been cloudier. The price of Brent Crude has been falling for some weeks down from a New Year high of US$70 to just US$50 at the start of March. This resulted from bearish forecasts about oil demand due ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
The potential effects of the coronavirus on the global economy dominated discussion in oil markets in February, slicing more than 20% off oil prices since January 20, when it first came to light. Benchmark crude Ice Brent hovered just above $50/bl at the close of the month, a level last ...
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Analysis
Alexander Russell: consultant, Car Wash Association (CWA)
This year the CWA has already attended two round-table conferences on labour abuse, hosted by Matthew Taylor, the government’s interim director at the Office of Labour Market Enforcement (OLME). The first, more general, meeting focused on non-compliance with labour regulations. Taylor emphasised his particular interest in the proposed Single (labour ...
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Analysis
E10 on the horizon
The spectre of E10 is on the horizon again following this month’s announcement of a government consultation on its introduction (seems like there have been a few over the years!). Issues concerning E10 have been kicked into the long grass for a long time as the fuel retailing industry fretted ...
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Analysis
Stephen Marcos Jones: director general, UKPIA
To paraphrase former US President Gerald Ford, our long national nightmare is over. Sort of. After three rollercoaster years, the Brexit wars are finally at an end. Britain is now firmly outside the club. If you thought it was safe, however, to assume politics will return to the humdrum potholes ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
I love Heinz Tomato Ketchup and I also love chocolate but the two together? I don’t think so. However, some bright spark has combined the two into a product that’s excusively available from Fortnum & Masons for Valentine’s Day. According to the Fortnum’s website, the chocolate truffles balance the creaminess ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Just in case you thought you knew all you needed to know about the timescale for the transition to EVs, along comes, pardon the pun, a bit of a shock. The government, under huge pressure from powerful global eco lobbies to ’do more’ about the ’climate emergency’ has reacted. Wanting ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: PRA technical director
As chairman of the Petroleum Enforcement Liaison Group (PELG) I had to postpone a meeting that was due to have taken place at the beginning of January. The reason being that Brexit, followed by the pre-election purdah, had meant that the Health and Safety Executive was unable to agree the ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
When China sneezes, the oil markets catch a cold. Mirroring the effects of the SARS crisis in 2002, oil markets shed more than $8/bl in January on the back of the potential impact on oil demand from the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak. The apparent calming of the Middle East ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
Did you see the story about people in Newcastle queuing to get their hands on Greggs’ new Vegan Steak Bake? According to The Sun, the first person in the queue waited six hours for the midnight unveiling of the meat- and dairy-free snack. And the first 200 people through the ...
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Analysis
Editor: Merril Boulton
Happy New Year to one and all. Hope everything went well and you all enjoyed a successful festive period on your forecourts. Generally the outlook for the New Year looks pretty good for the forecourt convenience sector (see News Extra, page 10). That’s if you ignore the explosively escalating tensions ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: executive director, BOSS
This year BOSS will be celebrating the first decade of BOSS Payment Watch and our research indicates that since it was established, we’ve helped forecourt retailers to prevent and recover £100m of losses from forecourt crime. The first ’no means of payment’ (NMoP) scheme was a real milestone for BOSS. ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
Oil prices gained steadily through December before the assassination of leading Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3 took Ice Brent futures to $69.50/bl for the first time since attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure in September. Prices at the pump reacted to the gains on international markets for ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
The start of the new year is often a time when we reflect on the events of the past 12 months and look ahead to what the next year may hold both in terms of opportunities and challenges. This year will see the new government make its mark not only ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
We all know that we should be doing more to cut down on waste, whether it’s packaging or food, but I fear one organisation has gone too far. BusinessWaste.co.uk reckons it’s time to ban Christmas dinner as it estimates that 150,000 tonnes of it ends up in landfill. Press releases ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: PRA chairman
It is clear that many people around the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the negative impact of Climate Change and that fossil fuels are seen by politicians, medics and environmentalists as a primary cause. Social media has been a powerful tool affecting this rapid change in outlook. Change on ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
It promises to be a significantly more memorable festive season than usual what with the election, the political noise and ’who knows what’ will follow. UKPIA director general Stephen Marcos (see news page 3 and Forecourt Trader website) has called this election "one of the most important for generations", and ...