BUDGET 2020: Mixed news for energy duties in budget March 11, 2020 The chancellor has announced a freeze in electricity duty but from April 2022, gas duty will increase. The government is under pressure to reduce the country’s carbon emissions and raise money for public spending. “So as another step towards equalising the rates and encouraging energy efficiency, from April 2022 I’m freezing the levy on electricity [...]
Budget 2020: Sunak continues fuel duty freeze March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced fuel duty will be frozen for another year. The freeze was first announced in 2010 by then chancellor George Osborne and has remained in place ever since. 36 conservative MPs had written to the Sunak asking him to keep the freeze in place. “I am pleased to announce today that [...]
Dignity shares plunge as it suspends dividend March 11, 2020 Funeral company Dignity’s shares plummeted today as it continued the suspension of its dividend following a 31 per cent drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £37.7m for 2019. That fell short of an expected £38.7m to send Dignity’s shares crashing 23 per cent to 385.8p. The UK’s only listed funeral provider said fewer people dying [...]
Oil rebounds after Black Monday price crash March 10, 2020 Oil prices have shown some signs of recovery today after yesterday’s rout which led to such dramatic global stock market falls it was dubbed Black Monday. Brent Crude oil is currently trading at $36 a barrel, an eight per cent increase on yesterday. At the end of February, it was $51 a barrel. “Oil prices [...]
Asda cuts fuel prices after oil price spirals on coronavirus March 10, 2020 Supermarket Asda has cut the price of petrol and diesel amid the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil war. The supermarket has cut its price by 2p per litre (ppl), meaning petrol will cost 114.7p per litre and diesel will cost 116.7p per litre. Asda said they are its lowest fuel prices since November 2017. “It will be [...]
Ultra’s profits soar after increase in defence spending at home and abroad March 10, 2020 Electronics group Ultra has posted a 113 per cent increase in profits due to new orders. Shares in the company have risen 10.81 per cent as a result to 2,112p. The FTSE 250 listed company released its results for year ending 2019 showing profit before tax had risen to £91m in 2019 from £42.6m in [...]
John Menzies suspends dividend over coronavirus March 10, 2020 John Menzies will temporarily suspend its dividend for this year after warning of an expected 2020 profit blow from coronavirus. The coronavirus outbreak prompted Menzies to issue a profit warning last month, saying it expects a hit of between £6m and £9m if the outbreak subsides towards the end of the second quarter. The aviation [...]
Diversified Gas and Oil rides out market volatility March 9, 2020 Diversified Gas and Oil posted strong results todayto defy difficulties on the world commodity market. The Alabama-based company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $273.3m (£209.8m) for 2019. Final recommended dividend was 3.50 cents per share, an increase of 24 per cent over the same period in 2018. Total revenue almost doubled to $511.7m, up 87 [...]
Shipping firm Clarksons swings to £10.5m loss March 9, 2020 Shipbroker Clarksons swung to a £10.5m loss for 2019 after a one off impairment charge relating to buying Norwegian rival RS Platou ASA. Clarksons wrote down the goodwill from the deal by £47.5m which pushed into the red for the year. In 2018, the company had posted a £32.7m profit. “2019 delivered robust underlying financial [...]
Oil prices reaction: All the fallout as OPEC sends prices spiralling March 9, 2020 Oil prices fell to a four-year low today after Russia and Saudi Arabia began a price war that triggered major stock market sell-offs. The two oil-producing titans were in talks over a further production cut to protect oil prices against the coronavirus outbreak. But Russia blanched at the prospect of slashing another 1.5m barrels per [...]
