Average energy spend soars by 55pc in 10 years March 3, 2014 AVERAGE household spending on energy increased by 55 per cent between 2002 and 2012, while usage dropped by 17 per cent over the period, according to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The divergence between spending and use means that the increase in average spending is explained solely by rises in energy [...]
137 CEOs sign manifesto protesting EU energy policy February 27, 2014 137 CEOs representing EU manufacturing industry have put their name to a manifesto calling for major shift in the EU's energy and climate change policy. Published by the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC), the document called for an industrial renaissance to be at the heart of the strategy to move Europe out of [...]
Tory policy is becoming a mess of contradictions February 24, 2014 AS RECOVERY becomes entrenched, it is easy to forget the sense of urgency of those heady days in May 2010, when the Tory-Lib Dem coalition agreement was thrashed out. The backdrop of the Greek implosion brought broad consensus on the need for a credible medium-term plan to repair the public finances. The Conservatives who, right [...]
Russia must back down over Ukraine to avoid a catastrophe February 24, 2014 VLADIMIR Ilyich Lenin was a monster. He was a central theorist of communism, a key player in the Bolshevik revolution, a commissar, a leading instigator of the Red Terror and other massacres, and the first leader of the Soviet Union. For decades, busts of Lenin adorned the communist empire; they were finally torn down in [...]
Chancellor told to tackle energy costs for firms February 23, 2014 CHANCELLOR George Osborne should address the damaging cost of energy for manufacturers and the UK’s dire productivity situation in his upcoming budget, business groups urged this morning. “Rising energy costs represent a major threat to growth and could damage efforts to support and sustain long term recovery,” said Terry Scuoler, chief executive of manufacturers group [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Centrica’s full-year results? February 20, 2014 PETER ATHERTON | LIBERUM CAPITALThe results weren’t a surprise as Centrica had guided the market before Christmas, but they were disappointing nonetheless. The US energy business is struggling with tighter margins than expected. But the political risk in the UK is the biggest thing that has driven their share price over the past five months. MARTIN BROUGH [...]
Drax stays upbeat despite profit slide February 18, 2014 DRAX Group, Britain’s largest coal-fired power station that is set to become one of the world’s biggest renewable generators, has reported a whopping 83 per cent drop in statutory profit before tax to £32m for 2013, due in part to rising carbon costs. The electrical power generation company has been focusing its energies on its [...]
UK inflation falls to 1.9pc in January February 18, 2014 UK inflation figures have shown further signs of improvement in the recovery, falling below the Bank of England’s inflation target for the first time since November 2009. Measured by the consumer price index (CPI), prices rose by 1.9 per cent in January, below the two per cent expected. Month-on-month, CPI dropped 0.6 per cent. According [...]
Drax Group shares rise despite 83pc profit plunge February 18, 2014 Drax Group, Britain’s largest coal-fired power station which is set to become one of the world’s biggest renewable generators, has reported a whopping 83 per cent drop in statutory profit before tax – from £190m to £32m – for 2013, because of rising carbon costs. Underlying earnings per share fell 32 per cent to 35p [...]
3 reasons for the achingly slow progress on EU-US free trade deals February 17, 2014 Though a stock-taking meeting for the US-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) begins again today, progress is likely to be painfully sluggish. Transpacific talks have gone through 18 rounds already, not including meetings between ministers or chief negotiators. In comparison, the EU and US not yet even the third round of talks, which [...]