MORE FIRMS JOIN NORTH SEA MUTINY March 30, 2011 PRESSURE mounted on George Osborne to rethink his oil profit tax raid yesterday, as more oil firms threatened to shelve lucrative projects in the North Sea in protest at the chancellor’s surprise levy. Gas giant Centrica, oil explorer Valiant and French group Total all said yesterday they are reviewing current and future investments in the [...]
Qatar keen to buy RBS and Lloyds stakes February 23, 2011 QATAR plans to buy stakes in RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the nation’s Prime Minister told David Cameron yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said when asked about the state-owned banks: “We are very open to any investment in the UK and we have discussed some.” The Qatar Investment Authority already [...]
Qatar keen to buy RBS and Lloyds stakes February 23, 2011 QATAR plans to buy stakes in RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the nation’s Prime Minister told David Cameron yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said when asked about the state-owned banks: “We are very open to any investment in the UK and we have discussed some.” The Qatar Investment Authority already [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD in association with GFT May 8, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Today, energy company Centrica delivers a trading statement and holds its AGM. ● Also today, HSBC delivers its first quarter trading update. The update includes more financial details than previous quarterly updates. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise. ● Serco also holds its AGM today. The FTSE 100 company was founded in [...]
Oil firms meet with Huhne March 31, 2011 OIL firms represented by Oil & Gas UK held crunch talks with the government yesterday over George Osborne’s controversial oil profit tax raid. Sources close to the talks told City A.M. they were “not hugely successful”, despite energy secretary Chris Huhne saying elements of the proposals “were up for consultation”. Oil & Gas UK will [...]
Ofgem proposes “electricity auction” March 21, 2011 Energy regulator Ofgem has proposed that the nation’s biggest utilities auction up to a fifth of their electricity generation, as it tries to break their control over the market. Ofgem said its review found competition was being “stifled” by a combination of tariff complexity, poor supplier behaviour, and lack of transparency. “Further, the degree of [...]
Ofgem in last warning for the Big Six March 21, 2011 ENERGY suppliers were yesterday issued with a “last chance” warning over soaring gas and electricity bills. The “big six” companies – British Gas owner Centrica, EDF, npower, E.on, Scottish Power and SSE – were told by the industry watchdog Ofgem they face a full-scale inquiry if they do not clean up their act. They have [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 15, 2011 CENTRICA JP Morgan Cazenove rates the utility “overweight” with a target price of 390p. The broker thinks an ongoing Ofgem supply review is unlikely to lead to a Competition Commission referral, and that the market has not priced in a formal investigation. JPM expects to see a carbon tax of £1 per tonne in the [...]
Centrica July 28, 2010 BUMPER profits at energy providers are something of a double-edged sword. Shareholders might cheer, but populist denunciations and cries of “excess” are sure to follow. Centrica investors should ignore the scrum for now, however, and bask in the glory: this is as good as it gets. Falling wholesale prices coupled with a bitterly cold winter [...]
Carbon floor hits power firms March 23, 2011 GEORGE Osborne slapped a minimum price on carbon emissions permits in yesterday’s Budget, which is set to hammer energy producers which rely on fossil fuels and add up to £17 a year to home energy bills by 2016. The carbon price floor will force power generators to pay at least £16 per tonne of carbon [...]