Author: LoveWorld UK

Britain’s Oil and Gas Authority has halted its licensing rounds for offshore exploration acreage in the North Sea at least until next year, it said on Tuesday. “The OGA have temporarily paused Licence Round activity… There will be no Round in 2020/21, which will allow relinquishments to take place so more coherent areas can be reoffered in future and give industry time to deliver on work commitments in the existing portfolio of licences,” it said. “The OGA is planning for a 33rd Round and will confirm the timing as soon as it is finalised.”

Two of Britain’s biggest banks, RBS (RBS.L) and Lloyds (LLOY.L), are offering support to customers affected by the coronavirus outbreak as it spreads in the country. State-backed RBS said on Tuesday that affected borrowers would be able to defer mortgage and loan repayments by up to three months, as part of its policy of supporting customers who suffer financial hardship from unexpected events. It will also waive early closure charges on fixed savings accounts and offer refunds on credit card cash advance fees so customers can access cash without penalty. Its announcement comes a day after NatWest, part of RBS,…

Oil prices jumped by around 10% on Tuesday a day after the biggest rout in nearly 30 years as investors eyed the possibility of economic stimulus and Russia signalled that talks with OPEC remained possible. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be taking “major” steps to gird the U.S. economy against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, while Japan’s government plans to spend more than $4 billion in a second package of steps to cope with the virus. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $3.36, nearly 10%, to $37.72 a barrel by 1041 GMT, after hitting…

Britain needs to think about what trade-offs it wants to accept in trade talks with the European Union, the bloc’s chief executive said on Monday. As Britain and the EU started talks on their new relationship after Brexit, the bloc said there were serious gaps but an agreement was still possible by the end of the year. “We want to be very ambitious, we want to have a very good relationship with our British friends,” said the head of the EU’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “It will be important that the United Kingdom makes up its mind. The…

China’s business and travel activities are steadily recovering after being disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, but rapidly rising infections globally will pose a challenge to the country’s broader economic resumption. Nomura estimated in a research report on Monday about 61.6% of the firms hardest hit by the health crisis in China have resumed work as of March 8, and 74.1% in the broader economy. China reported on Monday no locally-transmitted cases of infection on the mainland outside of the central province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, for the second straight day. But the authorities continue to be mindful…

British bank NatWest has begun offering payment holidays and temporary emergency loans to businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. NatWest, part of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), also said it was setting aside 5 billion pounds of additional support for affected companies. Global markets were roiled on Monday by growing concerns about the economic fallout from the coronavirus, with British stocks suffering their biggest intraday fall since the 2008 financial crisis. Britain has so far reported three deaths and 278 cases of the coronavirus. State-backed NatWest has added the extra cash to an existing 6 billion pound fund set up…

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE shares fell by as much as 10% on Monday, extending a dive below the initial public offering price, after Saudi Arabia cut its official selling prices for crude and global oil markets plunged in response to news of a big output increase. Government bonds in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producing nations were also hit. Aramco fell below its IPO price on Sunday for the first time since trading began in December when the company’s listing was seen as a culmination of years of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to diversify the economy. Since then…

A Dutch judge described as “almost incomprehensible” the 2014 shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine that killed all 298 passengers and crew on board, as the trial of three fugitive Russians and a Ukrainian began on Monday near Amsterdam. None of the accused were present in the courtroom and all four are believed to be in Russia. Only one sent a defence lawyer. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was hit by a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014, while flying over territory held by pro-Moscow rebels fighting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. It had been en route from Amsterdam…

Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global, on Thursday reported a breach that allowed unauthorised access to the cable company’s database that contained personal information of about 900,000 customers. The company said the breach did not happen due to a hack but occurred as the database was incorrectly configured. The database did not include any passwords or financial details and was accessible from April 2019 until Feb. 28, 2020, it added. The database, however, included limited contact information such as names, home and email addresses and phone numbers. Virgin Media CEO Lutz Schuler said the company recently became aware of the…

Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has gone back to Canada to be with their son after the couple provoked a rift with Britain’s royal family by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America. Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals were trying to calm the crisis by thrashing out a plan for Harry and Meghan after the couple blindsided the family by going public with their announcement without consultation. The couple spent six weeks in Canada at the end of last year before returning to Britain and their first…