Brent crude and petrol prices fall as oversupply offsets global risks August 6, 2014 The price of brent crude hovered around a nine-month low yesterday, with plentiful supplies offsetting concerns of geopolitical risk in key oil producing countries. The industry benchmark fell below $105 (£62) a barrel due to oversupply, weak seasonal demand and the possibility of a deal between Russia and Iran, which would put more oil on [...]
Energy firms warned they risk jail if they rig wholesale prices August 5, 2014 INDIVIDUALS found guilty of rigging wholesale energy prices could face up to two years in jail, under new government reforms proposed today. Under the new laws, it would be a criminal offence to fix the price of energy or use insider information to unfairly influence the market. “Manipulating the energy market is absolutely unacceptable, and [...]
Meggitt share price slides on lower revenue forecast August 5, 2014 Shares in Meggitt plunged yesterday, after the British aerospace firm trimmed its full-year revenue guidance due to a weaker than expected performance from its military unit. The FTSE 100-listed firm said that it now expected low-single-digit revenue growth this year, down from mid-single-digit growth. It is Meggitt’s second revenue downgrade in nine months. Pre-tax profit [...]
Analyst Views: What is your verdict on Meggitt’s half-year results? August 5, 2014 SASH TUSA | EDISON INVESTMENT RESEARCH When a company describes its markets as “challenging” in the headline and focuses on orders and not profits, you can tell that the rest of the results are below par. With shares below early-2014 levels, the likelihood of another major debt-funded acquisition on the back of the strengthened balance [...]
African Minerals and London Mining share prices slump as Ebola outbreak fears rise August 5, 2014 Shares in some Sierra Leone-focused miners on the London Stock Exchange plunged yesterday, amid increasing fears over the spread of the largest Ebola outbreak in history. African Minerals saw the biggest decline, falling 18 per cent by market close, while London Mining slumped eight per cent. Neither company’s operations has been affected by the disease [...]
Strong pound hits Aggreko’s profits in first half of the year August 5, 2014 TEMPORARY power provider Aggreko yesterday posted a nine per cent fall in first-half profit, with the effects of a strong pound offsetting high-profile contract awards such as the World Cup. But shares in the FTSE 100 firm climbed around three per cent in early trading, with the nine per cent decline in profit to £130m [...]
Libyan unrest could put its oil exports at risk August 3, 2014 A SURGE in violence in Libya has led to Britons being evacuated, with analysts warning that the country’s oil exports hang in the balance. Libya has been in the throes of political instability and social unrest since a coup toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The current flare-up between rival militant groups has led [...]
Oil and gas pay doubles that of banking sector August 3, 2014 Employees at the UK’s largest oil and gas companies are paid twice as much as bankers, claims new research today. A shortage of skilled workers in the oil and gas sector, coupled with soaring demand, has pushed up salaries. Banc De Binary, the binary options trading firm that undertook the research, says that many of [...]
Aircraft orders hit new high as demand soars August 3, 2014 Aircraft orders hit a record high in the first half of the year, swiftly followed by $201bn (£119bn) of new commitments at July’s Farnborough airshow, data released today reveals. ADS Group, the aerospace trade organisation, said there was a commercial aircraft order backlog of 11,462 aircraft at the end of the first half of 2014, a [...]
Astrazeneca and Pfizer: It’s a conscious uncoupling as drugmakers go separate ways July 30, 2014 Drugmakers Astrazeneca and Pfizer yesterday put to bed their “will they, won’t they” bromance by signing new deals with other companies. FTSE 100-listed Astrazeneca, which fought off a £69bn takeover approach from larger US rival Pfizer in late May, said it had agreed to buy Spanish firm Almirall’s lung drugs business for up to $2.1bn [...]
