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High house prices take toll in Europe: Britons are not alone in their struggle to step on to the property ladder, with the majority of Europeans believing that the housing crisis is growing more acute and that society would benefit if house prices fell.

Four jump aboard Rio Tinto revival: The company that has taken over the mine that gave birth to Rio Tinto is beefing up its board as it prepares to sell its first copper. EMED Mining, the AIM-quoted miner that has resurrected the historic Rio Tinto site in Andalucia, Spain, will appoint four non-Executive Directors, two of them independent.

Hundreds of oil jobs at risk after rig decision: A leading British maker of oilrigs is set to make almost half its workers redundant, underlining the challenges facing the industry in the North Sea.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.65% or $0.32 lower at $49.29 per barrel. On Friday, the contract declined 2.11% or $1.07, to settle at $49.61 per barrel, after Baker Hughes reported that active oil rigs in the US dropped by 13, the first fall in six weeks, to settle at 662 in the week ended 04 September.

Bellway planning to build on success in Scotland: Housebuilder Bellway aims to acquire more than 100 acres of land in Scotland during the coming 12 months following a strong performance north of the Border.

Demand for Glasgow office space at highest in 10 years: The level of outstanding demand for office space in Glasgow city centre from would-be occupiers is at its highest in 10 years, a survey has revealed. Real estate consultancy Knight Frank, publishing its twice-yearly Regional Office Market Portal report, also declared that the take-up of Edinburgh office space could approach levels last seen 12 years ago if current trends were to continue

Stamp duty change hits top London house prices: House prices in the most expensive boroughs of London rose at the most sluggish annual pace in five years last month as higher stamp duty rates deterred would-be buyers nearly nine months after they were introduced

Brent oil prices dropped last week, after swinging between gains and losses, after the EIA disclosed that US crude stockpiles increased by 4.7 million barrels to reach 455.4 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, the OPEC remained concerned about current drop in oil prices amid a glut in production and stated that it was ready to hold talks with other producers. Brent crude oil prices fell 0.9% to $49.61/barrel.

ShareCast News) - Lloyds Banking Group has held onto its lead as the UK's biggest mortgage lender, but lost some market share to Santander, which hopped above Nationwide to take the second spot in the gross lending list. Data on the largest mortgage lenders in calendar 2014 compiled by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and published on Friday showed Lloyds lent £40.3bn, up from £35.5bn the year before, but its market share slipped very slightly to 19.8% from 20%. Santander's share jumped to an estimated 13.5% from 10.3% as it upped its mortgage loan levels to £27.5bn from £18.3bn. Nationwide was left with a 13.2% market share, down from 15.1% as it lent almost exactly the same amount year on year, with more market share also notably lost to Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. Barclays remained the fourth largest lender but upped its market share to 10% from 9.5%, with home loan lending upped to £20.3bn from £16.9bn. Royal Bank of Scotland upped its total mortgage lending to £19.7bn from £14.3bn, lifting its share of the market to 9.7% from 8%. The CML noted that, boosted by government home-buyer initiatives and ultra low interest rates, aggregate gross lending excluding to housing associations last year showed strong growth, rising by 14% to £203bn. "We are still a long way from the levels seen at the peak in 2007, when aggregate lending totalled £357bn, according to the revised Bank of England data." Excluding the government support, lending levels and competition in the market had looking more "normal" than we saw throughout the credit crunch, the trade body added. Market concentration also appeared to have normalised in the past two or three years, having during the financial crisis seen the top six lenders grab 86% of new business in 2009. But the CML noted that although gross lending in 2014 was 14% higher, the overall effect on balances outstanding was negligible, with the total mortgages assets of the largest 20 firms increasing from £1.16trn to £1.17trn, or by around 1%. "Our forecasts show a stable path for gross lending, which is expected to rise modestly to £209bn this year before accelerating a little to £230bn next year. A number of lenders' interim results so far suggest that next year we are likely to be reporting a similar picture of lender growth and competition when we publish a complete list of the largest lenders for 2015."

U.K. export values fall as oil slump bites: The value of U.K. exports has fallen by £13.4 billion – or 4.5% – in the past three years, as a strong pound, a collapse in commodity prices and sluggish consumer confidence hit British companies selling products and services abroad.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.37% or $0.19 lower at $50.49 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.36% or $0.18, to settle at $50.68 per barrel, following the ECB’s decision to expand its QE program.

Oil tankers swing round the Cape to create profit: As the price of crude was sent lower again, research from Bloomberg showed that tankers have been making longer voyages to take advantage of market conditions. At least five have gone as far as avoiding the short-cut to Europe via Egypt, a diversion that adds 4,000 miles to the journey.

UK construction PMI climbed in August Construction PMI registered a rise to 57.30 in August, in the UK, compared to a level of 57.10 in the previous month. Market anticipation was for the construction PMI to rise to 57.50.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.36% or $0.18 lower at $50.32 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 1.9% or $0.94, to settle at $50.50 per barrel, amid technical trading. Meanwhile, the EIA reported that US crude stockpiles increased by 4.7 million barrels in the week ended 28 August.

(ShareCast News) - The European Commission has given unconditional merger clearance to Royal Dutch Shell for its £47bn recommended cash and share offer for BG Group. The EU Commission concluded that the takeover would not lead to Shell benefiting from market power in a number of markets, namely oil and gas exploration, the liquefaction of gas and the wholesale supply of liquefied natural gas. Moreover, it said Shell would be unable to shut out its competitors from access to its liquefaction facilities that supply LNG into the European Economic Area or from gas transportation and processing infrastructure in the North Sea. It said in a statement: "The Commission found that after the transaction the merged entity's market share would remain limited in the exploration for oil and gas reserves, the liquefaction of LNG and the wholesale supply of LNG. Moreover, a number of strong competitors would remain active in these markets after the merger. The Commission concluded that the takeover would not allow Shell to influence prices and that these markets would remain competitive after the transaction." Shell said the approval is one of the five regulatory clearances that are pre-conditions to the combination and this is the second pre-condition to be satisfied, following the clearance obtained from the Brazilian competition authority, CADE, in July. Other pre-conditional approvals are required from Australia and China and regulatory filings have been submitted for each of these approvals. The proposed transaction will also require support from both BG Group and Shell shareholders. Shell's chief executive officer Ben van Beurden said: "Receiving clearance from the European Commission underlines the good progress we are making on the deal. The transaction is on track for completion in early 2016. The recommended combination with BG is a springboard to change Shell into a simpler and more profitable company, making Shell more resilient in a world where oil prices could remain low for some time."

Oil bear bets on return to $25 a barrel Pierre Andurand, the hedge fund manager who booked 51 per cent returns last year by betting against oil, told the FT that he sees prices heading lower again. "There are no quick fixes," he said, despite the snap rally in crude prices in recent days. (FT).

OIL JUMPS U.S. crude oil prices have risen more than $10 a barrel in three days, erasing the month's declines. U.S. crude jumped $3.98, or 8.8 percent, to settle at $49.20 a barrel, taking three-day gains to 27.5 percent, the most over three days since August 1990. In dollar terms, it was the biggest three-day gain since February 2011. Brent October crude climbed 8.2 percent to settle at $54.15 a barrel

(ShareCast News) - House price growth in Britain cooled in August, according to the results of one of the most widely followed surveys, but the respite might only be temporary. The price of a home increased at a 0.3% month-on-month pace in August, bringing the year-on-year pace of inflation down to a 3.2% clip versus the 3.5% seen in July, according to the latest monthly tally from mortgage lender Nationwide. Economists had been expecting a rise of 0.4% month-on-month and 3.1% year-on-year. The average price of a home in the UK slipped to a non-seasonally adjusted value of 195,279 pounds in August, down from 195,621 pounds in July. The drop in the year-on-year rate of change in home prices might be proof that house price inflation was stabilising close to the historical 4% rate of growth in earings, Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said. However, surveyors reported the lowest ever number of properties on their books since the late 1970s even as new buyer inquiries picked up. So, if construction activity did not accelerate the above trend might not be sustained, Gardner added.

Oil price fall cuts both ways for Iona Energy in North Sea: North Sea-focused Iona Energy has slashed the valuation of a field again but expects to make big cost savings developing another one reflecting how the plunge in the crude price is impacting on firms in the area.

Buy-to-let home bubble set to burst: Buy-to-let has been one of the most successful investments of all over the past 20 years but the good times may soon be over.