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Gazprom may face sanctions amid conflict in Ukraine: The EU’s powerful anti-trust arm is close to moving against Gazprom after a long-running inquiry into the Russian energy giant for allegedly abusing its market dominance in central and eastern Europe.

UK average earnings including bonus advanced more than expected in the October-December 2014 period On a YoY basis in the UK, the average earnings including bonus advanced 2.10% in the October-December 2014 period, more than market expectations for a rise of 1.70%. In the July-September 2014 period, the average earnings including bonus had registered a revised rise of 1.80%.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 1.7% or $1.03 lower at $59.50 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract declined 3.2% or $2.00, to settle at $60.53 per barrel, after the American Petroleum Institute reported that US crude oil stockpiles rose sharply last week, unexpectedly increasing 14.3 million barrels, compared to expectations of a rise of around 3.2 million barrels.

Online estate agent eMoov.co.uk have raised concerns over the decline of the prime central London property market throughout 2014, identifying the shortcomings of the market and the drop in demand for properties in Zone 1 and 2 in particular. The amplified price of property in the heart of the capital, coupled with the changes in stamp duty tax and the potential of a mansion tax if Labour win the election in May, have resulted in a decline in demand for property priced £2m+ in central London’s most desirable post codes. Now eMoov have further confirmed their prior research by analysing the demand for property with a price tag of £2m+, across 17 of London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods. They have found that demand - the percentage of properties sold vs listed - in prime central London has slumped to an average of just 11.2%. The top 5 worst affected areas were St James’s (0%), Marylebone (6.4%), Primrose Hill (6.5%), Maida Vale (6.7%) and Fitzrovia (9.1%). eMoov stated that with "much of prime central London already in serious trouble", the impending threat of a potential mansion tax could see this falling demand continue, at least until the result of the general election is decided. Founder and CEO Russell Quirk commented: “It’s clear that prime central London has been devastated where the property market is concerned. For a while now certain areas have seemed impervious to changes in the property market elsewhere in the country. However it is apparent that this is no longer the case as the capital has been brought to its knees. I think a combination of the change in stamp duty, the potential threat of mansion tax and even to some extent the current situation in Russia, are all contributing to an instability in the prime central London property market. "We believe that by Q2 or Q3 this will be confirmed when the likes of Halifax, Nationwide and Hometrack release their latest house price indices. We also predict demand will remain low until the election is over. If Labour don’t win then it will offer slight comfort to those looking to buy in these areas and without the fear of a mansion tax we could see demand regain some stability, but that is yet to be seen.”

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Optimism among British households about financial prospects in the year ahead was second-highest since records began in 2009, helped by low inflation and growing job security, a survey showed on Wednesday. The monthly Markit household finance survey's measure of financial well-being for the next 12 months slipped only slightly in February from an all-time high in January. "The strain on UK household finances remained historically weak in February, amid muted inflation perceptions," said Philip Leake, an economist at survey compiler Markit. "Labour market improvements and a slower decline in cash available to spend also contributed to another encouraging month for household finances," he said. Britain's most widely used inflation gauge, the consumer price index, slumped to 0.3 percent in January, its lowest level since records began in 1989. The Markit survey was due to be published at the same time as official data which economists said would show earnings again rose more sharply than inflation in December. (Reporting by William Schomberg; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - British pay growth outstripped inflation by the most in several years in December, helped in large part by bonuses, giving many households a boost ahead of parliamentary elections in May. Average weekly earnings, including bonuses rose 2.4 percent in annual terms in the month of December. That compared with growth of 1.9 percent in the 12 months to November and was the fourth month in a row that earnings by that measure rose faster than inflation after lagging for the previous five years. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, stood at 0.5 percent in December and then fell further in January as oil prices tumbled and food prices also declined. The Office for National Statistics also said on Wednesday that Britain's unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, its lowest level in more than six years. A Reuters poll of economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 5.8 percent. The long-awaited pick-up in pay growth may help Prime Minister David Cameron to convince voters that the broader recovery in the economy is filtering down to them before the country goes to the polls on May 7. The opposition Labour party says Britain remains in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis with wages still well below their level before the financial crisis when adjusted for inflation. The Bank of England is also watching wage growth closely as it considers when to start raising interest rates from the record low of 0.5 percent where they have sat for nearly six years. Last week the BoE predicted wage growth would speed up sharply during 2015 and reach 3.5 percent. The ONS said on Wednesday that pay, excluding bonuses, rose 1.6 percent in the month of December, slower than growth of 1.7 percent in November. Over the last three months of 2014, average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.7 percent, slightly less than expected by economists in a Reuters poll and slower than 1.8 percent in the three months to November. Total pay, including bonuses, rose by a faster-than-expected 2.1 percent in the three-month period, compared with a gain of 1.8 percent in the September-November period. The ONS said the number of people in employment rose by 103,000 to just under 31 million in the three months through December. The number of unemployed people fell by 97,000. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the month of January fell by a larger than expected 38,600. That compared with economists forecasts for a fall of 25,000. (Reporting by William Schomberg and Kate Holton)

Hello Mate I hope you are well. Today's announcement certainly signals the management's determination to execute their 2015 strategic objectives IMHO.

As the company raised money in a recent IPO on 22nd Dec 2014 and today's exciting development is guided to cost £350k which will be refunded back from expected revenues; it is clear they is no need for a placing. Gfinity is a long term investment and as the CEO stated at the time of flotation; it will look to increase its market share in the first couple of years steadily before it become a conventional company with repeat revenues and profitability built on advertising, sponsorship, media rights and ticket sales from events. This is a medium term investment for patient investors and if Nigel Wray has 15% shareholding here; you know it will do well in the medium to long term. By the way; Nigel Wray is Britain's most successful Private Investor over the past 30 years.

On an excellent set of results: Homebuilder Galliford Try achieved strong revenue and profit growth in the first six months of the year, which allowed management to unveil a 47% boost to its interim dividend pay-out. Interim revenues rose by 35% to reach £1,0854m, driving a 12% gain in profits before tax to £42.5m. Pre-tax profits were up by 21% to reach £45.9m. The company's net debt fell to £35.9m despite an increase in the land bank.

A partnership with a strong entertainment group. My favourite bit is: Under the deal, Gfinity will commit to a monthly rental fee that will be subject to a 100% clawback principally from ticketing revenues generated by the Gfinity Arena. Any additional revenues generated from the events over and above this level, will be shared equally between the companies. Including branding and marketing spend, Gfinity's total commitment over the period will be in the region of £350,000. Both parties expect that the arena provides the potential to generate revenues in excess of this figure over the contract period

Dragon Oil revenue hit by poor oil price but dividend remains: London-listed Dragon Oil posted revenue of $1.09 billion (£712 million) for 2014, up from the $1.05 billion reported for the previous year, despite a 16% decline in operating profit, which was down from $688 million to $579 million

U.K. bookmakers grapple with tax challenges and online: Shares in a company are essentially worth what someone else is willing to pay for them, as opposed to what the Owner believes they are worth. The major shareholder in 888 Holdings who turned down the offer from bookmaking rival William Hill would do well to remember that after the shares tumbled. William Hill, the U.K.-based bookmaker made a bid of 203p-per-share (including the 3p dividend) for rival 888 Holdings. A deal would have made a lot of sense. Bookmaking in the U.K. is undergoing a revolution. Betting online is cheaper and easier, fewer people are visiting the betting shops of old, and new taxes are causing severe disruption. The old guard of William Hill and Ladbrokes are now racing to develop their own betting websites and accelerating that growth through acquisition is the quickest way. The bookies have been the focus of an aggressive campaign against fixed-odds gaming terminals. The so-called FoBTs (pronounced “fobtees”) have been labelled the “crack cocaine” of the gambling world. Bookies were hit with a 20% machine games duty on February 1 2013 and the Government plans to increase that rate to 25% at the end of March. The company is growing fast but Questor thinks that the offer looks like a decent premium for an online platform that is facing increasing competition and tax. Shares in William Hill gained about 1% and it may return with another bid, but until we see the impact of the new taxes, the shares, trading on a forward multiple of just over 15 times, remain a hold. Betfair said profits boosted by last year’s football World Cup had more than doubled to £67.3 million in the six months to October. The company said it would return £200 million of its £271.4 million cash pile to investors. Questor likes the Betfair business model but the shares are looking expensive, trading on 25 times forecast earnings and only offering an ordinary dividend yield of 1.8%. Reported pretax profits are expected to fall within the next year as the new point of consumption tax comes into place, so we’d watch for any selloffs before thinking of buying. Gambling sector Questor Says “Hold”.

Property shares to benefit from U.K. recovery: Investors in Hammerson must rue the day the property group turned its back on the London office market and instead focused on retailing in the U.K. and France. Pretax profits were up from £341.2 million to £703.1 million, including revaluation changes, and the final dividend rose by 7.4% to 11.6p. The occupancy rate of 97.5% was marginally below the 97.7% rate a year earlier. Shopping centre income grew by 2.6%. Hammerson is developing a portfolio of 22 U.K. retailing sites across the U.K. The property company is focused on Brent Cross in London, Victoria Gate in Leeds, and WestQuay Watermark in Southampton. Hammerson said the value of its property portfolio increased from £5.9 billion to £6.7 billion at the end of December and this increased the net asset value from 573p to 638p. Hammerson is currently trading at a 7.5% premium to its net asset value. The shares are currently trading on a price earnings ratio of 25.7, and yield 3.1%, and as the U.K. recovers they remain a hold. Hammerson at 685p-6p. Questor Says “Hold”.

Sell Wood Group as oil tumbles: Investors pushed Wood Group shares more than 10% higher at one point, before they ended the day up 5%, after the oilfield services company reported a strong set of results despite the rapid drop in Brent crude prices. Wood Group reported that pretax profits rose 27% to $475.1 million in the year to December 31, from $346.8 million a year earlier. Revenue was also up strongly to $7.62 billion, from $7.06 billion in 2013. Wood Group’s results for 2014 were good, but were flattered by the timing of the falling oil price. Oil did not fall steadily throughout the year; it rose to a peak of more than $115 per barrel in June and then collapsed from $100 in September to $57 at the end of December. This allowed Wood Group to book nearly all its profits at much higher oil prices. This is important for Wood Group because about 40% of the revenue from the company’s production services division, Wood Group PSN, is generated in North America. Wood Group PSN reported revenue up 16% to $4.64 billion, or a quarter of the group total revenue last year. The company said the U.S. onshore activities for Wood Group PSN are “predominantly shale related”, and contributed more than $1 billion in revenue and were the “largest contributor” to profits of $341.7 million. Questor believes revenue could fall as low as $6.5 billion, with profits of about $330 million giving earnings per share of about 70 cents (45p). That forecast leaves the shares trading on 15 times forecast earnings, and applying the normal multiple of 10 times gives a target price of 450p. Questor downgraded the shares to a hold (831p, August 21, 2013). On this basis the shares are a sell. John Wood Group at 660p+30p. Questor Says “Sell”.

BP says CO2 emissions unsustainable, warns on global warming: BP has warned that carbon dioxide emission levels from burning fossil fuels are unsustainable unless the international community unilaterally introduces tougher binding regulations on atmospheric pollution.

Warren Buffett sells stake in world’s largest energy company after oil price collapses: Warren Buffett has sold his entire stake in the world’s largest energy company after the price of Brent crude plummeted

Mansion tax: a threat to the U.K. economy and an appeal to envy: Labour’s proposed mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million is a threat to the U.K. economy and sends a message to the world that Britain is facing a “punitive and uncertain” tax future, according to a damning paper published on Wednesday

Pendragon profits accelerate on strong second-hand car sales: Pendragon reported an acceleration in full year profits as Britain’s largest car dealership benefited from strong demand for second-hand vehicles and its servicing business.

Oil rally fades on oversupply fears: Oil’s recent rally eased on Tuesday as Brent crude fell below $61 a barrel on fears of growing supply and a build up in stocks.

No U.K. shale oil production for two decades, says BP: There is unlikely to be any significant production of shale gas or oil in the U.K. and Europe for at least 20 years, according to BP’s starkest forecast yet of the fracking industry’s potential outside the U.S.