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U.K. housebuilders muscle into top tier of construction sector: Three U.K. housebuilders have muscled their way to the top tier of Britain’s construction sector as they thrive in an era of booming property prices, low interest rates and government support for home buyers. Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon are now simultaneously included in the top 10 construction companies in the U.K. by revenue for the first time since 2008. If ranked by pretax profits, housebuilders occupy eight out of the top 10 slots, according to Barbour ABI, which compiles the rankings.

Brent oil prices gained last week, after the US crude oil inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels for the week ended 18 September, as reported by the EIA. Brent crude oil prices rose 2.4% to $48.60/barrel.

Mortgage lending hits record high as buyers lap up cheap loans: House buyers borrowed more in August than at any time since the credit crunch struck in 2008, industry figures showed, as the threat of an interest rate hike encouraged mortgage customers to get cheap loans while they still can.

Eleven buyers chasing each property: There are 11 buyers chasing each property for sale in the U.K. as supply falls to an 11-year low, exacerbated by half of buyers in the first six months of the year having no properties to sell.

UK BBA mortgage approvals rose in August BBA mortgage approvals rose to a level of 46.74 K in August, in the UK, compared to market expectations of a rise to 47.00 K. BBA mortgage approvals had recorded a revised level of 46.31 K in the previous month.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.08% or $0.04 higher at $48.21 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.88% or $0.42, to settle at $48.17 per barrel, after moving between gains and losses, on reports that global oil glut is contracting amid a drop in US crude supplies.

Giant West of Shetland oil and gas fields near start of production: Premier Oil has said it is now making good progress with the delayed development of the giant Solan oil field West of Shetland, which it expects to bring onstream later this year.

Total: the right cut?: Big energy groups with massive balance sheets and earnings from every stage of the production chain should smooth out the ups and downs of the commodity price cycle, delivering “bond proxy” returns. Investors reward such dependability by applying a lower discount rate to those returns — giving higher share-price valuations. So far, bread and butter is taking precedence over jam. Total’s Managers said on Wednesday they would reduce capital expenditure by about $3 billion in both 2016 and 2017, but refused to countenance a cut in the dividend. Shares in the French oil major rose, outperforming rivals. That is not a problem for Total just yet. Its production growth profile for 2016 and 2017 is still better than many peers. Its reserve replacement ratio has averaged 124% over the past five years. It is not overleveraged. It is cutting operating costs and extending a scrip dividend option to save cash (at the expense of some dilution). But output in 2017 will now be 21% up on 2014 levels, rather than 30% previously envisaged. Total’s Managers must be hoping that oil prices have stabilised by then — allowing them to avoid a dividend cut altogether, rather than merely postponing one

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.67% or $0.32 higher at $48.07 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.71% or $1.33, to settle at $47.75 per barrel. However, the EIA reports revealed a decline of 1.9 million barrels in crude oil stockpiles for the week ended 18 September.

The price of good quality English farmland has doubled over the past five years, making it the most expensive in the world and offering a better return than prime London property, the FTSE 100 or gold. According to agents Knight Frank demand from wealthy private individuals as well as pension funds, has driven up the average price for an acre of "investment grade" English farmland (large plots with economies of scale) to £12,500, up 100% since 2010. -

London flats cost 67% more than in 2005 and are set to keep climbing: London flat prices have outstripped every other property type in every other region of the U.K. over the last decade, according to research published by a major mortgage provider this morning.

Faroe Petroleum sees opportunities in North Sea amid oil and gas sector malaise: The Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, Graham Stewart, has said there is no sign the crude price will increase any time soon but highlighted the opportunities the downturn in the oil and gas sector has created for some firms.

Wood Group diversifies in response to crude price slump: Wood Group has moved to reduce its dependence on the beleaguered oil and gas industry by acquiring an English automation specialist that focuses on sectors such as car and food production

10,000 new ‘Northern Powerhouse’ homes funded by £1.2 billion China deal, says Osborne: Thousands of new homes are to be built in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield - and paid for by China - as part of a £1.2billion deal announced by the Chancellor

AA: drivers, debt and the divi: A nice, cash generative business smothered by a thick blanket of debt. AA, a U.K.-based roadside assistance company which floated last year, has net debt equivalent to almost seven years of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Private equity investors are comfortable with such levels; the public markets less so. Then there are efforts to increase the ebitda itself. The private equity Owners, it turns out, were not lavish with their investment in the business so the new management team has been putting money into IT, marketing and the like. Still, they did apparently leave scope for cost-cutting — the latest plan is to cut £40 million from an annualised cost base of about £600 million. Add that mixed operational picture to the still-enormous debt pile, and it is surprising that the AA is planning to pay a 9p per share dividend this year. That will cost it about £55 million. The move is premature. Dividends should be the preserve of companies whose earnings are stable and predictable, and whose debt is relatively low. The AA is not yet either of those things.

First-time buyers head straight for a semi: First-time buyers used to work their way up the property ladder by starting with a small apartment before moving to somewhere bigger, but now many are bypassing flats because of their soaring prices.

KKR moves into oil and gas in Europe: KKR, the American private equity giant, is set to invest hundreds of millions of dollars buying up European oil and gasfields, as it seeks to take advantage of depressed valuations in the industry after the collapse of world oil prices.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.53% or $0.26 lower at $48.82 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.33% or $0.16, to settle at $49.08 per barrel, after the API reported that crude oil supplies fell sharply by 3.7 million barrels for the week ended 18 September.

Rail adds £10.1 billion to U.K. economy: Britain’s rail industry is adding up to £10.1 billion a year to the national economy, according to a new report.

Telford Homes in £23 million acquisition: Telford Homes has extended its reach in north and east London with its £22.97 million purchase of United House Developments’ (UHD) regeneration business