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Berkeley warns of tax change effect on sales of expensive homes: London housebuilder Berkeley warned that the government’s stamp duty reforms would hit sales of houses valued above £2 million, but said the impact would be mitigated by more transactions that are cheaper.

BP to wield jobs axe as oil price slump takes toll: BP is to axe middle managers and freeze projects as it grapples with the plummeting oil price.

Scramble to buy £30 million Surrey field: A 77 acre piece of land in Surrey is believed to have become the most expensive field in the country when its sale was rushed through for £30 million.

Oil prices lost ground and ended the week in red, after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia offered record discounts on its oil exports to customers in Asia. Brent crude oil prices declined 1.5% to $69.07/barrel.

Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (BKG.L) Announced, in its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2014, that revenues rose to £1,022.2 million from £821.0 million and profit after tax widened to £241.7 million from £131.0 million recorded in the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share stood at 158.8p, up from 84.7p. The board has declared a further interim dividend of 90p per share (£121.7 million).

Hays Recruitment buys 80% stake in IT staffer Veredus: Leading British human resources and recruitment company Hays has acquired 80% of Veredus Corporation, a specialist IT staffer based in Tampa, Florida, for $44 million (£28 million).

Cautious spending customers continue to worry Boss of brewer and pubs firm Greene King despite record half year sales: Greene King Boss Rooney Anand warned that customers remain cautious about spending on eating and drinking out as the brewer and pubs operator posted record half year sales

Housebuilders shares get stamp duty boost: Investors in the U.K.’s property sector were given a boost by the Autumn Statement, as the cut in stamp duty sent shares in housebuilders higher, but bank shareholders hoping for a quick return to dividends received more bad news. Shares in the housebuilders are enjoying a strong finish to the year. Fears that George Osborne, the Chancellor, would take action to curb rising house prices, mixed with rumours of an interest rate rise early next year, have proved to be unfounded. Persimmon, the U.K.’s largest housebuilder, saw its shares move 1.9% higher following the cut in stamp duty. The stock is up more than 20% since mid-October and is 25% higher so far this year. Business is still booming for the builders. Bovis Homes was another winner, with shares rising 2.4%. Last month the company reported a better profit margin thanks to higher house prices, and house sales on target to increase 30% when compared with last year. The other large FTSE 250 housebuilders – Redrow, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey – are all reporting higher average prices for the houses they sell and strong advance sales of properties. The improving profit performance has also allowed them to pay down debt levels and strengthen balance sheets. Several factors mean the shares look worth holding on to for the income. Foxtons’ shares plunged in October after the company warned that London’s housing market was cooling. The shares may still have further to fall, as they are currently trading on 13 times forecast earnings and don’t look that cheap, as profits are decidedly shaky. Banks were also handed some bad news in the Autumn Statement. The amount of losses made in previous years that can be used to reduce tax was limited to 50% of profits. Shares in Lloyds, RBS and Barclays all fell following the announcement by the Chancellor. The tax measure doesn’t affect TSB because the company doesn’t have any losses. Questor is still of the opinion that U.K. banks look destined to remain low- growth, low-profit and exposed to an interest rate shock next year, and we would steer clear for now. Mr Osborne didn’t pull any rabbits out of the hat for U.K. investors in the Autumn Statement, but then little else would be expected five months away from a general election.

Stamp duty reform triggers panic buying of high-end London homes: Forget bread and milk, wealthy individuals, families and investors were panic buying high-end London homes right up to midnight.

Buchan the trend: James Buchan’s books feature plucky British heroes who are not above a spot of poaching. There is more than a dash of that in Oliver Hemsley, Chief Executive of Numis and a fan of the adventure writer. The broking group has dodged the bullets that finished off some other mid-cap brokers. Pretax profits of £24.4 million announced on Thursday were up 8% on the year and the highest since 2007. Survivors need to be. Shares in Numis are down 31% from March, when the outlook was better for the initial public offerings whose fees bolster Numis’s revenues. Moreover equity research, at which Numis excels, is set for a regulatory shake-up seek to stop fund Managers passing on costs. At least Mr Hemsley, who owns 8% of Numis, only has to contend with Martin Wheatley, zealous Boss of the Financial Conduct Authority. The protagonists of Buchan’s ripping yarns fought it out with trigger-happy gamekeepers and Bolshevik spies.

Sky Bet a successful accumulator for Darroch, trophy asset builder: CVC made Jeremy Darroch an offer he could not refuse. The private equity business is purchasing the online gaming arm of Sky for up to £720 million. Mr Darroch, Chief Executive since 2007, had not been planning to sell. But what is a chap to do when West End swells propose buying an 80% stake at 15 times trailing earnings? The tenacious Mr Darroch, who was advised by Goldman, gets £600 million upfront and £120 million if Sky Bet hits earnings targets. He could invest in content, which cliché designates king of the converging realms of phones, TVs and computers. He could bid for the mobile operators EE and O2, which are up for sale, in competition with arch-rival BT. Sky Bet was growing strongly. But Mr Darroch is still well shot of it. Internet gambling is a different technological arms race to broadcasting. The dangers of errors were underlined on Wednesday when Ladbrokes announced the departure of Chief Executive Richard Glynn. His turnround plan was weakened by online inadequacy, only atoned for latterly through a tie-up with Playtech.

Unilever: I can’t believe its not a spin-off: Margarine and other spreads are 7% of sales and although Unilever is taking market share, it is a declining market. So the unit is a drag on growth. On Thursday, Unilever said it would put most of the spreads business into a standalone unit so that a dedicated team can focus on turning it around. It is not, Unilever insists, the first step towards a full separation. And the group’s management seems more enthusiastic about other parts of the empire. Over the past six years it has sold €2.8 billion of turnover, mainly in foods. Pasta sauces, peanut butter and diet drinks have all been shown the door. In the same period it has bought €3 billion of turnover, mainly in personal care. True, by spinning off foods Unilever would lose a cash machine that can fund growth elsewhere, but with net debt (according to Jefferies) of just one times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, the group has plenty of flexibility. The combined market capitalisation of the two companies is $100 billion. The internal separation Unilever has proposed looks like a messy halfway house, and raises questions about how committed the company is to food in general and spreads in particular. It should dispel those questions, and be decisive.

U.S. oil reserves at highest since 1975: U.S. proven oil reserves last year rose to their highest level since 1975, official figures have shown, in the latest sign of how the shale revolution has transformed the country’s energy supply outlook.

Church challenges Shell and BP over climate change: The Church of England has waded in to the debate over climate change by urging Royal Dutch Shell and BP to cut their carbon emissions and invest more in renewables, the first time it has attempted to use its position as an investor as a “force for good

Traders place bets on $40 oil as Saudi-led price war rages: The outlook for oil prices is so dire that growing numbers of investors are betting that they will plunge to less than $40 a barrel, a level not seen since the financial crisis.

UK Halifax house price index rises more than expected in November The Halifax house price index in the UK recorded a rise of 0.40% in November on a monthly basis, compared to a drop of 0.40% in the previous month. Market expectations were for the Halifax house price index to advance 0.30%.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.6% or $0.42 lower at $69.22 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.4% or $0.28, to settle at $69.64 per barrel, following reports that Saudi Arabia was providing customers in Asia record discounts on its crude, in a bid to protect its market share.

SKY SELLS SKY BET The broadcaster has sold a controlling stake in its bookmaker arm to the private equity group CVC Capital as it attempts to focus on its battle with BT. Sky Bet, which sponsors the Football League, will go for around £800m and Sky will keep a 20pc stake. It will also license the name

Avoid Merlin as investors sell: Merlin Entertainments, the Owner of Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds, hailed a “strong performance” in its first year as a publicly traded company. However, Questor is concerned that growth levels won’t support a punchy share price valuation as private equity backers sell their stakes. The FTSE 250-listed leisure group said that a warm summer and The Lego Movie helped increase revenue across the company. Questor doesn’t think revenue is growing enough; in fact it is showing signs of slowing. The company increased group like-for-like revenue by 6.7% during the third quarter ended September 6, a slowdown from 8.1% like-for-like revenue growth in the first half. Merlin generates its revenue from three key parts of the business: Midway Attractions, which owns Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon and London Eye, makes up 45% of group revenue; Legoland Parks generates 29%; while Resort Theme Parks, such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle, constitutes 26%. Legoland Parks is a global brand in countries such as America, Germany and Asia, and this means that while 40% of total group sales are still U.K.-based, 26% are in Europe, 20% North America and 14% Asia Pacific. Also, while the majority of revenue, 60%, is still outdoors and weather dependent, the rest is now indoors. The Legoland Parks business is growing strongly and reported revenue up 13.8% in the third quarter ended September 6. The largest part of the company, the U.K.-focused Midway Attractions, reported revenue up 3.2%, reversing a first-half fall in revenue. Resort Theme Parks increased revenue at a steady 4.2% during the third quarter, but this slowed from 7.7% like-for-like revenue growth during the first half. The other thing that concerns Questor is that, in addition to slowing revenue growth, cash generation is falling. Money made from operations was down £7 million to £140 million during the first half ended June 28. Once spending on the parks of £104 million and interest payments of £32 million are subtracted, the company only generated £4 million in free cash. There is also a rather large pile of debt. Net debt was £977 million on June 28, more than shareholders’ funds of £960 million. Merlin Entertainments at 381½p+10.4p. Questor Says “Avoid”.

Ladbrokes’ new Chief Executive will need more luck: Richard Glynn has not been a lucky general for Ladbrokes. Despite his “golden hello” of £1.75 million worth of shares in spring 2010, his time as the bookmaker’s Boss has lacked lustre. The full story is more complex. Like other betting groups, the company has been hit by tax rises and regulatory pressures — and more bad news from the government continues to be a risk. Unfortunately for Ladbrokes, its rival William Hill has performed much more strongly in the face of similar difficulties. Ladbrokes — on 11-12 times 2014 earnings — is trading at a discount. Ladbrokes has just been too slow. Setbacks — some of which were self-inflicted — have delayed development of an online offering. While it may have had a lucky escape in failing to land Sportingbet, its inability to buy 888 was more significant. Both forays into M&A surely distracted management. Both William Hill and Paddy Power presumably scoured the sector before appointing internal candidates as their new Bosses this year. But Ladbrokes’ obvious internal candidate — Nick Rust — is off to run the British Horseracing Authority. Ladbrokes is lagging well behind its peers, and shareholders must hope the nominations committee is luckier than Mr Glynn turned out to be.