Best of the Brokers for 6 August 2013 August 5, 2013 LADBROKES Ahead of the bookmaker’s first-half results on Thursday, Peel Hunt has a “hold” rating and a price target of 201p. The broker thinks Ladbrokes is odds-on for a poor set of numbers, with earnings of around £90m and rising costs. Peel Hunt sees Playtech as a better play in the gambling sector. OPHIR ENERGY [...]
Shale oil and gas are vital for a recovery in British manufacturing July 31, 2013 ONCE again emotion is threatening to overcome reason in the shale debate. Whether they realise it or not, the professional protestors in Balcombe, who are disrupting exploratory drilling in West Sussex, threaten to destroy jobs and livelihoods across the country. Last year, Britain got over a third of its overall energy from natural gas, another [...]
Cold winter fires up Centrica earnings July 31, 2013 BRITISH Gas owner Centrica today unveiled a two per cent rise in adjusted earnings for the first half of the year, after an unusually cold winter boosted gas consumption. Overall revenue rose 14 per cent to £13.7bn over the period. “With our customers using more gas to stay warm during the unusually cold winter, we’re [...]
Prolonged cold weather and price hike boost British Gas owner’s half year profits July 31, 2013 Centrica, owner of British Gas, has reported a rise in half-year profits after an unusually cold Winter increased gas demand (release). The group’s adjusted operating profit rose by nine per cent to £1.58bn for the period ended 30 June 2013. Adjusted earnings were up two per cent to £767m or 14.8p adjusted earnings per share [...]
Banks take a bashing July 30, 2013 ■ Barclays forced to fix £12.8bn gap ■ JP Morgan pays $410m settlement ■ Billions more set aside for PPI ■ Deutsche Bank cuts balance sheet ■ RBS investors file £4bn claims BILLIONS of pounds were wiped off banks’ stock market values yesterday as a barrage of regulatory and legal action shocked markets. Barclays [...]
Ruinous green policies mean rising profits for UK energy companies July 29, 2013 YESTERDAY the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee released a report arguing that energy regulator Ofgem should force energy companies to produce more detailed financial information. One of the members of the committee – John Robertson MP – told the BBC that he needed to be able to assess whether the profits of the energy [...]
MPs call for full breakdown of all energy bills July 28, 2013 ENERGY suppliers should be forced to tell customers exactly how much climate change policies are adding to their fuel bill, according to a report released today by MPs. The energy and climate change select committee says industry regulator Ofgem should restore consumer confidence in the market by requiring suppliers to state how various components have [...]
ScottishPower warns government efficiency schemes could push energy prices up further July 25, 2013 ScottishPower has warned that the rising burden of taxes and levies on energy companies means that further price rises for customers could not be ruled out despite stable energy costs in the market. The company said yesterday that a 137.7 per cent rise in the cost of implementing government efficiency schemes (to €155.8m/£134m) in the [...]
How an ageing Britain can grow old and avoid a looming longevity crisis July 23, 2013 BRITAIN’s future is getting greyer. In its most recent fiscal sustainability report, the Office of Budget Responsibility recognised that we are living longer and need more care. But we haven’t saved enough. The state won’t be able to keep us, and the dependency ratio will only worsen as fewer workers struggle to fund more pensioners. [...]
It’s official: US-style shale revolution could soon slash gas prices in Britain July 18, 2013 IT’S now official – shale production can cut gas prices. After months of the government tiptoeing around the issue, a report commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) provides evidence for the first time that a British version of the North American shale revolution could be around the corner. The numbers are [...]