Total reaches £585m deal to sell North Sea oil and gas assets August 28, 2015 French oil major Total plans to rid itself of £585m of its North Sea assets to North Sea Midstream Partners. The company is selling all of its interests in the Fuka and Sirge gas pipelines and the St. Fergus gas terminal. The Fuka pipeline, in which Total has a 100 per cent operated interest, [...]
Oil prices jump more than 10 per cent in biggest one-day rally since 2009 August 27, 2015 Oil prices went through their sharpest rise in six and a half years today, as the commodity benefited from recovering equity markets and reduced fears over China's economic slowdown. Read more: Commodities plunge to 16 year low as China fears push oil prices down further US crude finished the day 10.3 per cent higher [...]
FTSE 100 gains £60bn in one day as investors regain confidence August 27, 2015 It's been a rollercoaster of a week for the FTSE 100. Having lost £72bn on Monday, won half of it back on Tuesday and then suffered losses again on Wednesday, the direction the blue-chip index would head in next seemed far from certain. Read more: Emerging Market stocks and currencies rally on doubts of a [...]
Emerging market stocks and currencies rally on doubts of a US rate rise August 27, 2015 Emerging markets made major gains today after doubts were cast over a US interest rate rise next month. Read more: US stocks rise sharply as investors recover from China panic The MSCI emerging markets index is currently 3.3 per cent higher, having climbed steadily since the start of trading. The rouble has also [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s interest rate rise comments prompted a flurry of house buying in July August 27, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney's suggestion that the rate decision will "likely come into sharper relief around the turn of this year" has prompted a flurry of homebuying, new figures suggest. Demand for houses rose 4.1 per cent in the year to July, and 5.3 per cent in the last month alone, according to [...]
UK net migration reaches record high – with EU migrants rising 40 per cent August 27, 2015 Net migration hit 330,000 in the 12 months ending March 2015, 94,000 more than the previous year – and the highest on record, official figures show. The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning, said net migration of EU citizens shot up 40 per cent to 183,000. A record 269,000 EU citizens [...]
US markets rise but FTSE 100 closes lower as China uncertainty continues August 27, 2015 After a tumultuous session of trading yesterday during which traders on both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones showed optimism until mass selloffs in the the final minutes of trading, both indices opened higher today, with the S&P rising 1.3 per cent per cent in early trading, while the Dow rose 1.8 per cent. [...]
Better start for the FTSE 100 after Asia rally as Shanghai shares soar August 27, 2015 Are things finally calming down on the markets? The FTSE 100 opened almost two per cent higher, taking heart from a rally in Asia, where the Nikkei closed one per cent higher, the Hang Seng closed three per cent higher – and Chinese markets leaped, with the Shanghai Composite gaining more than five per cent [...]
WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell shrugs off mounting fears over China’s economy August 27, 2015 WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell yesterday admitted “everyone should be concerned” about the current state of the Chinese economy – but said he remained an “unabashed bull” over the long term. Speaking to City A.M., Sorrell said that although Asia Pacific is the company’s third largest market, WPP would not be changing its strategy [...]
Oil analysts predict price spikes for Brent crude as early as 2016 August 27, 2015 The price of oil cannot stay at its current sub-$50 levels beyond next year, energy analysts have warned. Due to a lack of growth in North American shale production and increased decline in mature fields, a Brent price as low as $50 per barrel is not sustainable beyond 2016, according to research from Rystad [...]