Good morning: The discount retailer Primark has shrugged off the retail doom and gloom. Sales rose 4.5 per cent in the 16 weeks to January 4, parent group Associated British Foods (ABF) told investors this morning as it updated on trading across the wider group. Primark sales in the UK were up 4 per cent. On a like-for-like basis there was a “marginal decline” — a better performance than the City had expected and an improvement on 2019, which saw a 2 per cent decline in like-for-like sales. •The FTSE 100 education group Pearson has updated shareholders before announcing full-year results next…

Source: The Times January 16, 2020 08:37 UTC