Government on the defensive as North Sea suffers through another oil price slump January 13, 2016 The government was forced to defend its efforts to shore up the British oil industry yesterday, as record US stocks sent the price of Brent crude oil falling below $30 a barrel in late evening trading. During Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), Sir Alan Duncan, a former oil trader, asked Prime Minister David Cameron to launch an [...]
S&P 500 drops below 1900 for the first time since October January 13, 2016 The S&P 500, an index of US companies, has fallen below 1900 points for the first time since September. The index, which entered the new year over 2000, has fallen victim to a global rout in equity prices that has been triggered by volatility in Chinese financial markets. It is currently down 2.31 per cent on [...]
Petrol prices will fall throughout January to catch up with the latest slump in the oil price January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. "It takes two to three weeks [...]
Qatari-owned Al Jazeera America to close as oil price hits lowest levels since 2003 January 13, 2016 Multinational media conglomerate Al Jazeera will be shutting down its US operation Al Jazeera America (AJAM), the company has said today. "While Al Jazeera America built a loyal audience across the US and increasingly was recognised as an important new voice in television news, the economic landscape of the media environment has driven its strategic decision to [...]
Australia’s Wesfarmers in advanced talks to buy Home Retail Group’s Homebase for £340m January 13, 2016 Home Retail Group last night signalled the break-up of its retail empire after revealing that it is in advanced talks to sell Homebase to one of Australia’s biggest listed companies for £340m. The Perth-based Wesfarmers, which operates department stores and supermarkets as well as coal production facilities, began talks with Home Retail in September before [...]
Parliament to debate quarterly tax updates after online petition receives more than 100,000 signatures January 13, 2016 People's dislike of filling in tax returns will become the topic of parliamentary debate in less than a fortnight after an online petition received more than 100,000 signatures. The petitions committee, which considers petitions submitted to petition.parliament.uk, yesterday scheduled a debate for a petition called "Scrap plans forcing self employed & small business to do 4 [...]
Banks warned of sharp rise in ransomware attacks as one in four firms are prepared to pay a ransom to hackers to avoid cyber attacks January 13, 2016 One in four firms is prepared to pay a ransom to hackers to avoid a cyber attack, just as banks are warned of ransomware attacks against them rising sharply. With cybercrime a growing threat and strict new EU legislation imposing steep sanctions on firms that fail to protect themselves, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity has [...]
US Federal Reserve’s Eric Rosengren says slowing growth and stock market swings pose threat to rate hike path January 13, 2016 Threats to US economic growth are rising, one of the country’s interest rate-setters has said, and could mean rates will rise a slower pace this year. “Stock markets in much of the world began the year on a decidedly weak note, with declines in the Chinese stock market generating particular attention. These declines have been [...]
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons: Supermarket petrol price wars to intensify as oil rout deepens January 13, 2016 The supermarket petrol price war is set to intensify, as the "lower for much longer" mantra sweeps through global oil markets. Oil has fallen around 15 per cent since all big four supermarkets – Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons – slashed diesel prices to below £1 earlier this month. A Morrisons spokesperson said: “If oil prices continue to fall [...]
Recruiter Hays share price falls after fee income grows in quarter ended 31 December 2015, although mining market caused a slowdown in Asia Pacific January 13, 2016 Recruiter Hays announced today that its net fees grew by seven per cent overall on a like-for-like basis for the quarter ending 31 December 2015. In a trading update about its second quarter performance ahead of its interim results in February, Hays revealed that market conditions had been slightly challenging in Asia Pacific and the [...]
