Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to ban new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea under a Labour government could “starve” Britain of energy, an oil boss has warned.
Gilad Myerson, the executive chairman of Ithaca Energy, which has the bulk of its investment in the North Sea, has warned such a ban and existing taxation policy was putting off investors and threatened energy security.
5 things to start your day
1) Wagner’s aborted coup piles pressure on Russia’s economy | Hunt criticises Bank of England over inflation crisis
2) Hunt criticises Bank of England over inflation crisis | Chancellor admits Threadneedle Street has ‘issues’ with its economic forecasting
3) Inflation crisis driven by rising corporate profits, claims IMF | Companies urged to accept smaller margins or risk prolonging pain
4) KPMG to cut 2,000 jobs in US | Auditor blames ‘economic headwinds’ for second round of layoffs this year
5) How HSBC’s retreat threatens debt-ridden Canary Wharf | London’s financial centre faces a race against time to reinvent itself
What happened overnight
Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after Wall Street drifted lower following its latest rally.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9pc to 3,166.41 after China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, said economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter and can hit this year’s official target of “about 5pc.”
Mr Li, speaking at a conference, gave no figure for the April-June period but said growth is faster than the previous quarter’s 4.5pc.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 0.8pc to 32,451.18 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6pc to 19,086.95.
The Kospi in Seoul shed 0.2pc to 2,577.68 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.5pc to 7,115.40.
India’s Sensex opened up 0.2pc at 63,113.25. New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets advanced.
Wall Street’s three major indexes closed lower after choppy trading, as investor risk appetites were dampened by the aborted Russian mutiny over the weekend.
The S&P 500 fell 4pc to 4,328.82, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1pc to 33,714.71. The Nasdaq Composite ended 1.2pc lower at 13,335.78.
Yields on government bonds narrowed as investors bet on a further interest rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to 3.72pc from 3.74pc late Friday. The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed, slipped to 4.73pc from 4.75pc.
