Autumn Statement 2016: Should Hammond try his luck at some radical tax simplification? November 2, 2016 Scrap corporation tax. Scrap council tax. Scrap capital gains tax. And inheritance tax too. And business rates, the TV licence fee, the apprenticeship levy, all stamp duties, alcohol duties, tobacco duties – get rid of them all! These are the somewhat provocative proposals from a new report covered on today’s front page of City A.M. [...]
Inflation will push living costs 10 per cent higher than pre-crisis peak February 15, 2017 Inflation could push the cost of living 10 per cent higher than before the financial crisis by 2020, with 11m families below a poverty benchmark, according to a new report. Almost a third of the UK’s population falls below the minimum income standard measure used in the report by academics at Loughborough University and the [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices set for third weekly gain as IEA sparks optimism March 11, 2016 Oil prices were heading for their third weekly gain today, after a top energy organisation said the worst could be over for the black stuff. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.1 per cent to $40.5 per barrel in late afternoon trading. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, added 1.4 per cent to $38.37. It comes [...]
Supply glut will keep oil prices down into next year, says IEA February 22, 2016 The global oil market will start rebalancing in 2017, but the supply glut will hold down prices, according to the International Energy Agency. "Only in 2017 will we finally see oil supply and demand aligned but the enormous stocks being accumulated will act as a dampener on the pace of recovery in oil prices when [...]
IEA warns of “enormous strain” on oil market in 2016 January 19, 2016 The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that warm winter weather and rising supply mean that the world will continue to drown in oil until at least late 2016. "We conclude that the oil market faces the prospect of a third successive year when supply will exceed demand by one million bpd and there will be [...]
OPEC: 50% Compliance To Output Deal Is ‘Enough’ January 16, 2017 Just two weeks into the OPEC supply-cut deal and a day after Saudi Arabia signalled that it had cut more than pledged, the cartel itself does not see more than 80 percent compliance, and thinks it would be “acceptable” even if it were to deliver just 50 percent of promised cuts. On the basis of [...]
BP chief executive Bob Dudley says oil market “pretty much in balance” October 10, 2016 BP's chief executive has said that the global oil market is "pretty much in balance", despite industry expectations for it to remain oversupplied well into next year. Speaking to CNBC at the World Energy Conference in Istanbul, Bob Dudley said: "We look at it on a daily basis and it is pretty much in balance. It is [...]
Chaotic Brexit planning has cost Tories’ “party of business” mantle, Labour business minister claims November 17, 2016 Labour's shadow business secretary will today accuse Conservatives of giving up their mantle as the party of business, hitting out over chaotic Brexit planning. Speaking at the Royal Society of Chemistry today, Clive Lewis will promise businesses a clear industrial strategy, led by an ambitious goal on renewables. Lewis will commit Labour to a goal of [...]
Brent crude and WTI: IEA warns of “false dawn” over oil price optimism February 9, 2016 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that recent optimism over the future direction of oil prices could in fact be a “false dawn”. The Paris-based organisation said it has “major doubts” over the five drivers of a recent bounce in oil prices, leading to a revision of its forecast for future oil output. It trimmed [...]
Nanny state? Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says taxes on wine, beer, cigarettes and sugar make Britain among the most meddling countries in the EU March 31, 2016 Excessive regulation and so-called "sin taxes" make Britain among the most meddling countries in the European Union, according to a new report out today from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The free market think tank published its annual "Nanny State Index" league table with the European Policy Information Centre, putting Britain in the number [...]