More high street woes as M&S sales and profits drop

More worrying news from the high street this morning.

Marks and Spencer are reporting a 10 percent drop in first-half profit after second-quarter,

For the first time in two years, underlying sales fell and the results seem to suggest that UK consumers are under pressure.

Sales from its British stores open over a year fell 0.7 percent in the second quarter, with a 2.5 percent drop in general merchandise sales partially offset by a 1 percent rise in food.

"We remain cautious about the outlook but are well set up for the all important Christmas period,"said the store commenting on the results.

and added "Against a challenging consumer backdrop, we took decisive action to manage the business through the short term while continuing our focus on investing in creating a stronger platform for future growth."