Consumers and startups point to 2017 growth

Ostensibly booming pre-Christmas retail sales data capped a good week for the economy, as surveys on the services industry and start-ups pointed to a good start for 2017.

The shift by consumers to spending early at Christmas to tap ‘Black Friday’ discounts helped to drive the sharp rise in retail sales in November, a retailing industry group has said.

CSO figures showed underlying sales which exclude car sales rose 3.1% in the month and climbed 4.9% from November 2015.