These are the “fragile five” Opec members that could collapse if oil prices don’t stabilise April 1, 2016 There are five members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) which risk collapsing if oil prices fails to stabilise. Brent crude has tumbled from over $110 in the middle of 2014 to around $40 today, largely due to a chronic supply glut. This has heaped pressure onto the balance sheets of some of the [...]
Why Mario Draghi is in a bind over negative interest rates March 8, 2016 What a difference a few weeks make. Sentiment has improved and fears of imminent recession now appear a touch hasty. But the question of where markets head next still depends on policy-makers’ ability to deliver decisive action. Step forward Mario Draghi, who is expected to tinker with the Eurozone’s financial plumbing this week in the [...]
Aviva set to report £100m impact from UK floods while Prudential will post another year of earnings growth March 6, 2016 Aviva is set to reveal the UK floods in December put a £100m dent in earnings for 2015 when it reports its annual results on Thursday. The impact of the floods, as well as the recently announced acquisition of RBC Insurance in Canada, is likely to drag operating earnings per share from 49.2p to 47p, [...]
Travis Perkins’ share price pushed higher despite a disappointing summer and an impairment charge over its plumbing business March 3, 2016 Building material supplier Travis Perkins has posted a 7.6 per cent rise in core profits and forecast a better year than last in 2016, after warning earnings would be at the lower end of expectations in October. Pre-tax profits in 2015 were down 30 per cent to £224m, negatively impacted by a £141m impairment charge to its plumbing business due to “challenging market conditions”. [...]
Apple iPhone sales fell for the first time in history, Gartner figures reveal February 18, 2016 Sales of Apple's iconic iPhones have fallen for the first time in history, analysts say. Global sales of the device declined 4.4 per cent at the end of last year, with 71.5m handsets sold in the last quarter of 2015. Apple sparked fears that the world has reached "peak Apple" in January when it revealed sales had fallen to [...]
City Moves for 15 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 15, 2016 RBC Martin Copeland (pictured) has joined RBC in London as head of oil and gas, reporting to Nick Taylor. Martin has 25 years of experience and joins RBC from Evercore where he co-founded the EMEA energy team and led a number of high profile oil and energy mandates. Prior to Evercore, his previous roles include [...]
BP, Shell, BG Group: Investors brace for “messy quarter” as oil firms report results January 30, 2016 Analysts have warned investors should ready themselves for a "messy" set of fourth quarter results from some of the world's biggest oil companies, with BP due to kick off oil earnings season next week. BP is reporting its results on Tuesday. It will be followed by Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group, however, much of its outlook has already been outlined [...]
Oil prices: Iraq will co-operate to cut production in bid to prop up Brent crude January 30, 2016 Iraq's oil minister has said his country would co-operate if Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec members agree to cut crude production, in the wake of a supply glut that's sent oil as low as $27 per barrel this year. It comes as one of Opec's poorer member, cash-strapped Venezuela, has called a meeting to [...]
CMC announces the price range for its February IPO, giving it a market capitalisation of more than £730m January 26, 2016 Spread-betting company CMC Markets has announced it is looking at a price range of between 235p and 275p when it floats on the London Stock Exchange in February. At the midpoint of the range, the company would have a market capitalisation of £736m, and is offering 90.4m ordinary shares, representing 31 per cent of the company's [...]
Wall Street sinks and FTSE 100 index closes below 6,000 after another turbulent day in China January 7, 2016 The Dow Jones recorded its worst four-day start to a year on record, following another day of turmoil in China, which also left the S&P 500 on track for its worst start to a year since 1928. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.32 percent, to 16,514.1, the S&P 500 dropped 2.37 per cent, and the Nasdaq lost [...]