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EnQuest latest North Sea casualty of oil price fall: Energy explorer EnQuest, one of the biggest independent operators in the North Sea, has become the latest victim of the slump in the oil price after revealing its underlying profits had slid by a third during the first half of the year.

Mortgage lending ‘is at risk from banking tax’: The Boss of Britain’s biggest building society has warned that mortgage lending could be put at risk by a new banking tax that will cost it £300 million over the next five years

Shortage of skilled tradesmen ‘holding back U.K. house building’ as two thirds of construction firms turn down new work: Two-thirds of British builders have been forced to turn down work because of a shortage of bricklayers, roofers and other tradesman, according to a report.

Sky-high London rents prompt calls for new controls on landlords: London has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to rent a home, prompting politicians to call for New York-style controls on landlords

Wood Group still a sell as profits fall: Oil services company Wood Group has moved quickly to protect its profits from the drastic slump in oil prices by cutting about 5,000 staff – slightly more than 10% of its workforce. Management are confident they can hit targets for the full year and maintain dividend payments but Questor is not so sure and retains a sell rating. The Aberdeen-based company, which provides the plumbing that keeps the oil and gas industry flowing, said that pretax profits had fallen more than 30% to $160.6 million (£102.6 million) in the six months to the end of June, from $233.3 million a year earlier. Revenue in the first-half was down $567 million to $2.66 billion compared with the same period last year. Bob Keiller, Chief Executive, said that conditions in the oil and gas market remain “very challenging”. Mr Keiller said that during the first half Wood Group had cut about $40 million from its costs and was on target to make savings of $80 million by the year end. The FTSE 250-listed company is split into three divisions. Its engineering division, which provides services for deepwater platforms, subsea pipelines and production support and enhancement for mature oilfields, contributes about 37% of group profits. Market consensus is for full-year profits of $352 million to the end of December, from $475 million last year. Questor is concerned that with the oil price still falling, that target may come under pressure. We warned investors to sell the shares at 660p in February as the oil price tumbled and reiterated that advice at 674p in June. Wood Group at 581.5p+2p. Questor says “Sell”.

U.S. government lowers oil price forecast on Iran nuclear deal: American oil prices are expected to average less than $50 per barrel throughout 2015 after the U.S. government’s official watchdog lowered its forecast for the next two years

Admiral: rainy day savings: Admiral, the U.K. auto insurer, like most, provides for heavy weather. It surprised the market on Wednesday with some sunshine. It clawed back loss reserves from previous years, beating expectations for profits. Customer numbers were beaten, too. The shares rallied 5%. In its favour, Admiral has a low cost base. This is measured by comparing insurance claim losses and expenses to the premiums received. This “combined ratio” has fallen to a very low 73% at Admiral, far below UBS’s estimate for the U.K. industry of 105%. A reading above 100 denotes underwriting losses. While the insurer flattered this ratio with reserve releases, it still shows the company is making strong profits in an intensely competitive market. To stay ahead, Admiral also earns revenue by selling services — such as legal cover — alongside insurance. Such extras equate to 39% of the profit from the U.K. auto insurance division. Rivals, such as esure, have similar business models, so the extras could diminish in importance.

Cheap countryside homes to be built for first-time buyers: Young first-time buyers will have the chance to buy cheap homes in the villages where they live or work under plans to allow family homes to be built on farmland and Greenfield sites.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.59% or $0.28 lower at $46.88 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 3.38% or $1.65, to settle at $47.16 per barrel, after the EIA reported that the US crude oil stockpiles advanced by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended 14 August

Mayfair sees fastest rent price growth: Mayfair is leading the way in prime central London rental price growth, a lettings agent said

Cairn Energy gets go ahead for African prospect: Cairn Energy, the Edinburgh oil and gas explorer, expects to start drilling its major prospect off Senegal later this year after getting the green light from government officials to start evaluation work.

Persimmon hikes profits as housing market heats up: Persimmon has hiked first-half profits by nearly one-third to £273 million as it became the latest housebuilder to underline the buoyant conditions in the U.K. housing market.

Homes up £12,000 in a year as lack of property for sale pushes up prices - and agent forecasts an 18% rise by 2019: House prices rose by £1,000 a month over the past year with the East of England recording the biggest gains, according to new official figures

1,000 sq miles of England to be opened up for fracking: Large areas of Yorkshire, the north-west and the east Midlands are to be opened up to fracking after the government announced it will offer a fresh round of licences for oil and gas exploration.

Laconic tonic: Wood Group Chief Executive Bob Keiller compares the fighting spirit of staff to that of the 300 Spartans who held back Persian hordes at Thermopylae in 480BC. This was not a great motivational analogy — the Spartans all died. But it aptly dramatises the challenges facing the oilfield services group. First-half pretax profits from continuing operations plunged 31% to £160.6 million in response to an oil price slump. Mr Keiller has done better, cutting Wood’s headcount by 13% and reducing wage rates for remaining hard-hatted hoplites. It is a reminder, as a mini-reporting season for oil services groups commences, that, seen reductively, these are just contract labour suppliers. They are exposed to big cuts in revenues — Wood’s fell 19.3% — when low prices force oil majors to scale back projects. But they can soften the impact by flexing costs. Underlying earnings were only 7.4% lighter. Mr Keiller, who it is hard to imagine in leather shorts, is sticking to a pledge for double digit dividend increases, even though explorer Cairn is warning of a new oil environment where prices stay “lower for longer”. Cash generation is healthy, so Wood’s promise-keeping is hardly on a par with that of the Spartans. When told Persian arrows would blot out the sun, they replied laconically: “Then we will fight in the shade.”

Green fury after Shell is given go-ahead for Arctic drilling: Shell has been granted final permission by the U.S. regulatory authorities to begin exploratory drilling for oil and gas beneath the Arctic seabed. The decision by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to allow the multinational to drill off the Alaskan coast prompted environmentalists to accuse President Barack Obama of “double-speak” over his calls to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.

Millionaires’ row playing its part in house price rise: Average house prices rose £4,300 in Scotland in June as sales of million-pound properties increased after a slump that followed the introduction of a new tax.

Wood cuts 5,000 jobs as oil prices bite: Wood Group has announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs in the latest sign of the damage that lower oil prices are inflicting on the industry

UK house price index rose in June On an annual basis, the house price index advanced 5.70% in the UK, in June. The house price index had advanced by a revised 5.60% in the prior month.

UK input producer price index dropped less than expected in July The non-seasonally adjusted input producer price index in the UK slid 0.90% on a MoM basis in July, less than market expectations for a drop of 1.90%. Input producer price index had fallen by a revised 1.80% in the previous month. UK retail price index ex-mort int. payments advanced more than expected in July On a YoY basis, the retail price index ex-mort int. payments in the UK registered a rise of 1.10% in July, higher than market expectations for an advance of 1.00%. In the previous month, the retail price index ex-mort int. payments had registered a similar rise.