but it's not all good news for their parent company associated british foods. r. james, what is your take on the latest results from associated british foods and primark? always a bit of a mixed bag, it is completely split. this has been the story for quite a long time with associated british foods, we have seen the food side of things, they do tea, sugar, lots of other food brands within that. the food side has not performed that well but the prime clothing side continues to bail the company out, which is what we have seen company out, which is what we have seen here. on the downside it has been a tough time for sugar, that is where we have seen the negativity for associated british foods, profit warnings from other sugar companies, the warm weather has really seen prices for lower in terms of sugar, which has had their business. from a primark point of view it has performed well, but not as well as in the previous year, due to the weather. we have had an unseasonably cold weather in the uk, followed by unseasonably hot weather in october. hot weather in octobe

with associated british foods or primark, a different story. ting itself. i don't think thatis producting itself. i don't think that is a starter. let us talk about the income squeeze. figures from the office of national statistics suggest the trend is coming to an end. at what point should we start to feel better off? that could take some time. this month we have council tax rises coming in. that could kick the floor under the inflation rate. we have cpi for march coming out tomorrow. that will fall to 2.6% likely. the trajectory for wage growth is on an upward slope. in may la st growth is on an upward slope. in may last year1.7%, we growth is on an upward slope. in may last year 1.7%, we are now 2.8%, growth is on an upward slope. in may last year1.7%, we are now 2.8%, the highest since 2015. . is an expectation on the part of the bank of england that that number could edge up towards 3% as we head towards yare end. if inflation continues to fall, which a higher pound should prompt, things could get better. it could take a while, two to three