Retail sector paying high price for the consumer's debt burden

The UK retail sector is bracing itself for a tough Christmas as consumers feel the pinch from higher oil prices. Colin McLean, manager of the SVM UK Active Fund, reckons that with oil recently peaking at $70 a barrel and interest rates at 4.5%, the sector is going to struggle. The market seems to agree with him. In September, the retail sector for the FTSE All Share Index was down 4%. According to the CBI's Monthly Distributive Trades (MDT) September half the retailers said September sales volumes were down a year ago while only 26% said they were up. For 2005 up to 1 November, the FTSE...