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Oil and gas sector woes take toll on Aberdeen economy as airport and hotels see declines: Aberdeen has suffered a sharp fall in airport passenger numbers and steep drops in hotel revenues and occupancy, as the oil and gas sector downturn bites.

Halma safely delivers profits and dividends: There is one word synonymous with electronics group Halma safety. Halma manufactures safety systems, such as fire protection in commercial buildings and security sensors. There were no surprises in results – adjusted pretax profits increased by 10% to £153.6 million in the 12 months to March 28. Revenue rose 7% to £726 million. The U.K. business reported the fastest growth rates across developed markets, with revenue up 8%; while in emerging markets, Africa and the Middle East raced ahead with revenue up 33%. The profit margin improved over the period, and the company generated good cash flow and cut debt, despite driving growth by acquiring companies. The market consensus is for pretax profits to increase 8% to £161 million, giving 33.2p in earnings per share. That leaves the shares looking awfully expensive, trading on 23 times forecast earnings, for a company delivering single-digit earnings growth. This is a good company with a fantastic track record of dividend safety but we wouldn’t buy at these prices. Halma at 760.5p+3.5p. Questor Says “Hold”.

Atkins on track for income: A confident outlook on infrastructure spending has sent shares in WS ATKINS to an all-time-high. In a world of record low interest rates, the steady dividend income that comes with holding Atkins’ shares is attractive. What’s more, the 36.5p payout, which offers a 2.4% yield, increased by an inflation-busting 8.1% in the past year. The final dividend of 25.5p will go ex-dividend on July 8, and is payable on August 21. The company was involved in the design stages for the High Speed 2 rail link between London and the West Midlands, which some have estimated will cost a total of £73 billion, and believes it is well placed to win further work. The push to electrify more of the U.K.’s rail network also prevents a “substantial opportunity”, Atkins said. The company’s pension liability is quite large at £317 million, but the deficit repayments have been frozen at £32 million for the next decade, which offers stability for investor returns. Questor is always wary of shares that are at record highs but Atkins is working on long-term infrastructure projects. Questor still likes this steady performer and we recommending holding on to the shares. WS Atkins at £15.08+16p. Questor Says “Hold

Airlines need to spend $5.6 trillion on new jets, says Boeing: Airlines will need to spend $5.6 trillion on 38,000 new passenger jets over the next 20 years as global demand for air travel soars, Boeing has said.

Petrol prices ‘to rise’ as demand grows more than expected: Petrol and diesel prices in the U.K. are poised to climb further after the world’s top energy watchdog significantly upgraded its forecast for oil demand.

Sir Richard Branson: IAG buying Aer Lingus is absolutely wrong: Sir Richard Branson, the Founder of Virgin Atlantic, has hit out at rival International Airlines Group, claiming it is “absolutely wrong” the British Airways Owner is buying Aer Lingus.

It’s the way he tells ‘em: Reporting Michael O’Leary’s outbursts is rather like reviewing an end-of-the-pier comedian’s stand-up show: the general rule is to abhor the political incorrectness, and refuse to acknowledge that occasionally he actually might have a point. Hence universal condemnation when the Ryanair Boss suggested “nobody wants to sit beside a really fat bastard”; “We think [passengers who forget their boarding passes] should pay €60 for being so stupid”; and “Screw Bono”. The CMA on Thursday upheld its ruling that Ryanair’s 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus would “deter” bids from other airlines, before admitting that IAG had since tabled a bid and Mr O’Leary’s low-cost carrier, as a shareholder in the target, can decide whether this bid for its Irish rival “succeeds or fails”. This, apparently, is “not good for competition”. Consequently, the CMA is insisting on a forced sale of Ryanair’s stake, to be handled by a “Divestiture Trustee” — on pain of court action and damages claims from investors

Ryanair vows to fight U.K. watchdog order to sell Aer Lingus stake: Ryanair has vowed to pursue U.K. competition authorities over their decision on Thursday to order a sale of the Irish company’s 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus, even if the low-cost airline accepts a bid for Ireland’s flag carrier

Shell to withdraw from shale gas exploration in eastern Ukraine: Royal Dutch Shell has notified Ukraine that it will pull out of a shale gas exploration project in the east of the country, where government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists.

Greene King presses ahead with £774 million Spirit Pub acquisition: Greene King is pressing ahead with its £774 million acquisition of Spirit Pub without waiting for a final decision from competition authorities, who have signalled the deal is likely to be approved.

WS Atkins signals confidence by proposing 8.1% dividend rise: WS Atkins, the U.K. engineering consultancy, on Thursday signalled confidence in its prospects by proposing to raise its dividend by 8.1%.

Prime central London lifts Cadogan’s fortunes: Soaring London property prices helped the Earl of Cadogan’s family, which owns large swathes of Chelsea and Knightsbridge, to add £36 million to its fortune after the value of its portfolio topped £5 billion.

Stamp duty burden on homebuyers keeps rising as lifetime average hits £10,000: Homebuyers are on average spending almost £10,000 on stamp duty during their lifetime, with those in London paying almost £40,000.

Suppliers keep lid on price of oil: The oil price fell after an industry body raised its predictions for worldwide demand but said that it would still be outpaced by supply

US natural gas inventories climbed in the last week Natural gas inventories rose 111.00 billion cubic feet, in the week ended 05 June 2015, in the US. Natural gas inventories had climbed 132.00 billion cubic feet in the prior week.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.28% or $0.18 lower at $64.93 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract declined 0.90% or $0.59, to settle at $65.11 per barrel, pulling back from its recent rally amid a strong US Dollar. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency, in its monthly report boosted its demand forecast to average 94 million per day this year, but stated that supply growth would persist.

ollowing research that shows mortgage rates are at record lows thanks to intense competition, Moneyfacts has compared the mortgage offerings of building societies and banks and found that building societies are the undeniable winners, with the average rates on offer far outweighing those of banks. The figures show that, in the two-year sector, the average fixed mortgage rate from banks is 2.78%, whereas the same mortgage from building societies has an average rate of 2.54%. This pattern is continued in the five-year sector, and to an even greater extent - the average five-year fixed mortgage rate from banks is 3.51%, while the average rate from building societies is 0.30% lower at just 3.21%. The gap between the rates offered from banks and building societies is getting wider, too, "suggesting that borrowers may need to look away from traditional banks to get the best deal", said Charlotte Nelson, finance expert at Moneyfacts. "It's disappointing that despite all the money given to banks from the Government-backed Funding for Lending Scheme and the ever-growing price war between providers, banks are still failing to compete on the overall cost," added Ms Nelson. "Now that local building societies are offering a genuine alternative to banks, perhaps it is time for borrowers to look closer to home to get the best mortgage deal."

Kalimantan Gold (KLG) has reported the assay results from a further seven drill holes on the BKM deposit on Kalimantan Island. Further multiple mineralized intercepts of better than 0.8%Cu grades have been encountered in all holes. Of particular note are the results of holes 4, 5, and 6 on section line 31750. These holes extend copper mineralization a further 150m West beyond known mineralization on the southern portion of BKM. Intercepts in these holes include 15m at 1.02%Cu from 17m depth in hole 5 and 10m at 0.8%Cu from 75m depth in hole 6. We expect further news flow with assay results for a further two holes to the west on this line due. Drilling on section line 31750 is now complete for this program while drilling on line 32450 continues. The true widths of mineralization encountered are estimated to be 80%-100% of the widths reported in the assayed intervals. Continuity of mineralization between past holes and new ones is encouraging. We were confident that the BKM deposit would grow in size and contained copper with further drilling. So far, this is proving to be true. We look forward to continued good news and further growth of the deposit. We retain our SPEC BUY recommendation and 3.2p price target.

My highlights of CEO 's remarks: Kalimantan Gold is very pleased with the initial results of our 2015 resource evaluation program at BKM, which continue to meet or exceed our expectations. All holes drilled thus far have intersected good widths of near surface copper mineralization amenable to open pit mining. The deposit continues to grow in size and good internal continuity is being confirmed

Weir warns of continuing oil and gas challenges: Engineering group Weir warned of continuing difficult trading conditions in its oil and gas division.