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Baker Hughes and Shell to trial artificial intelligence software: Two of the world’s biggest oil and gas groups are set to deploy artificial intelligence software to do the work of back-office accountants and call-centre workers, in the latest sign that white-collar jobs could be under threat from the rise of smart machines.

UK services PMI climbed in November In the UK, the services PMI rose to a level of 58.60 in November, higher than market expectations of a rise to 56.50. In the previous month, the services PMI had registered a level of 56.20.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.87% or $0.61 higher at $70.53 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.88% or $0.62, to settle at $69.92 per barrel. The EIA reported that the weekly crude stockpiles unexpectedly dropped by 3.7 million barrels to 379.3 million barrels in the week ended 28 November, against an anticipated gain of 1.3 million barrels

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister George Osborne has announced an immediate cut in the supplementary tax charge on oil companies to help the industry cope with a steep drop in oil prices. The supplementary charge will be reduced to 30 percent from 32 percent, helping producers faced with weak oil prices and high production costs. "The lower oil price clearly presents a challenge to this vital industry," Osborne said as he announced a half-yearly budget update. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps and Sarah Young)

Stamp Duty on homes Stamp Duty on residential property is being reformed and a new tiered basis will apply from 4 December 2014. The new regime replaces the current ‘slab’ regime which can create market distortions. For example, many properties are sold at £250,000, where Duty is currently paid at a rate of 1% (£2,500) whereas they are seldom sold for £251,000 which would attract a 3% rate (£7,530). The new rates will apply as follows: Property value Tax rate on each progressive band £0 - £125,000 0% £125,001 - £250,000 2% £250,001 - £925,000 5% £925,001 - £1,500,000 10% £1,500,000 plus 12%

.. :: London close: Upmarket housebuilders hit as investors digest Autumn Statement Wed, 3rd Dec 2014 16:29 Upmarket housing stocks took a hit but airlines were flying higher as investors reacted to the UK's Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Shares in Berkeley Group Holdings were 76p off at 2468p and estate agency Foxtons subsided 2.6p to 152.8p as Chancellor George Osborne introduced a new stamp duty regime set to benefit anyone buying a home worth less than £937,000. But house-builders that build mid-market and cheaper homes were on the up, with Persimmon rising 15p to 1540p, Barratt Developments gaining 7.9p to 458.9p, Bovis Homes advancing 14.5p to 872p and Taylor Wimpey increasing 2.2p to 132.5p.

LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE has confirmed that the following changes will take effect to its UK indices from the market open on Monday, December 22, following completion of its quarterly review. ------- FTSE 100 Adds: Barratt Developments Taylor Wimpey -------

Britons spend less on leisure as rents climb: British households are spending less on eating out, hotels, alcohol and smoking, according to the annual official survey of family budgets released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Hold Aberdeen Asset Management as share buyback looms: Aberdeen Asset Management’s full year results capped an action-packed few months for the company, at least by investment management standards. Last year’s £650 million acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) from Lloyds, which made Aberdeen Europe’s biggest asset Manager, was followed by a worrying sell-off in emerging markets during the first half of the year and a “no” vote in September’s Scottish referendum. Amid all this, one of the asset Manager’s biggest investments, Standard Chartered, has continued to see its shares tumble; Aberdeen’s outspoken Boss Martin Gilbert was even driven to publicly back management at the bank, amid questions about its Chief Executive’s future. Shareholders, then, will be relieved that the company’s annual results contained few surprises. Aberdeen’s pretax profits fell 9%, due to the acquisition of SWIP, but on an underlying basis they rose 2% to a record £490.3 million. Mr Gilbert upped the full year dividend by a healthy 12.5%, but this is small fry compared to what could come next. Although the results announcement provided no mention of a share buyback, it is definitely an option, and Mr Gilbert told Questor that Aberdeen will make a decision in the first half of 2015. Barring any dramatic market downturn, there appears to be little reason why the company should not return cash, and the possibility of one should provide support against any downturn in the coming months. On the other hand, there is little about Aberdeen that makes Questor want to recommend buying it. Shares trade at 13 times earnings after a strong run since October’s wobble, and with the Federal Reserve’s money printing programme at an end, the type of growth rates that have seen them double in the last three years are unlikely to return. Aberdeen has ridden out the last year well, and made excellent progress on a good acquisition. With plenty of cash to provide support, as well as a healthy dividend, this is one share worth hanging on to. Aberdeen Asset Management at 457 ½p+7.6p. Questor Says “Hold”.

OPEC: Saudi Prince says Riyadh won’t cut oil unless others follow: Saudi Arabia’s influential royal Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud has said the kingdom would only consider cutting oil production if Iran, Russia and the U.S. agreed to match those cuts because it wants to protect its market share.

Aviva: hope springs: About £1 billion. That is the amount of value that the stock market believes will be destroyed by Aviva’s acquisition of rival U.K. insurer Friends Life. Before talks were announced last month, Aviva’s market capitalisation was £15.8 billion. It closed on Tuesday, when the deal was confirmed, at £14.8 billion. And that was after a share price bounce – the details were apparently more attractive than November’s outline. The £225 million of cost savings might be responsible. Taxed and capitalised they are worth about £1.8 billion, well north of the £400 million premium that is being offered. Add the savings to what the two businesses already produce, and Aviva’s annual cash flow will improve from £400 million to about £1 billion. That gave Aviva Chief Executive Mark Wilson the confidence to raise this year’s final dividend by 30%. There will be more increases. The plan is to reduce dividend cover from 2.8 times last year to 2 times over the medium term. There should also be cash to invest overseas or in back books of the life assurance business (where Friends specialises). Perhaps the £1 billion share price drop is harsh. The regulatory flux around such products suggests it is difficult to predict who will benefit. And the deal will add several more years of restructuring to two companies that have already been restructuring for years. All the while, competitors have been able to focus on selling and managing insurance policies.

UK construction PMI fell in November The construction PMI registered a drop to 59.40 in November, in the UK, higher than market expectations of a fall to a level of 61.00. The construction PMI had registered a reading of 61.40 in the prior month

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.82% or $0.58 higher at $71.12 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.76% or $2.00, to settle at $70.54 per barrel, after concerns of oversupply intensified after Iraq inked a deal with the Kurdish authorities to permit shipment of as much as 550,000 barrels per day of oil from northern Iraq to the port of Ceyhan. Meanwhile, the API reported that the weekly US crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell by 6.5 million barrels in the last week.

Hello Mate Unlike Natural Resources companies; this company will only raise cash if they wish to make an acquisition. I have a feeling they will beat market expectations and will break even well before end of 2015 as stated at the time of flotation in April 2014. I expect the shares to move up from current levels if we get some more contracts in the next few months. ATB

Proactive investors on youtube which expands on today's announcement of a strategic alliance.

Turning point as the company gets to work with a company which sources: Technology requirements of US Government agencies across 700 Labs. It is possible to envisage repeat revenue from some of these 700 labs in the course of the next few months.

Current trading: Tek Capital business model a. Providing technology and intellectual property services globally to major companies -They seek to enable their clients to innovate faster and to protect their core products or services by identifying and acquiring relevant intellectual property developed by leading universities and research institutions. -They are able to provided retained clients with access to discoveries and intellectual properties developed at over 3,300+ university research institutions located in over 160 countries which are available for acquisition -TekCapital’s revenue comes from monthly advisory report to its clients highlighting the top 10 suitable IP opportunities based on the client’s specific research parameters or product requirements. b. Purchasing disruptive IP opportunities from Universities and selling on to the commercial and private sector for future value creation How is the company doing since flotation on Aim in Q2 2014? Highlights from trading update on Friday 21st Nov: -They have secured 3 new clients within Fortune 1000 in N. American market spanning automotive, healthcare and food/beverages sectors. - they have now 15 clients which demonstrates over 100% growth since floatation since flotation in April 2014 -Their acquisition of InventionEvaluator.com in July 2014 has already expanded our service offering and customer base. We are already seeing top line revenue and profit generated by Invention Evaluator. -

This exciting business

London estates to get overhaul in £150 million pledge: A shortlist of London housing estates in the running for regeneration is to be announced by Ministers, as part of a £150 million scheme. The estates will be named ahead of the Autumn Statement as part of a pledge first announced in the Budget earlier this year.

Fluff the nervous dragon: Small signs of trouble can be as eloquent as big ones. A caged canary suffocating in a coal mine. Or Dragon Oil pulling out of talks to buy Dublin-listed Petroceltic, a rival exploration and production company, for some $500 million. The long-term price of the black stuff has moved little. But the short-term slump has been enough to rattle Dragon. The company has form: in 2012 it abandoned talks with oil explorer Bowleven. Dragon has about $1.9 billion of net cash, so it would have had no problem financing a transaction. That risk has transferred to Petroceltic, which will need around $200 million by early 2016 to fund its share of the Algerian project.