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Chasing the Dragon: Does Emirates National Oil Company know something about Dragon Oil no one else does? It is willing to buy the independent driller and pumper for 735p per share or £3.6 billion. That is a generous 44% uplift on the undisturbed price. Strip out Dragon’s £1.2 billion cash pile, covered 1:1 by cash from Enoc, and the premium for the equity is a fat 87%. Or perhaps the Gulf bidder simply fears getting the bum’s rush a second time from Baillie Gifford. The posh fund Manager, whose unofficial motto appears to be the old Edinburghian welcome “you’ll have had your tea”, blocked a bid from Enoc in 2009. That time the courteous Middle Easterners, who hold 54%, sought shareholder approval through a vote in which they had no voice. This time Enoc should leave open the option of accepting piecemeal pledges of shares from minorities. That could confront BG, which has 7%, with the humbling possibility of a compulsory squeeze-out above 90% of shares tendered.

Oil tankers: tanked up: Rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) have jumped this spring — usually a season of low demand. The cost to charter a VLCC from the Middle East to Asia has risen to six times last year’s level. Rates also rallied this past winter, but back then hopes had increased that the tankers might serve as storage. The price curve had made it profitable to buy oil, lock it away in a VLCC and book a profit by selling futures contracts. That arbitrage has disappeared. What has made a difference is Asian demand, especially from India and China. India’s in particular has swelled markedly this year. Gasoline demand for April hit a record, and now accounts for the bulk of oil demand, as opposed to diesel before. India’s improving economy has led to a surge in passenger car sales, which has had annual gains for six consecutive months. China’s refineries, too, have been busy, processing 7% more in April than the year before. While some of China’s crude imports simply flow into storage, for national security purposes, that accounts for no more than a 10th of the total, says Energy Associates. The equity market has little faith in the sustainability of the surge in crude tanker rates. But if U.S. production does not abate, and Asian demand defies the prevalent economic pessimism, the tanker companies are going to thrive.

BP settles with its partners in Gulf of Mexico oilrig disaster: BP has reached a settlement with its partners on the Gulf of Mexico rig as it seeks to emerge from a five-year legal quagmire in the aftermath of the explosion that claimed 11 lives.

Alarm over return to ‘fatal’ high-risk loans: Britain’s most senior financial regulator has warned building societies that they must not return to the “fatal” high-risk lending that helped trigger the financial crisis and led to the demise of some of the country’s biggest mutuals.

House prices increase as Owners put down roots: Householders are staying in their homes for nearly three decades in some cities, exacerbating the acute housing shortage that is keeping upward pressure on prices and stretching affordability.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.27% or $0.18 lower at $66.36 per barrel. Yesterday, the contract climbed 2.32% or $1.51, to settle at $66.54 per barrel, extending its gains from the prior session as investors continued to digest a larger than expected decline in weekly US crude oil stockpiles. Moreover, concerns in the Middle East supported oil prices further.

Drilling setback for Aberdeen's Faroe Petroleum: Faroe Petroleum has suffered a setback after what it described as a high potential well off Norway proved to be dry.

Buy Pennon's inflation protected dividend income: Pennon’s shares are interesting, as the utility company has promised to pay a dividend that will rise by 4% above inflation until 2020. The company, which is an odd mix of a water utility - South West Water - and a recycling group - Viridor - saw pretax profits rise 24% to £197 million in the year to the end of March. Revenues climbed 2.7% to £1.36 billion. Investors were rewarded with a 4.9% increase in the dividend to 31.8p, going ex-dividend August 5 and payable on October 2. Viridor has been through a far more turbulent time. Its landfill business has been in turmoil as green taxes try to force people to recycle more. At the same time, the price of recycled material has plummeted as the world’s biggest buyer, China, has seen its economy begin to slow down. However, Viridor has completed a major construction project at Runcorn, near Manchester, to build incinerators that generate electricity from burning waste. The shares, on 22 times forecast earnings, are highly rated. That said, the 4% prospective dividend yield, which will rise 4% above inflation, is attractive. Pennon at 879p-½p. Questor Says “Buy”.

Rothschild cools on full Asia Resource offer: Nat Rothschild and his Russian partners have decided not to pursue an offer for Asia Resource Minerals, the Indonesian coal miner at the centre of a battle for control among shareholders.

Patisserie Valerie Owner to boost morning coffee deals: Patisserie Holdings is planning to ramp up its coffee sales with new morning meal deals as it bolsters its position in one of the most competitive parts of the casual dining sector.

Zoopla revenues rise as it seeks to fend off rival OntheMarket: Zoopla reported a 10% rise in revenues despite losing almost a quarter of its estate agency advertisers after the launch of a rival home-selling website this year.

Oil workers to vote on strike action: North Sea oil workers are to vote on strike action over changes to shift patterns, after talks in Aberdeen with their employers ended in failure.

Just because boss resigned doesn’t mean he’s leaving: Asia Resource Minerals, the Indonesian coalminer formerly known as Bumi, has been forced to tell the stock market that its mining head and its Chief Financial Officer have “limited visibility” over the accounts because they have been locked out of the office by the previous Chief Executive.

Just desserts for Marks & Spencer food: A sphere of Belgian chocolate with a splodge of orange goo in the centre became the fastest-selling dessert in Marks & Spencer’s history last Christmas. The company sold 170,000 “jaffa spheres” in six weeks, when it put them on sale over the festive season.

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.23% or $0.15 higher at $65.18 per barrel, after China’s flash manufacturing PMI slightly rose to 49.1 in May, increasing demand prospects from the country. Yesterday, the contract climbed 1.58% or $1.01, to settle at $65.03 per barrel, on increased Middle East troubles. Additionally, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude stockpiles fell by 2.7 million barrels for the week ended May 15.

Long it may continue

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LA raises minimum wage The second-largest US city by population will increase guaranteed pay for workers to $15 an hour by 2020. With income inequality securing growing political attention and Republicans reluctant to act, campaigners in the US have successfully turned to cities and states to push for a rise in minimum wages. (FT)

London house prices soaring above the rest: House prices in the capital continue to outpace prices in the rest of the U.K., according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

House prices in Scotland up 14% in a year: House prices in Scotland rose 14.6% in the year to March, the highest annual increase since July 2007, according to new figures.