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Oil currencies: let them fall: Brent crude over the past two months: down 28%, in U.S. dollars. It is also down 29% in Kazakh tenge, a fifth in Nigerian naira – and 2% in Russian roubles. So give Russian policy makers credit, even if Monday’s rouble drop – plunging nearly 7% against the U.S. dollar at one point – was a tad violent. When oil prices fall hard, this is what any self-respecting, oil-selling country should do: let its currency fall with them. It beats even nastier and sharper devaluation later on (watch out, Nigeria) and it shores up budget revenue given that tax on crude exports is levied in roubles. Magnit, Russia’s biggest retailer, has a $23 billion market value – the same as Tesco’s. How far can Russian consumers trim their food budgets? Own Magnit, and you may find out.

Mortgage data point to U.K. housing slowdown: U.K. mortgage approvals have fallen to their lowest level since June last year in a further sign that momentum in the housing market is slowing.

Britain among winners if oil reaches $60 a barrel: A long-term collapse in the oil price to $60 a barrel would give Britain and the global economy a boost, leading economists have said.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.54% or $0.39 lower at $72.15 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 3.41% or $2.39, to settle at $72.54 per barrel, reversing its initial losses as a broad weakness in the USD enhanced demand for alternative investments. Oil prices were further boosted after Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez stated that the OPEC may call for an emergency meeting in the first quarter of next year.

Government plans to convert unused office space into affordable housing have backfired, according to a new broker report. Instant global office broker Daniel Szweda has spoken out about the UK government's temporary initiative that launched early 2013 permitting developers in the UK to convert offices into homes without needing to obtain full planning permission. "When the planning minister approved the changes, he claimed the move would create 130,000 badly needed new homes by using up 5% of vacant office space," Szweda said. "What Instant has seen however, particularly in London and the South East, is that many of the offices were in fact not vacant at the time of conversion. This policy has therefore created a sharp increase in demand which, coupled with the decrease in availability, has resulted in driving up the price for leased space." But he went on to argue that the serviced office market has not yet been affected by the artificial price increase because operators are focused entirely on servicing SMEs. He added: "If businesses are affected I would definitely recommend evaluating the serviced office option further for its unique blend of availability and flexibility at the right price." The government has so far announced no plans to continue allowing offices to be converted into flats without planning permission after 2016, when the rule expires.

WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - US crude oil surged to end sharply higher Monday on some bargain buying, rebounding from a 5-year low at its previous close after the OPEC decided not cut production, with the dollar trending lower and investors anticipating a cut in US shale oil production. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at its meeting in Vienna last Thursday, decided to maintain crude production at 30 million barrels a day, renewing fears of a huge supply glut. Worries about demand growth persisted on the back of some soft economic data showing Chinese manufacturing activity in November to have slipped to an eight-month low, and activity in the US manufacturing sector growing at a slightly slower rate in November, with the index of activity in the sector dropping less than anticipated.

Taxpayer facing £20 billion bill to decommission oil rigs as plunging crude prices threaten future of North Sea operations: The struggling North Sea oil industry is calling on the Government to slash taxes in the face of the plunging price of oil – or risk paying a penalty of £20billion.

RPC cheap after biggest ever deal: RPC shares look cheap after the plastic packaging group agreed its largest ever acquisition, sending shares more than 5% higher. The FTSE 250-listed plastics company makes lightweight rigid plastic products. RPC’s fastest-growing markets is coffee capsules for machines. The company said it is buying Icelandic-owned rival Promens for €386 million (£306 million), and part of the deal will be funded through a £200 million discounted rights issue. That means investors are being asked to dig deep into their pockets, but in this case it looks like a sensible deal. The completion of so many acquisitions in such a short period of time brings risks for investors. However, RPC has an excellent track record, having successfully integrated the Superfos acquisition from 2010. Net debt is expected to increase to about £460 million by the end of March 2015, up from £216 million a year earlier. The company is cash generative, which should allow it to quickly reduce debt levels. The falling oil price will also help RPC as oil is the raw material for making plastic polymer. The company previously said profits took a £3 million hit when oil prices increased sharply, so the rapid fall in the oil price from June onwards should provide a boost to profits. Alongside these deals, RPC said revenue in the first half increased 12% to £588.9 million and pretax profits were up 16% to £34.9 million. The total dividend payout this year is expected to be 17.2p, a 10% year-on-year increase, rising to 18.3p next year. This will represent the 22nd consecutive year that the company has increased its payout, and the prospective yield is 3.1%. The group trades on a forward earnings multiple of 12, falling to 11.3, but that doesn’t even fully include the recent acquisition. Questor thinks that looks cheap given the rapid growth of profits at the company. Questor advised buying the shares last year (407.7p, June 6) and since then investors have enjoyed gains of 42%. The recent acquisitions look well priced and we are comfortable retaining our initial advice. RPC at 580p+33p. Questor Says “Buy”.

Sell Marston’s as profits slump: Pub group Marston’s has falling profits, rising debts and operates in a pub sector that is increasingly competitive as real incomes get squeezed, not that you would guess any of that from ‘s annual results. The FTSE 250-listed leisure group has a heroically glass-half-full approach to reporting its results. The actual results were a loss before tax of £59.2 million, down sharply from a pretax profit of £67.5 million last year. It also made less cash, with net cash from operating activities falling to £127.8 million from £169.4 million last year. And less cash meant net debt increased to £1.2 billion on 4 October from £1 billion a year ago. Marston’s management made a few adjustments to its figures in order to report results that it feels is a better reflection of the ongoing business. Management reported underlying group revenue up 1% to £787.6 million and underlying pretax profits down 3% to £83 million. Questor thinks that if your main profit driver is your pub estate and the ongoing strategy involves selling off pubs, then the more accurate reflection of trading is the number that includes all the costs of selling pubs. The brewing operations benefited from sales of premium ale and new products to increase its profits but it is still only a small part of the business, generating 11% of group profits, and these profits only just cover head office costs. The group’s main driver of profitability from the pub estate are what it calls “destination” and “premium” sites that operate under the Pitcher & Piano brand. Shares in Marston’s are up 4.5% from when we looked at them last (Sell, 139.6p, October 9). They don’t look overly expensive trading on 11 times forecast earnings, and a forecast dividend yield of 4.9%. But with profits falling and debt rising, we remain a “sell”. Marston’s at 146.2p+2p. Questor Says “Sell”.

After Opec: quantitative greasing: The nature of the collapse presages more volatility to come in crude – by not cutting production, Opec abandoned its cartel power and left it to the oil market to set prices. Winners might not be obvious, either. The price of iron ore will also be leaving 2014 far below where it entered. Then again, Rio Tinto’s mining trucks run on similar stuff to FedEx trucks and airliners. And fuel costs have room to fall further. Citi estimates that petrodollar assets earned on oil exports rose by roughly $500 billion each year during the past half-decade, with crude near $100 a barrel. This pile has been invested to a great extent in safe assets such as Treasuries and bank deposits (the resting places, for example, of half of Saudi Arabia’s $750 billion oil surplus). Demand for bonds may profoundly alter too if fewer petrodollars are sloshing around to chase them. That volatility will not just be limited to the oil market.

Balfour Beatty set to receive £1 billion offer for investment arm: Balfour Beatty is expected to receive a £1 billion offer for its investment arm this week in a development that could lead to an eventual break-up of the construction company.

Falling Serco share price unsettles investors: Unsettled investors are warning Serco’s new Chief Executive Rupert Soames that he will struggle to raise cash for a planned £550 million rescue rights issue after the company’s plummeting share price sparked concerns over the group’s financial health

UK house prices rose as expected in November In November, the seasonally adjusted house prices climbed 0.30% in the UK, on a monthly basis, meeting market expectations. House prices had recorded a rise of 0.50% in the previous month.

At 0430GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 2.85% or $2.00 lower at $68.15 per barrel, following poor manufacturing PMI data from China for November. On Friday, the contract declined 3.35% or $2.43, to settle at $70.15 per barrel, as the OPEC’s decision to keep its production levels intact raised concerns that the prevailing glut in the oil market would continue.

Standard Chartered credit rating downgraded for first time in 20 years: Standard Chartered has had its credit rating downgraded for the first time in 20 years, with Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, saying that the bank, which makes about 90% of its income and profits in emerging markets, was going through a tough period.

Vp upgraded after strong start: U.K.-based rental company Vp reported revenue and profits accelerating in the first half of its financial year last week and shares could rise further after broker WH Ireland upgraded full year forecasts by 7%. Vp is well diversified across construction, oil and gas and equipment hire. Revenues rose by 11%, and pretax profits were up 27% to £16.2 million for the six months ending September. Jeremy Pilkington, Chairman, said it was an “outstanding” set of results and a “positive start to the year”. The best performance came in the tool hire business, where profits jumped 78% to £4.8 million. Profits at the U.K. Forks business, which hires out cherry pickers, rose 54% to £2.3 million. The company’s biggest division by revenue, Groundforce had a strong start with revenue rising 8% to £22.6 million and operating profits rising 7% at £5 million. The company is benefiting from increasing work on Britain’s railway, road and utility infrastructure. Vp’s diverse portfolio means it should benefit from even a tentative recovery in public construction. It is expected to achieve pretax profits of £23 million, on revenue of £201 million, giving earnings per share of 14.3p for the full year. The shares trading on 14 times earnings price in much of the good news. Vp at 617p. Questor Says “Hold”.

Qatar close to walking away from Canary Wharf takeover bid: The joint bid by Qatar and Brookfield to win control of Canary Wharf is close to collapse, The Independent understands.

Oil prices slumped to its lowest level in four years last week, after OPEC decided to maintain its production target at 30 million barrels a day at a summit in Vienna, ignoring calls from some members who favoured a cut. Brent crude oil prices declined 12.7% to $70.15/barrel.

Sainsbury’s confirmed our fears that it is set for a period of sustained earnings-per-share decline, as management transfers value from shareholders to customers to protect its medium to long-term prospects Shore Capital was disappointed by the results of J Sainsbury's strategic review, unveiled earlier this month.

SLOWEST HOUSE PRICE GROWTH FOR A YEAR House prices rose 8.5pc in the year to November, according to the latest data from Nationwide. This is the smallest annual gain since December last year.