What's going on?

Clothing giant Inditex reported respectable quarterly results on Wednesday, after making eyes at big spenders all quarter.

What does this mean?

Inditex navigated this year�s tepid consumer spending pretty deftly, upping its prices to protect margins. And while some rivals joined a race to the bottom, Inditex focused more on high-rolling luxury shoppers instead, producing a raft of high-profit, high-fashion offerings. The titan had another trick up its sleeve too: trusty supply chains that let it get designs on store shelves at double time. That kind of worked, but the firm�s quarterly report showed the giant�s not completely invincible. Sure, sales grew by 11% versus the same time last year, but that�s down from 15% the quarter before � and sourcing costs grew even faster. Overall then, Inditex saw its net profit grow a middling 6% this quarter � good, but not amazing for the world�s biggest fashion retailer, whose brands include Zara, Bershka, and Massimo Dutti.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Dreaming of a strike Christmas.
Analysts think Inditex�s cost pressures are set to weigh on the firm even more going forward. After all, Inditex has already been hit by a wave of strikes, including one on Black Friday in its biggest market, Spain. And since there are even more planned, that could thin out the firm�s festive results. But striking workers had better hope Inditex doesn�t copy its arch-rival H&M, which this month became the first European retailer to start laying off staff in a bid to cut costs.

Zooming out: Price turning point.
Higher costs are irking everyone right now, not just retail titans. But this week�s data suggested inflation�s easing in the US, and it seems that the UK is now following suit. Data out on Wednesday showed that British prices rose by 10.7% last month, lower than expected and a welcome cooldown after October�s 11.1% jump. With a little luck, then, the UK�s inflation might already have passed its peak.