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U.S. oil futures drop to lowest since 2009: U.S. oil futures slipped to their lowest price since the financial crisis as a refinery glitch threatened to add to a persistent glut of crude.

Voracious’ demand boosts Derwent London: Tech Belt landlord Derwent London has seen surging growth in both rents and the value of its property portfolio, thanks to “strong” demand from corporate occupiers and “voracious” demand from investors

Fast-track fracking taps well of northern anger: Government attempts to fast-track Britain’s shale gas revolution face formidable opposition among the rolling hills of North Yorkshire, the next battleground in the fight over “fracking

Householders are safer than ever from bailiffs’ clutches: Householders are safer from the bailiffs than ever, according to latest data

Exploration augurs well for Ophir Oil: Ophir Oil is pushing into early stage exploration despite scaling back its drilling programme in response to the collapse in crude prices.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading marginally higher at $49.22 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.89% or $0.44, to settle at $49.22 per barrel, as sustained glut in global oil supply and a strengthened greenback weighed on the crude prices

Experts warn: Oil supply glut is growing: The global oversupply of crude which has led to a slump in oil prices will continue until late next year an authority on the industry has predicted

Spark Energy launches job drive: Spark Energy has unveiled plans to ramp up staff numbers and made senior hires from “big six” rivals ScottishPower and SSE as it nears a significant milestone in its development

House price rises accelerate as demand spikes amid shortage of homes for sale: House prices rose faster in July as demand from buyers picked up, but the number of homes for sale fell to a record low, according to the latest monthly report from surveyors.

U.K. E&Ps: crude combinations: The international oil companies with the strongest balance sheets, such as ExxonMobil and Chevron, might seem likely buyers. Each has ratios of net debt to capital employed of about 15 per cent, less than half that of most in the sector. Many of the financially healthy companies also have higher cost portfolios, thinks Goldman Sachs. One good way to improve their asset quality: buy smaller, indebted companies with lower break-even cost oil and gas assets. Instead, smaller players should start thinking about consolidating among themselves — and if they do, the international oil companies might just follow. In the last oil rout, in the late 1990s, a number of midsized explorers came together to cope with low oil prices. British Borneo and Hardy Oil and Gas merged in 1998. Lasmo and Monument Oil a year on. Both were later swallowed up by Italy’s Eni. A number of combinations are possible among U.K.-listed explorers. Consider Premier Oil and EnQuest, both of which have substantial portions of their assets in the high-cost North Sea. The overlaps suggest upwards of £85 million in potential cost savings, from both overhead and exploration cuts, over the next two years, thinks Citi. Put Africa-focused Ophir together with Soco International’s Vietnam oil production and the savings could amount to almost a fifth of operating cash flow.

Canadian oil sands crude halves in price: Oil from Canada’s tar sands has skidded towards $20 a barrel, a level not seen for international crude prices in 12 years, tightening the screws on energy companies and the economy of the world’s fourth biggest supplier.

Ministers freed to intervene in fast-track fracking drive: The fracking industry has had a shot in the arm as the government puts local councils on notice that Ministers will step in to override any “slow and confused” decisions on shale drilling applications

Arctic drilling plans risky for Shell’s reputation and profits, says former BP Chief Lord Browne: The former head of BP has said drilling for oil in the Arctic could damage Shell’s reputation and risk its profits, as it was revealed the company could get the necessary permits to restart drilling as early as this week.

Zoopla Chief Executive Alex Chesterman in line for £19 million bonus: The Founder of the Zoopla property website could land shares worth more than £19 million under a new bonus scheme designed to keep him committed to the business. Alex Chesterman, who launched Zoopla seven years ago, is also selling a quarter of his 4 per cent stake, cashing in shares worth £11 million.

Estate agents are returning to the fold, claims Zoopla: Zoopla has made headway in its fight against OnTheMarket, winning back some of the estate agents that deserted for its new rival this year.

Oil supply outstrips rising demand: A glut in the world’s oil supply will last until at least the end of next year, the International Energy Agency warned, despite the fastest rise in demand in five years

UK house price balance climbed in July In the UK, house price balance climbed to 44.00 in July, higher than market expectations of an advance to a level of 42.00. In the prior month, house price balance had registered a level of 40.00

Further interim dividend of 90 pence per share payable in September 2015 to complete first milestone payment of 434 pence per share

UK average earnings including bonus advanced less than expected in the April-June 2015 period In the April-June 2015 period, the average earnings including bonus advanced 2.40% in the UK on an annual basis, lower than market expectations for a rise of 2.80%. In the March-May 2015 period, the average earnings including bonus had risen 3.20%.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.12% or $0.06 higher at $49.72 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 0.98% or $0.48, to settle at $49.66 per barrel, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) sounded upbeat about demand for oil in the market and stated that it was increasing at the quickest pace in five years. Meanwhile, the EIA data revealed that US crude oil stockpiles in the US declined by about 1.7 million barrels to reach 453.6 million barrels previous week