Pound hits 31-month high against euro ahead of General Election December 5, 2019 The pound hit a 31-month high against the euro this morning as the Conservatives edged closer to victory in the 12 December General Election. The latest poll, from Savanta Com Res last night, put the Tories ten points ahead of Labour, boosting traders hopes’ that a Boris Johnson-led government would leave the European Union with [...]
Society doesn’t need any more unicorns December 5, 2019 In 2016, an American healthtech startup named Theranos completed what would be its final funding round, raising a jaw dropping $700m in investment. Just two years later, the company collapsed after a sensational scandal. The story of Theranos is bizarre. At one point, its paper valuation exceeded $9bn, and when the scandal broke, its founder [...]
Oil prices soar ahead of Opec meeting December 4, 2019 Oil prices shot up today ahead of Thursday’s Opec meeting, which is expected to yield an extension to oil production cuts. West Texas Intermediate rose 4.1 per cent to $58.4 a barrel, with Brent Crude up 3.9 per cent to $63.16 per barrel. Read more: Saudi Arabia pushing Opec for deeper oil production cuts Expectations [...]
BP faces complaint over ‘misleading’ ad campaign December 4, 2019 Environmental law charity Clientearth has accused BP of “misleading” the public regarding its low-carbon credentials with its multimillion pound advertising campaign. Yesterday the non-profit group lodged an official complaint under international guidelines regarding the campaign, which is BP’s first in 10 years. Read more: Spanish oil giant Repsol pledges to cut emissions to zero by [...]
GBP/USD: Sterling hits seven-month high as traders hope for Tory election victory December 4, 2019 The pound climbed to a seven-month high today as traders grew hopeful that the Conservatives would gain a majority at the upcoming General Election, bringing some certainty to the Brexit process. Sterling topped $1.306 this morning before falling back slightly. The GBP/USD exchange rate was 0.4 per cent higher by 10.15am at $1.304, a level [...]
Chinese power firm Sdic delays London listing on market conditions fears December 4, 2019 Leading Chinese power generation firm Sdic Power today announced it would delay listing 10 per cent of its shares as global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) due to “market conditions.” In a statement, the company said it “believes this is a prudent decision and is in the best interests of its existing [...]
Petrol prices fall for the fourth consecutive month in November December 4, 2019 Petrol prices fell for the fourth month in a row in November, with the average price of a litre of unleaded now 3.3p less than at the beginning of August. The average price for unleaded fell 0.48p to 125.93p, with diesel showing a similar drop in price from 130.27p to 129.83p, according to the RAC’s [...]
Spanish oil giant Repsol pledges to cut emissions to zero by 2050 December 3, 2019 On Monday Spanish oil giant Repsol pledged that it would reduce net carbon emissions from its operations and products to zero, taking a €4.8bn (£4.1bn) value hit in the process. The company, which described the move as an industry first, announced the step on the first day of the UN climate change summit in Madrid. [...]
UK oil industry calls for urgent action on carbon capture development December 3, 2019 Investment in the energy sector needs to double from £20-£25bn a year today to £40-£40m if the UK is to meet its net zero challenge. Trade body Oil and Gas UK’s (OGUK) new Energy Transition Outlook report, published today, finds that development of carbon capture, use and storage technology (CCUS) is essential to meeting the [...]
Centamin rejects £1.47bn Endeavour buyout proposal December 3, 2019 The board of London-listed gold miner Centamin have unanimously rejected a buyout proposal worth £1.47bn from Canada’s Endeavour Mining Corporation. The proposal was for an exchange of 0.0846 of Endeavour’s shares for each Centamin share, or around 126.27p per share, a premium of 13 per cent. Read more: Centamin shares fall down mine shaft on [...]
