Low oil prices pushes Saudi Arabia into economic reform – Prince Salman declares an end to reliance on oil and outlines Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy April 27, 2016 Saudi Arabia is to kick its “dangerous addiction” to oil as the country's cabinet agreed on plans to diversify the economy away from the black stuff. The country is hooked on fossil fuels but “by 2020 we'll be able to live without oil,” said deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, author behind new economic plan, Saudi [...]
Vital Ingredient gets a £8m health kick from Lloyds Banking Group’s private equity arm April 27, 2016 LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has backed the management buyout of salad chain Vital Ingredient. The company will invest £8m into the business while Santander will provide a further £4m funding to help the business double in size from 17 to 35 outlets over the next three years. Read More: LDC buys stake [...]
US oil has edged over $45 per barrel again today as oil prices hit their highest since November April 27, 2016 A decline in US crude oil stockpiles has pushed global oil prices to their highest since November last year. Brent rose $1.33 a barrel to $47.05 in early afternoon trading in London, while West Texas Intermediate reached highs of $45.18 per barrel earlier in the day. Yesterday it was reported US supplies fell by 1.07m barrels last week, the [...]
Total share price rises as it swings to profit in the first quarter April 27, 2016 French energy giant Total swung into profit in the first quarter of this year, partly due to an uptick in refining revenues. The firm's adjusted net income swelled from a loss of $1.8bn (£1.2bn) in the last three months of 2015, to a profit of $1.6bn in the first quarter of this year. While the [...]
Amec Foster Wheeler share price rises after it nabs Halliburton exec as new boss April 27, 2016 Amec Foster Wheeler said today that its interim boss will be replaced by an exec from US rival Halliburton. Jonathan Lewis will step into his new role on 1 June, when interim chief executive, Ian McHoul, will move into his previous position as chief financial officer. Mr Lewis is currently a senior vice president at Halliburton, where he's held a number of [...]
Conforama drops out of the race for Darty, paving the way for Fnac April 27, 2016 French furniture chain Conforama has dropped out of the race to buy Darty, leaving the track clear for rival bidder Fnac to takeover the electricals retailer. The company, which is owned by South African retail conglomerate Steinhoff, said would not improve on its third and final offer of 160p per share because "it would no longer create [...]
Ex-Shell economist warns world has much less oil than typically thought April 27, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell's former chief economist has warned that the world is seriously overestimating how much more oil can be squeezed out of the ground. In a scientific analysis published in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy & Environment, Michael Jefferson says there's evidence global production of conventional oil plateaued and may have even started to decline from 2005. Read more: [...]
GDP growth slows to 0.4 per cent as first quarter volatility hits UK economy April 27, 2016 Economy watchers have been gearing up for today for quite some time. Calendars are cleared, models refined, data plugged in and the braver ones of the bunch even stick their necks out with a prediction or two. That's right: It's GDP day. We knew it was going to be ugly. The economy grew by 0.6 per cent in [...]
Get ready for another bout of Fedspeak when the US Federal Reserve holds interest rates this evening April 27, 2016 The US Federal Reserve will not be raising interest rates this evening. Neither will Janet Yellen – or anybody from the rate-setting Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) – be holding a press conference to announce the non-decision. That won't be enough to stop markets working themselves into a frenzy at around 7pm when a written [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
