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TSB opens mortgages to brokers: TSB is opening its mortgage range to brokers across the U.K. in an attempt to bolster profitability and develop as a challenger to the big four high street banks.

Shoplifters cost U.K. retailers £335 million in year, says BRC: The British Retail Consortium said the volume of customer thefts fell year on year in 2013-14 but the average value per incident rose from £177 to £241, the highest level in a decade. The total cost of shoplifting was £335 million, compared with a total cost of all retail crime of £603 million last year.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.12% or $0.06 lower at $48.78 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.65% or $1.33, to settle at $48.84 per barrel, as concerns of a global glut in oil supply were fuelled yet again, after Iraq’s Oil Minister stated that the nation was producing oil at a record rate of 4 million barrels per day. Moreover, another leading investment bank slashed its price forecasts for oil prices in 2015, pressurising the commodity further.

IMF lowered growth forecasts It lowered its expectations for global growth by 0.3 percentage points for both 2015 and 2016 and said that low oil prices will not be enough to boost the world economy. (FT) Swissie casualties Last week's violent swing in the Swiss franc continues to wreak havoc. A leading European foreign exchange filed for administration and a Danish bank admitted to facing heavy losses. The UK's Financial Conduct authority has also asked currency brokers to report on the impact the Swiss move had on their balance sheets, in an attempt to assess the damage on the industry. (FT) Denmark's rate cut The Danish central bank cut interest rates to a record low in anticipation of currency speculators on the hunt for their next target after Switzerland ditched its defence of the franc. Investors have been eyeing up Denmark's strict peg to the euro since the cap was ended on the franc-euro exchange rate. (FT)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian oil and gas company HRT has reached an agreement to buy a stake in Royal-Dutch Shell assets in the Campos Basin, a source with knowledge of the deal said on Monday. Further details of the agreement are expected to be published by HRT on the CVM, the local market regulator, website on Tuesday. Bloomberg News, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, reported that the deal would give HRT 80 percent of the venture. The fields involved in the deal are the Bijupira and Salema areas, which were some of the first to be operated by a foreign company in Brazil on a commercial scale, the source that spoke with Reuters said. HRT and Shell were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Marta Nogeira; Writing by Reese Ewing; Editing by Diane Craft

Average rents increased by 3% during the course of 2014, despite falling by 0.1% on a monthly basis, the latest Buy-to-Let Index from Your Move and Reeds Rains has revealed. The average rent paid across England & Wales stood at £767 in December, up from £745 in December 2013, but down marginally from the average of £768 recorded in November. Nonetheless, such strong annual growth reflects growing demand and a divergence from usual norms, with rents typically falling in December. Even though that happened, it was by much less than usual, with both demand and rents higher than normally expected. This overall improvement has helped boost average annual returns to 11.1% - equating to £18,893 over the 12 months - slightly lower than the 12.0% yield registered in November but far higher than December 2013 when total returns stood at 9.2%.

According to The Independent, the North-South divide in England has widened significantly in the past decade, with southern English cities driving the economic recovery while many in the North lose jobs and stagnate. Citing a report, the newspaper wrote that for every 12 new private sector jobs created in cities in the South over the past 10 years, one private sector job has disappeared in the rest of Britain.

The Guardian has said that nearly four out of 10 households with children, or 8.1 million people, live below an income level regarded by the public as the minimum needed to participate in society, according to new research commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The number of those on less than the so-called minimum income threshold in 2012/13 was up by more than a third from 5.9 million in 2008/09, the charity says.

Brewer AB Inbev under fire over late payment to U.K. suppliers: AB Inbev, the brewing giant behind Budweiser, Stella Artois and Boddingtons, has been criticised by the government for imposing excessively long payment terms on its small U.K. suppliers.

London house prices still marching upward: London house prices are 0.9% higher this month than in December.

Cheaper oil set to fuel the recovery: Tumbling prices will keep the U.K. economy in check: Falling oil prices will provide a boost for Britain's economy, raising growth by 0.5% to 2.9% for 2015, according to a U.K. think tank.

Experian shares jump on solid trading: The largest credit checking agency in the world, Experian offers steady income and dividend growth for investors. The company’s shares rose more than 4% after it reported solid third quarter results. Experian said demand from corporate customers for credit checks remains strong with revenue up 6%, but this was offset by a 12% drop in consumers checking their credit scores. The core North American division, where Experian generates about half of its revenues, reported sales up 1% during the three months ended December 31. The most exciting growth had been coming from Latin America, but that has now been reversed by a slump in the Brazilian currency. Growth in Brazilian revenues is being more than offset by a sharp fall in the value of the country’s currency - the real. The demand for corporate credit checks in Brazil increased 6% during the period, while consumer credit checking was subdued along with the general economy. Meanwhile, the U.K.’s economic recovery helped Experian notch up a 2% increase in revenue, as demand increased from consumer and business lending sectors during the period. The U.K. and Ireland contributed another 20% to the group total, with the balance from Asia Pacific. The company said that expectations for the full year were unchanged. “We are confident of our ability to return Experian to top-line growth,” it said. Experian shares look fully priced, trading on 18 times forecast earnings. With a forecast dividend that yields 2.3%, and expected to increase by 7% during the next two years, they remain a hold. Experian at £11.21+56p Questor Says “Hold”.

ABF shares too expensive as Primark slows: Associated British Foods, the Owner of discount clothing brand Primark, reported rising sales during the vital Christmas trading period. The company, which also owns sugar production, agriculture and grocery businesses, has Primark to thank for its recent success. Primark has more than doubled profits from £309 million in 2011 to £662 million in 2014. The clothing retailer made up more than half of the group’s total pretax profits of £1.02 billion for the year ended September 2014. Primark’s rise to becoming a high street giant was initially funded by the extremely profitable sugar business, but this commodity has suffered a dramatic reversal of fortunes. The sugar price has tumbled from €700 per tonne three years ago to just €395 a tonne. As a result, profits from ABF’s sugar division have fallen from more than £500 million in 2012 to £189 million last year. However, the company recently said it was now “seeing some stabilisation” in the sugar price. ABF has been expanding its sugar operations in international markets. China, in particular, has been one focus, but weak sugar beet harvests and falling prices have hit progress. The company said it will close three factories in China, leading to write-downs of £128 million in its next set of results. ABF’s balance sheet is looking solid, with net debts falling to £804 million at September 14, from £1.06 billion a year earlier. This is against net assets of £6.1 billion. However, ABF’s shares are beginning to look awfully expensive, trading on 29 times forecast pretax profits of £1.07 billion, giving 105p in earnings per share. Associated British Foods at £31.47+112p Questor Says “Sell”.

Building societies under pressure from mounting regulation: Building societies are coming under mounting pressure from a wave of regulation that is hitting business volumes across the sector, according to a report by the Confederation of British Industry and PwC

BP to plead poverty as oil spill trial starts: BP will plead poverty when it takes its position in the dock for the final time in the marathon court case in New Orleans over the company’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.54% or $0.27 lower at $49.90 per barrel, after Iraq’s Oil Minister stated that nation produced oil at a record pace of 4 million barrels per day. On Friday, the contract climbed 5.24% or $2.50, to settle at $50.17 per barrel, after the International Energy Agency slashed its oil production outlook from the non-OPEC nations in 2015 and projected that oil prices would recover in the second half of this year

LONDON (Alliance News) - The average asking price for a house in the UK was up 1.4% on month in January, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday. That follows the upwardly revised 2.2% contraction in December (originally -3.3%). On a yearly basis, house prices jumped 8.2% following the 7.0% spike in the previous month

North Sea oil industry’s plight lures buyers: Cash buyers including sovereign wealth funds are circling Scotland’s oil and gas companies as they bet that an eventual rebound in crude prices will deliver big pay-offs. Improvement notice served on BP: The Health and Safety Executive has served an improvement notice on BP for the company to assess the risk of its non-safety critical maintenance backlog.

Relief for BP as U.S. judge rules less oil spilled in Gulf of Mexico oil disaster than U.S. government had claimed: BP shares enjoyed a relief rally after it emerged that the fine it faces for its Gulf of Mexico oil disaster will be lower than feared after a judge ruled less oil was spilled than originally claimed.

Buy U.K. Mail on record parcel numbers: The demise of parcel delivery firm City Link was good news for rival operator U.K. Mail [LON: U.K.M]. The company last week announced record volumes of parcels during the vital Christmas period. Shares in U.K. Mail jumped more than 7% last week as the delivery company said it had taken on ex-City Link customers. The company was rocked by fears for parcel delivery after Amazon launched its own delivery service. This is significant because parcels contributed about 60% of the group’s profits and about 40% of the revenue. In the most recent detailed update for the first half ended September 30 trading was in line with market expectations. Revenue down 1% to £241.4 million and pretax profits of £11.4 million, down from £11.9 million last year. Guy Buswell, Chief Executive, said the company is still on target to hit full year, pretax profits of £22.5 million, giving earnings per share of 31.2p, increasing to 36.0p next year. The shares are trading on 15 times forecast earnings and we upgrade to a “Buy”.