Warren Buffett sheds $3.9bn Exxon Mobil stake as oil prices tumble February 17, 2015 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shed its holding in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter of 2014 as the company reacted to tumbling oil prices. Berkshire had held 41m shares worth $3.9bn (£2.5bn) in Exxon and 471,994 shares in Conoco as recently as the end of September, but a regulatory filing has revealed that [...]
Infinis Energy blames flat third quarter results on oil market weakness February 16, 2015 Landfill gas business Infinis Energy reported revenue of £129.9m for the nine months ended 31 December 2014, compared with £125.7m in the same period of 2013, following a mixed performance which the firm partly attributed to weakness in the oil market. The company stated that its landfill gas operations had continued to perform ahead of [...]
The end of cheap oil? Brent crude just hit its highest price in two months February 16, 2015 Brent crude oil rose sharply to more than $62.17 per barrel today, its highest price since December. The black stuff built on strong gains over the past two days. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose to $53.14 per barrel. Last week Brent crude climbed above $60 per barrel for the first time since just before [...]
From HSBC and Greece to Opec and the Bank of England: What got us talking this week February 13, 2015 There was really only one story this week. HSBC was at the centre of a scandal that only progressed along with the week. By Friday it was facing a grilling from one select committee and an investigation by another, while the possibility of police involvement was also hanging in the air. There was even [...]
Brent crude oil price tops $60 as US supply plummets February 13, 2015 The price of oil has nudged back above $60 per barrel for the first time since the end of last year, after a closely-watched report suggested supply from the US has fallen. This morning a barrel of crude oil rose more than $1 to $60.32, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 1.4 per cent to [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney: Interest rate cut is possible as UK heads toward deflation February 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney revealed yesterday that interest rates could drop even further below their historic low of 0.5 per cent, as the collapse in global oil prices drags Britain towards deflation. In a mandatory letter to chancellor George Osborne, Carney said that if “global activity continues to disappoint, or if low inflation [...]
UK oil and gas companies facing “triple whammy” threat February 11, 2015 Oil and gas producers are facing an "economic triple whammy" as plummeting oil prices squeeze revenues, forcing through cost cuts, which in turn could lead to industry-wide under-investment. Oil prices have fallen around 60 per cent since July last year, forcing FTSE-listed companies such BP, BG Group and Tullow Oil to make huge write-offs and [...]
Tullow Oil share price falls four per cent as it unveils $2bn loss February 11, 2015 The figures Irish oil firm Tullow Oil reported a $2bn (£1.3bn) pre-tax loss, its first in 15 years, amid crumbling oil prices. This dragged its full-year revenue down 16 per cent to $2.2bn ($1.4bn). The FTSE 100 company also suspended its dividend, making no final payment in 2014, meaning shareholders received four pence per share. Its shares [...]
Weak Eurozone dampens boost of low oil prices February 10, 2015 World growth will not surge on falling oil prices, analysts at Moody’s said today, because problems in the Eurozone and China’s economic slowdown will dampen any boost. The impact of lower oil prices may even have an adverse effect in some struggling Eurozone countries, said the author of the report. “In the Eurozone, the fall [...]
Opec reveals oil demand is set to grow in 2015 February 9, 2015 BRENT crude oil was up slightly yesterday, to around $58 a barrel, after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) projected that global oil demand will go up over the next 12 months. Demand for Opec crude in 2015 was revised up by 400,000 barrels per day (b/d) from the previous month’s assessment, to average [...]