Scottish First Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in an interview that the country’s economy remains strong even amid challenges that she acknowledges. She expects that the huge deficit would be manageable after separation.
North Sea
Breaking News
Two big trades in oil options worth nearly $60 million last week boosted volatility in that market and revived speculation among traders that U.S. producers are placing hedges to guard against another price rout this fall.
Oil prices hit their highest for the year on Tuesday, aided by a disruption in Libyan crude exports, higher selling prices for Saudi oil and a weaker dollar that tends to inflate commodity prices.
ConocoPhillips Inc (COP.N) is weighing sale of some of its North Sea assets in Norway which may fetch as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
British finance minister George Osborne will allow pensioners to cash in annuities in exchange for lump sums in his annual budget next week, British newspapers reported, in a move designed to woo voters before a May national election.
Britain is ready to force the sale of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's recently acquired North Sea energy assets unless it receives unspecified assurances within the next week, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said on Thursday.
Crude oil futures rebounded on Friday and Brent headed for its first monthly gain since July, helped by strong investor inflows, an improving demand outlook and supply outages.
Crude oil futures rebounded on Friday, with Brent heading for its biggest monthly gain since May 2009, as supply outages in North Sea and renewed fears of gas supply disruption in Europe supported prices.
Brent crude prices slipped on Monday as a slump in Chinese imports pointed to lower fuel demand in the world's biggest energy consumer, outweighing falling U.S. oil rig counts and signs of healthy U.S. growth.
Oil major BP beat expectations for the fourth quarter of 2014 thanks to a surprise profit from its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft while taking a $3.6 billion impairment charge and cutting spending due to low oil prices.
Global oil markets resumed their slide on Friday, with Brent and U.S. crude hitting April 2009 lows and ending down for a seventh straight week, although prices recovered from their lows after a sharp drop in the U.S. oil rig count.
Global oil prices slid further on Friday, with Brent on track for the first weekly close below $70 a barrel since 2010, as strong U.S. employment data did little to lift the oil market's bearish mood a day after Saudi Arabia cut official selling prices.
After accumulating nearly 6% of total shares in Talisman Energy, Carl Icahn has prepared to provide direction as to sales of assets of the Canadian energy firm.
