Late yesterday, the British Retail Consortium reported that like-for-like retail sales figures for March increased by 1.3% on an annualized basis, above the -0.3% decline from February and a vast improvement from the consensus expectations for stagnant sales. The like-for-like tally is generally favored by analysts as a truer picture of sales, as it excludes changes in floor space; total retail sales for March were up 3.6%, an improvement from the 2.3% rise in February. Read more