HBOS is expected to follow in the footsteps of RBS and turn to its shareholders for extra funds in a move to shore up its balance sheet. The nnouncement of the rights issue is due on Tuesday and it is thought  it will be in the region of £4bn, some way off the £12bn requested by RBS. (more…)

The two day strike at Grangemouth has sent US light crude oil prices up to a high of $119.40, down slightly from its peak of $119.93. The strike at the oil refinery has led to the closure of the Forties pipeline which provides around a third of the UK’s oil output. In turn this has resulted in the loss of production of around 700,000 barrels pe day from 70 platforms.

Whilst the strike may only be for two days ti will take a full day to re-open the pipeline and up to a week before Grangemouth is again operating at full capacity.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has alleged that tobacco companies and supermarkets have been colluding to fix the retail price of tobacco.  Most of the main players are named including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda plus tobacco firms Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco, who between them own the major cigarette brands. (more…)

The Competition Commission are to review BAA after their ‘emerging thinking’ report concluded that the airport operator ‘may not be serving well the interests of either airlines or passengers’, which looking at the Terminal 5 debacle may not come as a surprise to many. (more…)

The UK taxation rates and policy on worldwide earnings has lead to the decision by Shire Pharmaceuticals to move its tax base from the UK to Dublin, Ireland. The difference in rates is such that it makes relocating away from the UK a significant advantage. Tax on global profits if based in the UK is 28%, compared to only 12.5% in Ireland. With benefits like these, it is only a matter of time before other big players follow suit.

Drax, the coal-fired power station company, is looking to reduce the risk of the price rises affecting coal by diversifying in to gas-fired power stations. Drax has considered several opportunities to date but so far nothing has caught the eye and warranted a bid. The purchase of a gas-fired station would be dependant on value as previous potential targets have been seen as too expensive.

Financial Services, and in particular the Banking sector is likely to experience a bout of significant job cuts that will impact both the London and Worldwide job markets. Earlier this week Merrill Lynch announced that it will cut 4,000 jobs with Citigroup quickly following suit, declaring that it expected to cut around 25,000 posts over the next few months. (more…)