BP forecasts shale output to soar despite Saudi stand-off February 10, 2016 Saudi Arabia’s plan to drive out US shale producers will not work, according to BP’s Energy Outlook for 2016. The widely-read annual report predicts a 34 per cent rise in global energy consumption by 2035, almost 80 per cent of which will be supplied from fossil fuels. However, it forecasts stronger growth in shale that [...]
The UK’s 10 most difficult interview questions from Accenture, Barclays, Google and Metro Bank February 10, 2016 Job interviews are stressful at the best of times: not only do you have to remember not to fidget in your seat or worry about your handshake being clammy, you also have to get those tricky questions right… City firms are notoriously tough on their victims (er, we mean interviewees) and some of the interview [...]
Thanks, Janet Yellen: WTI crude oil price falls back below $28 February 10, 2016 US oil benchmark WTI crude fell back below $28 this afternoon, after comments from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen warned turbulence on financial markets could derail economic growth. WTI crude fell to $27.75 per barrel after prepared remarks by Yellen showed she believes financial conditions have become "less supportive" of growth. The news follows [...]
Markets breath a sigh of relief as tough new regulation, MiFID II, is delayed February 10, 2016 Finance firms have been given another years breathing room from a regulatory overhaul of trading rules. The European Commission has proposed a delay of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID II, by a year. The new deadline is 3 January 2018, from 3 January 2017 previously. In November last year the commission [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Hauser defends financial crisis safety net on the 150th anniversary of the Overend and Gurney panic February 10, 2016 A Bank of England official has defended the safety net it used in response to the financial crisis. Andrew Hauser, executive director of banking, payments and financial resilience, said the Bank’s lender-of-last-resort (LOLR) operations during the 2007 and 2008 financial crises “helped prevent global economic and financial meltdown.” The Bank first lent cash to Northern Rock in [...]
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen flags risk to growth from financial market turmoil February 10, 2016 US interest rates could stay on hold for longer if the current financial market volatility persists. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen warned that continuing swings in financial markets could partially derail the economy's growth, and said financial conditions had already become "less supportive". However she dismissed the idea that the Federal Reserve may need to [...]
Flexible working at the point of recruitment unlikely to become a legislated requirement, says Nick Boles, and the best employers offer it anyway February 10, 2016 The right to request flexible working at recruitment stage is unlikely to be something that is formally legislated for, the Women and Equalities Select Committee was told this morning. When asked if his department would consider introducing the right at the point of recruitment, as this is a stage when many women face issues, Nick Boles, [...]
January winter storms caused $4bn in economic damage worldwide, although Storm Gertrude inflicted comparatively few problems February 10, 2016 Winter weather caused $4bn (£2.8bn) in economic damages across the world this January. According to a report which released yesterday by Aon, the winter snow storms that battered the east coast of the United States in the latter half of January, killing 58 people and causing states of emergency to be declared in 11 states, [...]
UK manufacturing rounds off a poor 2015 with end-of-year stagnation February 10, 2016 The UK's manufacturing sector ended its decline toward the end of last year, but contracted over 2015 as a whole. Factory output was the same in the final three months of 2015 compared with the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. The stagnation rounded off a poor year for the [...]
London houses have missed out on huge price increases because of Night Tube delays February 10, 2016 Delays to the launch of the 24-hour Night Tube could have stripped billions of pounds in potential increases from property values across London, new figures reveal. The Night Tube's arrival was expected to push up house prices along the route by as much as 10 per cent on top of growth in surrounding areas. In [...]