UK gas prices surge on supply fears. 22 March 2013Last updated at 11:22 ET The price of wholesale gas surged to a record high on Friday after the unexpected closure of one of three import pipelines.
A technical fault at the UK-Belgian interconnector, one of the UK's biggest import pipelines, forced the shutdown. The price of gas for same-day delivery jumped as much as 50% to 150 pence a therm. It comes amid a prolonged cold snap which has already sparked fears that the UK will run out of stored gas. Continue reading the main story Analysis John Moylan Business correspondent, BBC News Today's price spike demonstrates just how vulnerable Britain's energy system can be, particularly in the winter.
The prolonged cold spell means demand for gas is high. That leaves us more reliant upon imported gas from places like Norway, Qatar and mainland Europe. But when one of those breaks down, concerns about supply and demand grow and the market gets nervous. The UK-Belgium pipeline is expected to return to full capacity. Italian police uncover €1.7bn corporate fraud. 21 October 2014Last updated at 10:42 ET Italian police have uncovered a fraud which they say has cost Italian taxpayers €1.7bn (£1.3bn; $2.2bn).
Two businessmen are accused of setting up the scheme, which used false invoices to bill the state for non-existent security, cleaning and other services. The fraud, which dates back to 2001, involved 62 people, the police say. In total, they have seized goods worth €100m related to the crime, including 100 properties and two firms.
Explicit cookie consent. EARLIER this year it all looked so rosy.
In April, just two years after Greece imposed the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history on its private creditors, it raised €3 billion ($4.2 billion at the time) in five-year bonds at a yield of less than 5%. In July its ten-year bonds were yielding less than 6% and their Spanish and Italian equivalents less than 3%, not far off Germany’s. The troubled economies of Europe’s “periphery” were beginning to turn around, it seemed, and the European Central Bank (ECB) would do whatever it took to keep the euro zone together. Housing demand outstrips supply in Scottish market.
9 July 2014Last updated at 21:39 ET The number of newly agreed house sales has been growing at a steady rate since 2013 Demand for housing continues to outstrip supply in the Scottish market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Its latest report also showed a rise in newly agreed sales, regarded as a good indicator of market activity. This has now shown a steady rate of growth since February 2013. The survey recorded a balance of 32% more chartered surveyors reporting increases in new buyer inquiries. However, only a balance of 1% reported an increase in new instructions for properties coming onto the market in June. In the month that saw the Bank of England introduce a 15% cap on high mortgages (4.5 times income and above), banks were perceived to be lending less.
Average Loan to Value (LTV) ratios among first-time buyers dropped for the second consecutive month in Scotland to 85.4%. China's oil demand meets North Sea supply. Definition of Fiscal Policy. What does Iraq's crisis mean for oil? 13 June 2014Last updated at 12:57 ET The Iraqi army has struggled to contain insurgency in the north of the country Islamist militants in Iraq have seized two new towns and threaten to move on Baghdad, leading to a sense of fear in the oil market.
Ebola crisis: The economic impact. 20 August 2014Last updated at 19:03 ET By Richard Hamilton BBC News Military road blocks are preventing the movement of goods and workers With more than 1,300 reported deaths from Ebola in West Africa, the virus continues to be an urgent health crisis, but it is also having a devastating impact on the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"The economy has been deflated by 30% because of Ebola," Sierra Leone's Agriculture Minister Joseph Sam Sesay told the BBC. He said President Ernest Bai Koroma revealed this staggering and depressing news to ministers at a special cabinet meeting. Move over America: China overtakes US as world's biggest economy (kind of) - Business News - Business - The Independent. According to the International Monetary Fund the combined purchasing power of China's citizens now outstrips that of America's.
And by the end of the year will China should make up 16.48 per cent of the world's purchasing-power adjusted GDP for a total of $17.632 trillion (£11 trillion). The US, by contrast, will make up 16.28 per cent, or $17.416 trillion. US markets cheer Federal Reserve minutes. 8 October 2014Last updated at 15:11 ET US markets are wary of any imminent rise to interest rates and thus cheered the news US markets rose sharply after minutes from the September meeting of the Federal Reserve were released.
The transcript indicated that US central bankers were wary of raising rates too soon. Officials were worried markets were too focused on a rate rise happening during a specific period of time. The minutes reveal an eagerness to assure observers that a rate rise would be linked solely to positive economic data.