Oil producer Premier Oil is to buy North Sea-focused Encore Oil for around £221 million, continuing its strategy of expanding by incremental acquisitions, rather than concentrating on high-risk, high-impact exploration... more
Has the sell-off in the energy explorers left some in the sector vulnerable to predators? That was the question from the oil boffins at Evolution Securities... more
Oil explorer Premier Oil says it expects its average first-half output to fall 21 percent as a good performance from its Indonesian field is offset by increased maintenance activity in the UK... more
Oil explorer Xcite Energy says it will continue with its North Sea development plans, contrasting with lobbyists' claims that the Budget's £2 billion tax raid on profits from the area would stop investment and risk tens of thousands of jobs... more
Whose doors will the NOCs be knocking on this year? With the oil price hovering above $100 a barrel, City gossips have been trying to work out which energy explorers could receive an approach from one of the cash-rich national oil companies... more
Market round-up: Takeover gossip gushing around North Sea explorer Premier Oil send its shares shooting to the summit of the FTSE 250 leaderboard... more
Traders' attention was turned stateside as whispers spread that department store group Macy's is on the shopping list of two private equity giants... more
For the second time in a week the oil companies which are behind the largest discovery in the North Sea have raised their estimates for the amount of oil in the Catcher field... more
The oil gods haven’t smiled on Premier Oil. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed oil explorer drop 17p to 1114p after it admits that a well in the North Sea had come up dry... more
Will suitors soon be circling Dana Petroleum and Premier Oil? Dana in particular has long been the subject of City gossip, viewed as a prime candidate for a takeover by one a titan such as BP... more
Stock market investors whose confidence shows signs of wobbling following a strong performance by shares during the third quarter, were offered some reassurance... more
The Deal is back. Kraft’s unsolicited £10 billion bid for Cadbury. The merger of T-Mobile and Orange to form Britain’s largest mobile phone operator. Investment bankers are slavering after 18 months of what former senior Tory Alan Duncan might term “living on rations”
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Oil industry fears that the current high price is unsustainable could, along with signs of stress in some investors, spark a run of bargain basement acquisitions ... more
Shares of Heritage Oil hit a low for the day of 510p before rebounding with a rise of 26½p to 532p after announcing plans to raise up to £137 million to help finance the proposed acquisition of Genel Energy International... more
The UK's well-run supermarket chains have also often been admired for their defensive qualities in times of trouble. But perhaps not for much longer.... more
Taylor Wimpey's fall from grace among stock-market investors will be completed by the close of business tonight when its shares drop out of the Footsie 250 index ... more
Premier Oil’s net profits soared almost 250% to £38.9 million in the first half and it says all four of its major developments have made strong progress... more
Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do
Morning:
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