Oil to keep sliding after slumping to 3-month low August 6, 2008 Oil fell to $118 a barrel yesterday, a three-month low, as traders reacted to rising supplies and declining demand in America and Europe. The price of US crude fell as low as $118 a barrel, before recovering to trade at $119.13. While in London Brent crude fell by $2.20 to $118.48 a barrel. Oil supplies [...]
Treasury committee to probe speculators over oil price surge July 14, 2008 The Treasury Select Committee will tomorrow examine the role of speculators in driving oil prices to record levels. Deputy chair of the influential committee Michael Fallon said: “We need to understand how much speculation is influencing that international market and what, if anything, governments can do about it.” Brent crude hit a new all-time high [...]
Money can still be made during bear market slump July 9, 2008 Even as the market yesterday dipped its toe into official bear territory, there’s still money to be made. Equities may be falling out of favour but currencies, commodities and good old-fashioned cash are still in demand as investments likely to weather the current financial storm. “Depending on your time scale, banking stocks look cheap if [...]
Branson eyes possible £2bn Gatwick deal September 2, 2008 Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of airline Virgin Atlantic, said yesterday he is eyeing a £2bn bid for airports group BAA’s London Gatwick airport if it were put up for sale. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: “This is something we have given a lot of serious thought to.” He added: “We have talked to other [...]
Warm reception for London’s priciest restaurants despite fears of recession August 6, 2008 A clutch of top-end London restaurants have enjoyed successful openings this summer, despite fears of a protracted economic downturn. In July, against a backdrop of doleful news in the property and financial sectors, Ambassade de L’Ile, with Chef Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex, opened its door to diners in francophone South Kensington, while the eponymous Helene Darroze at [...]
Atticus sees £2.7bn losses as downturn hits it hard September 2, 2008 Atticus, the high-profile New York hedge fund involved in the failed Barclays bid for ABN-Amro, has lost more than $5bn (£2.8bn) this year after its funds were battered by steep falls in financial stocks. The activist fund saw assets under management fall to around $14bn at the end of July, down from $20m last year [...]
Rio loses key mine rights August 5, 2008 Bid target Rio Tinto has lost control of one of its most important iron-ore projects that could generate annual sales of more than $10bn (£5bn), it was revealed yesterday. The Government of Guinea has told Rio that its licence to mine Simandou, one of the world’s largest undeveloped iron-ore deposits, has been rescinded. The company’s [...]
Russia’s Sibir Energy races towards FTSE July 8, 2008 London-listed mid-sized Russian oil company Sibir Energy said yesterday its full-year pre-tax profit trebled to $344m (£172m) due to higher output at its Siberian unit and strong margins from refining and retail. Sibir said its crude oil production rose 80 per cent in the year to 17.8 million barrels. Most of the output, 15.3 million [...]
The perfect storm July 16, 2008 Higher than expected inflation figures and growing concerns about the banking sector knocked London’s FTSE 100 index of leading stocks down 2.4 per cent yesterday to under 5,200. The benchmark index has now fallen 23 per cent since a June 2007 high and is in clear bear market territory. Bank stocks, unsettled by fears that [...]
Rose survives protest vote on double role July 10, 2008 Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose has kept his job after a planned shareholder revolt at the retailer’s annual meeting yesterday turned into no more than a whimper. Over 94 per cent of the grey-haired army that braved the rain to descend on the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank yesterday afternoon to [...]