BP is raising £400m to bolster its balance sheet May 19, 2016 Oil major BP wants to raise £400m to shore up its balance sheet which has been battered by low oil prices. BP said today it will issue cash-settled convertible bonds as part of its regular debt issuance process, with the proceeds being used for "general corporate processes". Read more: What crisis? BP buys North Sea field "This [...]
Feeding on the Fed: FTSE 100 slims down on prospect of US interest rate hike May 19, 2016 Traders have been feeding on the Fed for the best part of 24 hours now, as they chew through a tasty release from the world's most important central bank. Depending on what you'd ordered, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) either left a sour taste in the mouth or delivered some unexpected goodies. Equities and [...]
Politics, not economics, could undo the European recovery May 19, 2016 A toxic combination of political risks in Europe pose the greatest threat to businesses across the continent, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has warned today. Despite strong underlying fundamentals including robust consumer confidence and buoyant M&A prospects, the ratings agency said firms could be knocked off course by any number of political disruptions over the next few months. Brexit, [...]
Labour Leave chair: “falling house prices should be welcomed” May 19, 2016 The chair of Labour Leave has condemned fears around the impact of a Brexit vote on the housing market, stating that the UK should seek a reduction in houseprices. John Mills, chairman of household goods business JML and Labour's largest individual donor, made the comments after a survey of the National Association of Estate Agents [...]
Oil services groups FMC Technologies and Technip to team up in $13bn deal May 19, 2016 France's Technip and US rival FMC Technologies said today they would merge to create an oil services company worth $13bn (£8.9bn). It comes as the industry has been enacting cost cuts to weather the oil price rout which has hit exploration and production. Technip and FMC expect the all-share deal to save at least $400m in annual costs by 2019. Read [...]
European Central Bank (ECB) is not going to take any more of Germany’s flak May 19, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) hit out at criticism of its independence during its monetary policy meeting last month in some surprisingly fiery minutes published this afternoon. The ECB said that it was vital to "counter the perception that monetary policy could no longer contribute to a return of inflation," as the minutes revealed growing exasperation [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 19, 2016 Markets are still reeling from the Fed's warning that they're not taking the possibility of a June interest rate hike seriously enough and ratings agency Moody's has downgraded US growth prospects. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. The pre-market is not looking strong this morning follow [...]
Grexit threat fades as Greece records multi-billion euro surplus May 19, 2016 Greece recorded a budget surplus of €2.4bn (£1.8bn) in the first four months of 2016, in the latest sign that the country's bailout programme is on track. The surplus in Greece's central government primary budget smashed its own target of around €500m off the back of lower spending by the Syriza-led administration. Spending was more than €2bn below [...]
Buy to let stampede not enough to stop mortgage lending from rising in April May 19, 2016 The housing market shows no sign of letting up as mortgage lending came to a post-crisis high for the month of April, despite the buy to let stampede in March. Gross mortgage lending – the amount dished out by lenders to people buying new homes – came in at £18.5bn in April, up 16 per cent over the year [...]
Oil prices slide below $48 on the strong dollar May 19, 2016 Oil prices continued to fall this morning on the stronger dollar, a shock rise in US stockpiles and surging output worldwide. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slumped 2.5 per cent to $47.7 per barrel today. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, slipped 2.2 per cent to $47.1. Read more: Shell latest oil major to be embroiled in row over [...]