And to add insult to injury, there is nothing to prevent producers who have a performance envelope from topping up the financing of their projects by submitting them for the comparatives.
As to comparatives, the court was entitled to weigh the risk of psychological harm of return against the psychological consequences of refusing return.
In a sell note Philip Dorgan at Panmure Gordon said: Sales in the second quarter are worse than the first and, while comparatives ease in the second half, we are not confident.
As with Morrisons, the group was also assisted by weak comparatives.
Tougher comparatives and signs of slackening consumer confidence could well weigh on the performance, however, with both UBS and Execution Noble anticipating some slowdown in general merchandise trading.
Online retailing is expected to continue growing in 2011, although the recent trend of high double-digit growth rates may moderate as retailers contend with tough comparatives.
