Member Info for MY21

House prices rose by just 5.9pc year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, against 8.3pc in the previous quarter, according to Nationwide.

Oil – a potentially biased view? “Iraq Oil Minister Abdul-Mehdi: Oil will trade at $70/bbl by end of '15 & avg Iraqi exports to rise 100K bpd to 3mln bpd in March”. I know oil has risen a lot in the past few days but that seems a bit too optimistic

Barratt Developments chief executive Mark Clare has stepped down after nine years in the role, to be replaced by finance director David Thomas. Clare will leave the company on 1 July, leaving the group in fine fettle, with recent interim profits up by over 70%, well ahead of expectations.

Sofa giant DFS eyes expansion as sales jump: Sofa giant DFS said it is plotting further expansion overseas after launching in the Netherlands for the first time in the first half

Three Scottish consortia share £30,000 cash: Three Scottish consortia have received a cash injection from an initiative aimed at encouraging companies to expand at home and abroad by joining forces

CBI must wake up to European Diplodocus in room before it is too late: Not for the first time recently, the Confederation of British Industry has published an extensive lobbying paper that is somewhat lamentable.

Oil and gas exploration could increase in spite of crude price slump say experts: Oil and gas companies will slash exploration budgets by 30% in 2015 in response to the oil price fall but activity could increase next year as work gets cheaper, experts have predicted.

Oil prices rise after fears of more violence in Gulf: Oil prices surged on global markets as jumpy investors weighed the risk that tensions in Yemen could spiral into a wider Middle East conflict, choking off crude supplies.

Shop prices are falling at a record pace: Prices in Britain’s shops fell at the sharpest rate since records began in February, according to the Office for National Statistics

Liquidity storm could throw U.K. into chaos, Bank of England warns: The Bank of England has warned that a global liquidity storm could endanger financial stability if investors suddenly demanded their money back, adding that the threat of a Greek default posed “significant risks” to the U.K.

SuperGroup’s superstar: If your last finance Director had made himself bankrupt (forcing his hasty resignation) and his predecessor once mistook a minus sign for a plus (necessitating a profit warning), you might want your next appointment to exude numeracy or solvency, rather than ‘heat’, writes Matthew Vincent. But SuperGroup — purveyor of faux Japanese hoodies — announced its maiden dividend alongside its hiring of “the hottest man on the planet”. Apparently, Idris Elba — the British actor best known for TV shows The Wire and Luther — was accorded the title by “female colleagues” of Chief Executive Euan Sutherland. So, when the star was spotted in the group’s Regent Street store, he was buttonholed, and offered the job choosing buttons — and more — for SuperGroup’s premium clothing. In the U.S., the group’s franchise operation has taken seven years to achieve £20 million of sales and a £5.1 million loss, prompting news that the company is buying back distribution rights and 15 leases, for £22.3 million. The premium offering from Mr Elba is designed to attract customers who are “not just 18-24 and wearing big logos”. Sensibly, SuperGroup has hedged its exposure to Mr Elba’s heat. While it will take five years for payback in the U.S., his deal is for three.

London Stock Exchange: goodbye, Dubai: Just look at Borse Dubai’s investment in the London Stock Exchange. It bought the shares in 2007 at about £14. It has just sold the lot for £22.50 each. Sure, it has been a rocky ride (they fell below £4 in the crisis) but compare that 61% return to the 15% that it would have made in the FTSE All-share over the same period. That valuation makes sense only if LSE can continue its trajectory. When Dubai bought, LSE had just fought off a bid from Nasdaq. Since then it has bulked up with a string of acquisitions: Borsa Italiana, clearing house LCH. Clearnet and the £1.6 billion purchase of Frank Russell, an index provider and investment Manager, last year. The deals have diversified LSE beyond the U.K. equities market, taking in growth trends such as the rise of passive investment and the increasing use of centralised clearing along the way. The other danger is that the share price is affected by any slowdown in the core capital markets business. It had a strong year in 2014, with admissions revenue up a fifth and secondary markets up 12%. If growth slows the shares may fall victim to any lingering feeling that LSE is just a geared play on stock market activity. But RBC expects capital markets to account for just 14% of revenues this year. These days, LSE is about more than just the shovels.

U.K. draws on Norwegian green power with €2 billion cable: Operators of electricity networks in the U.K. and Norway have approved a €2 billion deal to build the world’s longest subsea power link, allowing British consumers to tap Nordic hydroelectric reserves.

Plans for 220,000 new homes on green belts: More than 200,000 houses are planned for England’s green belts and the number has nearly tripled in some areas in less than two years, a study has found.

Young Britons get stuck on housing ladder: Soaring house prices and stricter lending conditions mean that homeowners will move house less often than their parents.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 1.59% or $0.94 lower at $58.25 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 4.8% or $2.71, to settle at $59.19 per barrel, amid concerns that oil supplies from the Middle East could be disrupted after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations launched airstrikes against rebel forces in Yemen.

Oil prices rebounded higher as Saudi Arabia's airstrikes in Yemen raised concerns that a regional conflict could shift supply and demand equilibrium. The airstrikes were aimed at rebels fighting to overthrow the Yemini government, who are believed to be backed by Iranian support. However, Iran called for an immediate end to the trikes and condemned the action, according to Iranian state media. As the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia's unrest had investors concerned about negative impact on production capacity. The country hold the largest proven oil reserves and its leading position with the OPC cartel carries significant weight in setting oil prices globally. Oil prices gained as much as 6% in early Thursday trade, with US crude futures up to $51 a barrel.

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell plans further job cuts in its UK North Sea oil and gas business in 2015, the company said on Thursday, adding to its cost cuts in response to falling oil prices. "Shell UK plans to reduce the number of staff and agency contractors who support the company's UK North Sea operations by at least 250 in 2015," Shell said in an emailed statement. The reduction is in addition to 250 announced in August, Shell said. (Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by Jason Neely)

If it is established that the ownership of assets are deemed opaque by the receiver and inter company loans exist which have not been disclosed in financial accounts over the past 12 months; it will strengthen your legal action for negligence as well as wilful conduct of the company's BODs once you lodge your claim as an unsecured creditor with the receiver. Note: Both you and the Chinese shareholder; SISG have identical rights as unsecured creditors now that the company is in administrative receivership. Moreover; even if the SL Court finds in favour of SISG for the outstanding payment of $167m; those assets whilst are not subject to receivership ; are deemed to be worth more than the current outstanding project finance debt of $167m. The claim from bondholders and whether they are all secured creditors or not will IMHO determine if there is any glimmer of hope for unsecured creditors for a partial recovery of their losses. Finally; the various RNS announcements and press coverage in SL does seem to give you a very strong legal case against the Professional indemnity insurers of the BOD in terms of their wilful and negligent conduct of matters in the interests of all stakeholders including shareholders-At least since last July IMHO.

what does it mean for shareholders as unsecured creditors? 1. There will be a creditors meeting where by your representative can formally lodge a claim against the company via the receivers 2. You will know the total liabilities and claims against the company following such a meeting. 3. the Receiver is legally duty bound to engage professional firms to assess the current valuation of the company's assets 4. you can be assured the receiver will liaise with SISG in respect of the current legal dispute if it is deemed necessary as a way to maximise recovery of value for all creditors 5. The receiver may decide to sell the assets to an entity who can provide not only the highest price but potentially the highest return for creditors over time given that the mining assets have a 20 year plus life and is not like selling a hotel chain in receivership for instance. The Chinese shareholders are the favourites to acquire it IMHO; as they have the ability to invest 1bn dollars to expand productive capacity and I am not entirely sure with the exception of Glencore; other top 4 mining houses will be interested at this stage of the cycle in Commodities. At least; you will see a more transparent approach with the receivers in place with a small glimmer of hope for some recovery of your investments perhaps. ATB