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Ikea vows to spend €1 billion on climate change measures: Ikea, the Swedish home furnishing group, has vowed to spend €1 billion on renewable energy and other measures to tackle climate change in a move that dwarfs what some countries are doing to address fossil fuel pollution.

Chevron Chief lashes out at European oil groups on climate change: The head of Chevron, one of the largest U.S. oil companies, has attacked his European counterparts for backing a global carbon pricing system that he says consumers will never back.

Dixons Carphone raises full-year profit guidance: Dixons Carphone has raised its full-year profit expectations as sales of high-definition televisions and white goods in the U.K. and Ireland boosted the recently merged retailer’s fourth-quarter trading.

Sophos aims to raise $100 million in London IPO: Sophos, an Oxfordshire-based IT security company that is majority-owned by private equity group Apax Partners, is taking another shot at a stock market flotation in London with plans to raise £65 million.

Odey struggles to find value amid market ‘bubble’: Odey Asset Management, one of London’s oldest hedge funds, has been stung by its bets on smaller U.K. companies this year at the same time as a bad currency trade wiped off nearly a fifth of the value of its flagship fund.

City told to brace for a wave of stock market flotations: Investment banks across the City are preparing for a wave of stock market flotations and takeovers following last month’s general election, experts have claimed.

U.S. homeowners ‘should expect fall in property prices’: American homeowners who are struggling to make up for value lost during the financial crisis can expect recent gains in property prices to reverse within two years, according to a new report.

Eurozone unemployment rate registered an unexpected drop in April The unemployment rate in the Eurozone eased unexpectedly to a level of 11.10% in April, compared to market expectations of a steady reading. The unemployment rate had registered a revised level of 11.20% in the prior month.

UK services PMI slid in May The services PMI dropped to 56.50 in May, in the UK, compared to market expectations of a drop to a level of 59.20. The services PMI had recorded a reading of 59.50 in the prior month

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.2% or $0.13 lower at $63.67 per barrel, ahead of the OPEC meeting. Yesterday, the contract declined 2.58% or $1.69, to settle at $63.80 per barrel. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the US crude oil stockpiles fell by 1.9 million barrels to 477 million barrels for the week ended 29 May.

Vienna (Alliance News) - Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh on Wednesday appealed to fellow members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to let his country regain market shares once it closes a nuclear deal that will end an embargo on his country's oil. "The Iranian market share is very important for us," he said at an oil industry conference in Vienna, two days before oil ministers from OPEC's 12 member countries were to meet in the Austrian capital. They are expected to discuss the Iran issue as well as OPEC's overall production rate. OPEC delegates have indicated that the total output target would likely not be changed. International sanctions imposed in the course of the dispute over Iran's controversial nuclear programme have sharply reduced Iran's oil production, to around 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Iran plans to complete a deal with six world powers by the end of June. It would curb Tehran's ability to make nuclear material that could be used for atomic weapons, in return for sanctions relief. Six or seven months after the ban on Iranian oil and other punitive measures are lifted, the Islamic Republic would bring an additional 1 million bpd to the market, Zangeneh predicted. "I am sure that OPEC member countries will coordinate and will consider this return of Iran to the market," he said at the conference that was also attended by OPEC oil ministers.

HOUSE PRICE GROWTH SLOWS The housing market is continuing to cool down, according to Nationwide's index of property prices. On average, house prices rose by 4.6pc in the 12 months to May, the slowest since August 2013. This is less than half the pace prices were rising at in mid-2014, and Nationwide says it expects them to start growing at the same rate as earnings in the future.

Germany keeps jobless numbers down in May: Germany’s unemployment rate stayed at a record low last month, indicating that private consumption will propel growth in the country’s economy this year.

Regional revival and New Covent Garden Market boosts St Modwen: ST Modwen posted a strong start to the year on growing momentum in the regional property market, and said that first-half profits would be “significantly ahead” of the same time last year.

North Sea oil and gas industry downturn weighs on SeaEnergy: Seaenergy, the offshore services firm, has said the downturn in the oil and gas market in areas like the North Sea will hit sales this year sending shares in the company plunging 27%.

Boost for ECB as Eurozone prices turn positive in May: Eurozone inflation turned a corner in May, posting a 0.3% increase after four months of flat or falling prices.

Record fall in fresh food prices drives retail deflation: Prices in British shops have moved into their third year of decline as a result of widespread supermarket discounting and cheaper fresh food, according to new industry figures.

OPG shares look cheap as revenue set to double: OPG Power Ventures shares are looking cheap as the London-listed Indian energy and construction company passes a major construction milestone and reports a solid set of annual results. During the past five years, OPG has been building power stations to solve India’s shortage of electricity. A 180 megawatt (MW) station in Chennai will start commercial sales on June 15 and a 300 MW plant in Gujarat started selling power in April, the only slight downside being that the Gujarat facility cannot run at full capacity until a full grid connection is made in September. This new capacity will increase the total power production to 750 MW, up from 270 MW last year. The company is exposed to commodity risk, as the main input cost is the price of coal, but the company has a long-term freight deal in place with shipping group Noble, while the price of coal is falling. With the construction phase ended, the risks have been greatly reduced. As profits rise and cash is generated, then dividends are targeted for the year to March 2016. We retain our initial recommendation (Buy, 94p, May 22, 2014). OPG Power Ventures at 99p-½p. Questor Says “Buy”.

Sell Amec as oil services pain to continue: AMEC Foster Wheeler has underlined the difficulties faced by the oil services sector with a 50% slump in the oil price over the last 12 months. The problem for oil services companies, which support explorers and producers but do not typically produce oil and gas themselves, is that they are reliant on spending decisions higher up the food chain. This creates two problems for the industry. The first is that as the oil price has collapsed from $115 per barrel in June last year to about $65, the big explorers have gone into cash preservation mode to protect dividend payments. Amec swallowed up Swiss-based engineer Foster Wheeler in a £1.9 billion deal last year. The deal was supposed to boost the earnings potential of the company, but the slump in the oil price has put paid to that, with earnings now heading in the wrong direction. The cash outlay required for the deal has resulted in a slight increase in debts, with net debt of £803 million against net assets of £2 billion at the end of December. Of the big FTSE 350 oil services groups, Amec Foster Wheeler still has one of the strongest balance sheets, and the company is well diversified. New contracts were awarded on renewable energy and nuclear decommissioning projects. Costs are also being cut by about £40 million this year, which will incur a one-off £50 million hit. Against this backdrop it is difficult to envisage a quick recovery in the profit outlook for companies such as Amec Foster Wheeler. The last time we looked at the shares we downgraded to a sell (972½p, March 24) and with no clear sign of a recovery in the oil price and the possibility of more pain to come, that recommendation remains. Amec Foster Wheeler at 915p-5½p. Questor Says “Sell”.

World’s biggest brewer fires Executive after drink-driving crash: The head of the German unit of the world’s biggest brewery company has lost his job over a drink-driving incident.