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 [...]
How energy bills are threatening export hopes of UK businesses February 17, 2014 BRITAIN risks missing the government’s export targets because high energy bills make it hard to compete overseas, manufacturing group EEF warned today. George Osborne wants UK firms’ exports to hit £1 trillion per year in 2020, a target requiring growth of nine per cent each year. But by that stage the government expects taxes to [...]
Commitee of MPs launch inquiry into energy network charges February 12, 2014 THE ENERGY and Climate Change Committee yesterday launched a new inquiry into network costs, as the public furore into rising energy bills rumbles on. The committee of MPs is assessing whether the regulator Ofgem is doing enough to ensure the costs of transporting and distributing energy stay low. Network costs make up around 23 per [...]
Energy networks to face MP grilling February 12, 2014 Energy suppliers could breathe a (brief) sigh of relief today as the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s latest inquiry isn’t about them. As the public furore into rising energy bills rumbles on, the committee of MPs is now looking into energy network costs, which regulator Ofgem estimates make up around 23 per cent of a [...]