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Petrol marked down and 200 North Sea jobs on line amid oil price drop: The economic winners and losers from plunging oil prices were highlighted on Wednesday when supermarkets slashed the cost of petrol but a North Sea operator cut jobs and warned it would shut down production

$15 billion oil takeover sparks jobs alarm: Thousands more job cuts were forecast in the oil industry after a big U.S. oilfield services group launched a $14.8 billion bid for an equipment maker

UK BBA mortgage approvals advanced in July Compared to a revised reading of 44.80 K in the previous month BBA mortgage approvals registered a rise to 46.03 K in July, in the UK. Market anticipation was for BBA mortgage approvals to rise to 46.00 K.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 2.34% or $1.01 higher at $44.15 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.16% or $0.07, to settle at $43.14 per barrel, after EIA reported that inventories of gasoline and other distillates advanced and brought total US supply of crude oil and other products to 1.283 billion barrels. Meanwhile, the US crude oil stockpiles dropped 5.5 million barrels in the week ended 21 August

Petrofac into red after Shetland project loss: Oilfield contractor Petrofac has fallen to a heavy half-year loss after counting the cost of its delayed gas plant on Shetland

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.19% or $0.08 lower at $43.13 per barrel, ahead of the Energy Information Administration weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract climbed 1.22% or $0.52, to settle at $43.21 per barrel, after China’s central bank cut its benchmark rates.

Oil As prices continue to languish, investors will be keeping an eye on crude stockpile and production data due from the US Energy Information Administration. Economists estimate that inventories of US crude increased by 2m barrels in the week to August 21.

BlackRock buys PwC offices in Uxbridge from Aviva for £59 million: Fund Manager BlackRock said that it has bought an office building in west London for £55.9 million from Aviva Investors.

Lord Stuart Rose backs student property firm: Former Marks & Spencer Chairman Lord Stuart Rose has emerged as a surprise backer of Select Property Group, a developer and Manager of student housing across the U.K.

Xcite Energy says it’s making progress off Shetland as crude price hits fresh low: Xcite Energy Has said it is making progress with plans to develop a heavy oil field East of Shetland amid challenging conditions as the crude price hit fresh lows

Bunzl: Bunzl is buying anything that moves. Its agreement to snap up Meier Verpackungen, which distributes food packaging, heralded its entry into Austria, but the firm also threw in for good measure deals to take over two hospitality businesses in Australia, and Chicago-based workwear supplier Steiner. Chief Executive Michael Roney said the firm still had “a promising pipeline of opportunities and ongoing discussions taking place”, and it’s not surprising given that deal-making helps Bunzl achieve the scale that makes it successful in so many markets from cleaning supplies to plastic cups. Evidence of its success came in the form of a 5% rise in half-year revenues to £3.1 billion. Pretax profits rose 6% to £187 million, not including acquisition costs and the pesky exchange rates that have hammered numerous FTSE 100 firms with overseas operations. Questor has long championed Bunzl’s bulk, which makes the group boring but dependable. Shares were changing hands at 24 times future earnings, a ratio that was pushed up by the broad market rout. The company continues to look solid and pricey over the long-term. Bunzl at £16.71 -114p. Questor says “Hold

Hold Amlin while it navigates the low rate environment: Batten down the hatches, say Amlin’s Executives, for we can weather this storm. When all about it insurers are losing their independence, Amlin has said its plans to broaden the company’s range of insurance coverage will be enough to keep it from the wave of takeovers sweeping the sector. Amlin is one of five specialist insurers left with a stock market listing – the others being Beazley, Hiscox, Lancashire and Novae. Meanwhile RSA, which makes some of its money from speciality marine cover, is in talks with Zurich about a possible takeover. Profits fell 3.5% to £143.3 million, although the firm said an accounting change for some reinsurance contracts meant the drop did not reflect underlying growth. The group also generated 2.2% from its investment strategies in the first six months of the year, contributing £95.9 million to its bottom line. On the whole it was a mixed set of figures. Chief Executive Charles Philipps is adamant that the firm is not touting itself for a takeover, despite the headwinds that have sent competitors into the arms of larger rivals and private equity firms. The company is still emerging from a period of bumpy profit growth and volatile cash flows, and must finally comply with the forthcoming Solvency II rules in January that have been distracting management teams throughout the insurance world for several years. Amlin at £4.78 -21.5p. Questor says “Hold.”

Russian rouble hits new low as oil prices plunge further: The Russian rouble plunged to a new low on Monday as falling oil prices piled further pressure on the struggling currency. Opec powerless to halt oil price slide, warns former group President: Opec is powerless to arrest the slide in oil prices unless producers outside the group such as Russia match any cuts in output, according to a former President of the group.

Funds bet on Shell deal as oil prices plunge: A global stock market sell-off and tumbling oil prices have increased fears that some of this year’s largest takeover deals are at risk of falling apart — including Royal Dutch Shell’s $70 billion bid for U.K. rival BG Group.

Househunters now spoilt for choice: The number of homes on the market has jumped by a quarter within a month, but sellers are still significantly outweighed by the number of buyers chasing properties.

British firms miss out on Iran’s $185 billion oil bonanza: British companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Amec and Weir risk being outmanoeuvred by European rivals in a race for projects worth up to $185 billion in Iran’s shattered oil industry.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 1.57% or $0.67 higher at $43.36 per barrel, ahead of the American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data, scheduled to be released later today. Yesterday, the contract plunged 6.09% or $2.77, to settle at $42.69 per barrel, trading below $45 per barrel for the first time in more than six years as fears of a slowdown in China continued to spark demand concerns from the nation.

Oil slides to six year low Oil slipped more than 6 per cent to levels last seen during the financial crisis and a broad index of commodity prices slid to the lowest point of this century as economic doubts gathered over China, the engine room of demand growth over the past decade. West Texas Intermediate, the US standard, slid to $38.24 a barrel while Brent declined to $42.47 a barrel. (FT)

Landlords sell rental homes after 17 years: Landlords are holding on to properties for longer than they were before the last recession, with the average time between a landlord buying and selling a property rising by five years since 2007, according to lettings giant Countrywide.

Pace of rent rises quickens as average U.K. rent reaches £937 a month: Average rents in the U.K. reached £937 per month in July as the pace of increases took a significant step up amid a shortage in the supply of housing