Natwest increases small business loan programme amid Brexit uncertainty April 23, 2019 Natwest will double its growth funding programme for small and medium-sized British businesses, citing the need to help them navigate Brexit disruption. Read more: Government provides £200m for small firms as Brexit threatens EU funding The UK bank’s growth funding loan pot, which was started in May 2018, will be immediately doubled to £6bn in [...]
Oil prices reach fresh 2019 high as US tightens sanctions on Iran April 22, 2019 The price of crude oil climbed over three per cent today following the announcement by the US government that it will end exemptions from Iranian oil sanctions that it granted to countries such as China, India and Japan. Read more: Oil prices reach new 2019 high as tensions rise in Libya Secretary of state Mike Pompeo [...]
Data intelligence platform Adverity closes €11m Series B funding led by London’s Felix Capital April 19, 2019 Data intelligence provider Adverity has closed an €11m Series B funding round led by London-based Felix Capital. The latest funding round, which was supported by Silicon Valley’s Sapphire Ventures and Sap.io, brings the total amount raised to €15m and will contribute to Adverity’s planned US expansion. Read more: Felix Capital leads £3m funding round in [...]
BP sanctions next stage of $6bn Caspian Sea oil field development April 19, 2019 A joint venture involving BP has sanctioned the next stage of a $6bn oil field development in the Caspian Sea. The development includes a new offshore platform and facilitates designed to process up to 100,000 barrels of oil a day and is expected to achieve first production in 2023, producing up to 300m barrels over [...]
Chrysaor takes another big chunk in the North Sea with $2.7bn deal for Conoco Phillips oilfields April 18, 2019 Oil giant Conoco Phillips has exited the North Sea in a $2.7bn (£2.1bn) deal with private equity-backed Chrysaor Holdings. Chrysaor will get access to more than 280 million barrels of oil equivalent when it takes over two hubs in the North Sea, and an interest in the Clair oilfield area in the West of Shetlands region. [...]
Pinterest files for $12.7bn IPO: What it needs to do next April 18, 2019 Image curation site Pinterest will list in the US when the New York Stock Exchange opens later today at $19 per share. The unicorn’s share price, which had more than 250m active users and 2bn searches last year, is above the target range and a valuation that the website received in 2017. Read more: Get [...]
Euro falls as data suggests Eurozone economy will grow just one per cent in 2019 April 18, 2019 The euro suffered today as economic data dealt a fresh blow to hopes for the Eurozone economy. Read more: Eurozone construction sector bounces back in February after weak January Germany and France’s manufacturing industries are contracting, a closely-followed index revealed, with both staying lower than the 50 measure representing growth. Overall, both the Eurozone’s leading [...]
No Brexit is now more likely than no-deal Brexit, economists predict April 18, 2019 Britain remaining in the EU is now more likely than a disorderly Brexit, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The poll found that Britain leaving with a free trade deal of some description was still the most likely outcome but Brexit being cancelled jumped above a no-deal scenario into third place in the latest [...]
Retail sales jump much higher than expected in March as shoppers keep spending April 18, 2019 Retail sales enjoyed a surprising boost in March climbing much higher than expected, led by a spike in food shopping. Sales rose 1.1 per cent month-on-month, above expectations of a 0.3 per cent drop as food store sales and non-store retailing drove the increase, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Year-on-year sales jumped 6.7 per cent [...]
From housing to recycling, fuzzy tokenism is no substitute for action April 18, 2019 The brakes are temporarily on the Brexit saga for Easter, giving the government an opportunity to address some of the major public policy issues that have been all but sucked up by the EU vacuum. Putting aside this administration’s inability to actually pass any legislation (Brexit or otherwise), one at least hopes for the promise [...]