Energy firms drag down the FTSE as BG fails to deliver July 28, 2010 Britain’s top shares fell yesterday, dragged lower by energy stocks after BG Group reported its quarterly results, and weak US data knocked sentiment. The FTSE 100 index closed down 45.99 points at 5,319.68, having gained almost 4.5 per cent over the last five days, and falling away from the psychologically important 5,400 level. “The near-term [...]
Offshore drilling bill diluted July 27, 2010 US Senate Democrats unveiled a slimmed down bill yesterday aimed at reforming offshore drilling, as doubts grew that Congress would be able to pass any substantial energy legislation this year. The Senate bill, which Democrats were still refining, would require oil companies to cover all oil spill costs by removing the $75m (£48m) cap on [...]
British Gas to post record rise in profits July 25, 2010 BRITISH Gas owner Centrica is expected to post a record jump in profit for the first half of the year on Wednesday, thanks to the coldest winter in 30 years. Some analysts have predicted up to a 95 per cent increase in profits, but the record sums could anger customers who called for the energy [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FUND BEARS LEAD THE PACK IN VOLATILE MARKETS Bearish hedge fund managers are making their biggest gains since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Only a handful of hedge fund managers have made money in May and June, when many of the industry’s biggest names were caught out by a sharp rise in market [...]
Fuel price dip cuts inflation rate for June July 13, 2010 FALLING fuel prices helped annual inflation to ease in June for the second month in a row but core inflation, which excludes energy and food costs, worrying rose last month, official data showed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the consumer prices index (CPI) eased to 3.2 per cent last month from 3.4 [...]
High electricity prices to hurt growth July 11, 2010 HERE is another reason why the recovery will be muted. Gas and electricity costs will rise substantially in the years ahead and are set to hammer not only consumers but also manufacturers, further eroding their competitiveness and that of Britain as a place to do business. It is not market forces that will push up [...]
Thinking more inclusively can boost business June 28, 2010 Every entrepreneur I have ever met, and that’s quite a few, has expressed on some level exasperation with the public for not getting what they are bringing to life. The best ones focus on educating their audiences; the ones who never breakthrough drivel in their exasperation. To some extent, they are right. A car is [...]
FIT IN THE CITY June 28, 2010 GET PEDDLING: Gridlocked traffic, the rising cost of fuel and temperatures on the underground reaching 40 degrees this summer should make this one a no-brainer (better still, invest in some good running shoes and pound the pavements Forrest Gump-style). BACK AWAY FROM THE REMOTE: With the rising cost of energy, there’s never been a better [...]
After sterling’s rally, investors are playing a waiting game June 22, 2010 FOREX markets gave a cautious welcome to George Osborne’s emergency Budget measures yesterday, with sterling rallying to highs of $1.4851 and €1.2081. However, the pound still failed to make up Monday’s losses against the dollar, reflecting a widespread wait-and-see approach as analysts work through the details of the Budget and watch for its impact on [...]
The Cayenne goes green June 22, 2010 ONCE deemed a horrendous diversion by Porsche purists, the Cayenne has gone on to become the single biggest-selling model in the Porsche range with more than 280,000 of them sold worldwide since the car’s launch back in 2002. The new Cayenne is a lighter, cleaner, more economical and prettier version of its predecessor and somehow [...]