MPs jump on Brown’s fuel rebate plans August 11, 2008 Gordon Brown’s plans for a fuel rebate for all families on child benefit were rubbished yesterday for being “indiscriminate”, with the payment set to help the rich as well as the poor. It emerged yesterday that the Prime Minister is mulling proposals to give £150 to the 7m families who receive child benefit, to help [...]
Drax profit falls on high carbon charge August 6, 2008 Drax, which runs Britain’s biggest coal-fired power station, saw its first half pre-tax profits fall 28 per cent yesterday to £206m as rising fuel and carbon emissions charges bit into its higher power prices. The large coal fired power station near Selby, Yorkshire, which produces around 7 per cent of Britain’s electricity, said sales rose [...]
Britain’s future is nuclear with or without BE deal August 4, 2008 Last week nuclear operator British Energy was preparing itself for a £12bn sale to French power giant EDF. This week, that deal lies in tatters and the government may be forced rethink its plans to boost the UK’s long-term reliance on atomic energy. So what next for this troubled firm, operator of the UK’s eight [...]
BG to stick by its £6.7bn bid for Origin July 25, 2008 British Gas explorer BG Group yesterday said it has no plans to boost its £6.7bn bid for Australian power firm Origin Energy, despite the bid target’s management touting the business to the Chinese. A BG spokeswoman said: “We believe our bid is a fair price for the company, and we will formally submit it to [...]
EDF closes in on British Energy deal July 25, 2008 French state-owned energy firm EDF and British Gas owner Centrica are closing in on UK nuclear business British Energy, and could announce a £12bn purchase as early as next week. British Energy, led by chief executive Bill Coley, admitted yesterday “it is in advanced discussions with one party.” A source close to the deal said [...]
Inflation could hit 6 per cent on fuel bill price hike July 16, 2008 Inflation could reach 6 per cent by the end of the year if an anticipated 30 per cent hike in energy bills hits consumers later this year, according to BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke. His prediction comes after the official consumer price index inflation rate jumped to a record 3.8 per cent in the year [...]
Auntie’s problems run deeper than executive bonuses July 11, 2008 The case of “trebles all round” for top BBC executives, after a year in which viewers were deceived and trust damaged, rightly dominated news about the Corporation’s annual report this week. But an eyebrow should be raised at the scale of the bonuses. The overall pay of director of vision Jana Bennett rose by 24 [...]
McFall in oil probe July 4, 2008 Concern over the rising price of oil – which yesterday hit a new record of $146 a barrel – has prompted the powerful Treasury select committee to hold its first ever hearing into the regulation of the oil markets. The committee, which is chaired by Labour MP John McFall, will hold the hearing in mid-July [...]