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Cairn strikes oil off Senegal: Shares in oil explorer Cairn Energy jumped by almost 3% after it struck oil off the coast of Senegal, convincing Questor to keep faith with the stock. The FTSE 250-listed oil explorer said it has discovered a “very substantial oil- bearing interval” at its FAN-1 well. Broker Liberum thinks the well may contain about 300 million barrels of oil, which could be worth up to 60p per share to the company. Cairn focuses on oil and gas exploration in frontier regions and has eschewed a big role in the running of wells once the oil is flowing. The business model for Cairn is that once oil discoveries are made and developed, they are sold off and the cash returned to shareholders. Cairn was hit with a tax dispute from the Indian government in January, stemming from the firm’s largest-ever oil discoveries onshore in the country. In a deal structured to minimise the tax bill, the company sold a majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources in 2010, but retained a 10% holding valued at around $1 billion (£622 million), or 100p to shareholders. Cairn returned $3.5 billion to shareholders last year, but has put its $300 million share buy-back programme on hold. Frontier drilling is high risk. The odds of discovery are as low as about one in eight, said JP Morgan Cazenove. The costs of drilling offshore are also high, with each well costing up to $80 million, compared with about $20 million for onshore, according to Cairn. Questor said this was a high-risk option and expected a bumpy ride with the shares. However, it wouldn’t make sense to realise a loss in advance of the Senegal drilling results. For that reason the shares remain a buy. Cairn Energy at 183½p+3.6p Questor Says ‘Buy’.

Iran backs down on Opec sending Brent oil price tumbling: Brent oil threatened to crash through the critical $90 per barrel level on Wednesday after Iran’s oil Minister signalled there would be no emergency cut in production from the Middle East’s largest producers before the end of November

Pay frozen and perks cut by pensions specialist: Just Retirement has scrapped a pay review, slashed pension contributions and cut benefit allowances for senior Directors and Managers in the wake of George Osborne’s surprise overhaul of the annuities market.

UK house price balance dropped in September House price balance eased to 30.0 in the UK, in September, compared to market expectations of a drop to a level of 36.0. In the prior month, house price balance had registered a revised reading of 39.0. UK Halifax house price index rose more than expected in September On a monthly basis, the Halifax house price index climbed 0.6% in the UK, in September, more than market expectations for a rise of 0.2%. In the prior month, the Halifax house price index had registered a revised unchanged reading.

There was more data out this morning showing the UK house market is slowing, with prices up 9.6 per cent in the year to September, down from 9.7 per cent in the year to August and 10.2 per cent in the year to July, according to the Halifax

Rise in luxury London homes could trigger construction crunch: A record number of luxury homes worth £60 billion are being built in London, creating a construction crunch that could lead to many of them being delayed or even ditched, a report shows. British economy grew by 0.7% in third quarter, says NIESR: Britain’s economic recovery lost steam in the third quarter with growth of 0.7%, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Hold Cranswick for the long term: Cranswick, Britain’s largest pork processor said that it was on target to increase profits for the full year despite sales remaining largely flat across the first six months of the year when compared to the same period last year. Pig prices have fallen from a record high of 173p per kilogram in December last year, to about 155p. Mark Bottomley, Finance Director at Cranswick, said that while lower pig prices are feeding through into profits there will be a time lag. So, while pig prices are falling the profit margin at 5.4% across the first half is similar to the end of last year. Analysts from broker Investec estimate first half pretax profits of around £25.5 million and market consensus is for full year pretax profits to increase by about 3% to £56.3 million. Cranswick has also been taking greater control of its cost base and supply chain by expanding its pig breeding and growing facilities. The company now supplies more than 20% of its weekly meat demand from its own pig farms after buying East Anglian Pigs in April of last year. The acquisition of the pig farming business and investment into new production facilities saw debt levels increase at Cranswick and the company finished with net debt of £17 million last year. However, with strong cash generation this is falling sharply and Ms Mallard expects the company to finish with net cash of £1 million in about six months’ time. We still think this company is a core holding as it delivers a steady profit performance and decent dividend growth but, for now, it remains a hold. Cranswick at £12.89-36p Questor Says “Hold”.

Japan Tobacco set to close last U.K. plant: The last tobacco manufacturing plant in the U.K. is to close after Japan Tobacco International, makers of Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges, announced its intention to end production at its County Antrim facility in Northern Ireland.

Berkeley brings back finance Chief after boardroom exit: Berkeley’s former financial controller is returning to the house builder as its new finance Director, following the departure of the previous incumbent in a boardroom disagreement.

.. Crude Oil Plummets To End Below USD89 A Barrel Alliance News Crude Oil Plummets To End Below USD89 A Barrel Tue, 7th Oct 2014 20:06 WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - US crude oil plunged to end sharply lower on Tuesday, ahead of the official weekly oil inventory reports with demand growth concerns after the International Monetary Fund slashed its global growth forecast for the year. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its growth projections for the world economy, with recovery remaining weak and uneven amid rising financial and geopolitical risks. The American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release its oil status report for the week ended October 3, while the US Energy Information Administration will release its weekly oil inventory data on Wednesday. Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for November delivery, the most actively traded contract, plunged USD1.49 or 1.6% to close at USD88.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday. Crude prices for November delivery scaled a high of USD90.57 a barrel intraday and a low of USD88.79

BskyB shareholders have given the green light to the proposed takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, the Daily Telegraph reported. The broadcaster shareholders have "overwhelmingly" expressed themselves in favour of the company's plan to buy Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, the broadsheet added.

London house prices could fall next year after booming 2014: The boom in London house prices will not only end next year, but could even fall, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Battersea to put Gehry and Foster flats on sale: Hundreds of homes designed by renowned architects Norman Foster and Frank Gehry will go on sale at Battersea Power Station this month, the Owners revealed, with prices starting at £495,000.

Gas explorer BG Group has received a windfall of $350m from the Egypt as part of a government drive to pay outstanding debts to the energy industry. BG said the payment resulted from Cairo raising funds specifically to help repay debts to the oil and gas sector. "While the group has been impacted by the reduction of liquefied natural gas exports from Egypt, the company continues to investigate options for increasing the supply of gas and is working with the government on resolving the outstanding receivable balance," BG said in a statement.

Bank of England set to push banks to increase buffers again despite fears it will hit lending: Banks are braced for another hike in capital requirements – or another squeeze on lending – as the Bank of Eng­land prepares to hike the leverage ratio, under proposals expected to be unveiled this month.

Shell shelves Russian plan to search for shale gas: Western sanctions against Russia have hit Shell, forcing the Anglo-Dutch oil major to suspend its shale gas joint venture with Gazprom Neft.

Property prices in London drop by 8%: Almost a quarter of all properties on the market in the most exclusive parts of London had to be reduced in price in August, in the latest sign that the capital’s housing boom is coming to an end.

UK’s largest building society, Nationwide, reported that house prices in the UK unexpectedly fell in September, its first decline in 17 months which indicated signs that the property market in the UK was decelerating.

Oil prices ended the week lower after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling price of crude oil for November. Additionally, concerns of rising supply continued after the head of the natural resources committee in Iraq’s Kurdistan area revealed that the region would significantly increase its oil production to 1 million barrels per day by the end of next year from around 320,000 barrels of oil produced currently. Brent crude oil prices declined 4.8% to $92.31/barrel.

One of Britain’s most successful restaurant dynasties, the Kaye family, is cooking up a bold plan to reunite three of the country’s best known Italian restaurant chains as part of a £500m deal. The Kayes are believed to have held talks with private equity firms Advent and TPG to bid for Aim-listed Prezzo as well as Ask and Zizzi, all of which were founded by family members. If the two deals were to come off, it would create a casual dining chain with almost 500 restaurants nationwide. Philip Kaye, the patriach of the family, owns a 44pc stake in Prezzo, which nephew Jonathan runs. Philip also founded Zizzi and ASK - the latter is named after his sons, Adam and Sam Kaye, who sit on Prezzo’s board