UK Wholesale Gas Prices Hit New Low

British wholesale natural gas prices hit a two-and-a-half-year low on Wednesday, as warm weather continues to drive down demand.

Reaching their lowest price since October 2011, gas prices for next-day delivery traded at 48.6p per therm, down 1.75p on the previous day's close.

It leaves the system in excess of 28.1 million cubic metres (mcm), as supply flows are at 220.2 mcm per day and demand is expected to be 192.1 mcm.

The National Grid says that gas demand for this time of year is 25% lower than normal, as meteorologists expect temperatures in Britain to remain above the seasonal average.

One unnamed gas trader told Reuters: "There's plenty of gas around at the moment to satisfy demand, and with the weather expected to stay warm for the next few days,

"I don't see any let-up."

It comes as the so-called big six energy suppliers face pressure to cut bills for UK households.

While the Labour Party has touted price freezes, industry regulator Ofgem recently confirmed a competition inquiry into the energy market, that could see the major players being broken up, separating their retail and wholesale supply arms.

Meanwhile, European concerns over supplies from Russia's top natural gas producer Gazprom, have eased on news that the company is keen to maintain "mutually beneficial relations".

Europe receives half of its gas from Russia via Ukraine and on-going tensions have thrown that into question.

On Tuesday, Gazprom said it was hiking the gas cost Ukraine pays by 44%.

In response, US secretary of state John Kerry on Wednesday denounced the use of energy as a weapon.

"It really boils down to this: No nation should use energy to stymie a people's aspirations," Mr Kerry said.

"It should not be used as a weapon. It's in the interest of all of us to be able to have adequate energy supplies critical to our economies, critical to our security, critical to the prosperity of our people."

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Asos Profit Plunges 22% Despite Sales Boost

Online fashion retailer Asos has seen its half-year pre-tax profit plunge by 22%, despite retail sales being up by a third in the UK.

The fall comes as the firm steps up expenditure on IT and distribution facilities for future growth expectations.

Asos said its pre-tax profit was £20.1m in the six months to February 28, down from £25.7m in the same period last year.

In March the company warned that investments in Germany and the UK to help distribution would impact profit.

It also said start-up costs in China would affect the bottom line.

Last month, the firm said the outlay would disproportionately hit first half-profit and forecast a full-year profit of around £65m.

On releasing the H1 figure the company said: "Asos is not and has never been about the short-term, the scale of the global opportunity remains as exciting as ever."

Barnsley is the main UK warehouse centre for the group.

Around two-thirds of group sales are from the UK and the European Union.

Some analysts wonder if the firm's international growth ambitions may cause overreach.

Its international sales growth of 14% is low relative to other divisions, working from a small base.

Asos was launched in 2000 and listed on London's AIM exchange in 2001. In 2010 it launched American, German and French sites.

The company, which targets people in their 20s, has also had to contend with the rise of Boohoo recently.

Its rival aims to provide fashion for teenagers and people in their early 20s, and its share price jumped 50% on flotation last month.

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Domino's Sales Boosted By Online Orders

Domino's Pizza has posted a 10.8% rise in quarterly sales in the UK, with nearly three-quarters of orders now made online.

The company said it posted a 10.8% rise in first quarter underlying sales in the UK.

It said the sales increase in the 13 weeks to March 30 was boosted by its "Winter Survival" meal deal that proved popular in the wet weather at the beginning of the year.

Online sales continue to soar, up by 12% on the same period last year.

69.4% of UK sales now come from the internet, showing that the appetite for online food orders continues to expand.

It comes as Domino's, which has more than 860 stores in Europe, said it is close to naming its new boss.

Current chief executive Lance Batchelor announced his decision to leave the company in December.

Former Halfords boss David Wild has been at the helm since Mr Batchelor's departure for travel and insurance group, Saga, in January.

Elsewhere, sales in Ireland, Switzerland and Germany also rose, despite restructuring across its smaller businesses there.

In February, Domino's Pizza reported that pre-tax profit in the UK increased by 1.9% to £47.6m.

In early trading on Wednesday shares in the company were up by 0.72%.

Over the last year, however, Domino's Pizza's share price has lost more than 10%.

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Kellogg and Weetabix Wage Battle For Dorset

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Three of the titans of Britain's breakfast tables are waging a battle to win control of the privately-owned Dorset Cereals.

Sky News understands that Jordans, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), Kellogg and Weetabix have all tabled offers to buy Dorset, which is likely to fetch well over £50m.

The trio are among around a handful of bidders vying to acquire Dorset, with a number of private equity firms also in the running.

Dorset is owned by Wellness Foods, a company backed by the Irish racing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus through Lydian Capital, a private investment vehicle.

Wellness also owns Rose Honey, which it explored selling last year.

Weetabix's presence in the auction raises the prospect of another prominent British food brand falling into Chinese ownership.

A majority stake in the company was bought by Bright Food in 2011, with the private equity firm Lion Capital retaining a large minority stake.

Last month, it unveiled plans for a variant of Weetabix with the distinctive flavour of green tea in an attempt to win favour in the Chinese market.

It faces stiff competition for Dorset, however, with both Kellogg and Jordan's also trying to buy the brand.

Between them, the three companies account for a major share of the UK's £1.2bn-a-year breakfast cereal market.

The auction of Dorset is modest in size but comes at a time when many multinational food companies are accelerating the divestment of unwanted brands.

Unilever is trying to offload Slimfast and Ragu, which it continues to own outside the UK, while a controlling stake in Hovis was recently sold to a specialist in in the transformation of underperforming brands.

The parties involved in the Dorset sale, which is being handled by bankers at Rothschild, declined to comment.

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Lufthansa Cancels 900 Flights As Pilots Strike

German airline Lufthansa has cancelled 900 flights as the pilots' union launched a three-day strike over wages.

More than 425,000 passengers are expected to be affected during the period, which will see a total of 3,800 flights called off.

Germany's largest carrier says it is rebooking passengers on different airlines or trains after informing them of the industrial action via text message.

Lufthansa spokeswoman Barbara Schaedler said: "We sent out more than 200,000 text messages to inform our customers about the upcoming strike and also increased our capacities at our call centres to help passengers rebook their trips."

Pilots have walked out as Lufthansa seeks to cut a transition payment for those who want to retire early, at the age 55.

They are also demanding a salary increase of 10%.

The dispute comes as Lufthansa comes up against increasing competition from European budget airlines.

The company has estimated the strike will cost it "tens of millions" of euros.

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GM CEO Faces New Congress Hearing Over Safety

General Motors boss Mary Barra has promised changes to avert a repeat of safety issues linked to 13 deaths, as she faced a new Congressional hearing.

"That is not how GM does business," said Ms Barra, who took over as CEO less than three months ago.

"I think we in the past had more of a cost culture," she said, adding that it is moving toward a more customer-focused culture.

Ms Barra appears before a Senate subcommittee later.

A faulty ignition issue in small car has been linked to at least 13 deaths.

Crash victims' relatives attended the hearing

Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million cars - mostly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions - over the faulty switch, which can cause the engine to cut off in traffic, disabling the power steering, power brakes and air bags and making it difficult to control the vehicle.

During the hearing before a House subcommittee on Tuesday, she acknowledged under often testy questioning that the company took too long to recall cars equipped with the switch.

As relatives of the crash victims looked on, Ms Barra acknowledged that GM used the ignition switch even when it knew the part did not meet its own specifications.

However, she deflected some questions, saying she was awaiting the results of an internal GM investigation. 

At a press conference after the hearing, she said it "angers me that we had a situation that took more than a decade to correct".

GM has said that, in 2005, company engineers proposed solutions to the switch problem, but the  car maker concluded that none represented "an acceptable business case".

At issue is a faulty ignition switch used in several GM car models

Ms Barra testified that the fix to the switch, if undertaken in 2007, would have cost GM about $100m, compared with "substantially" more now.

She also announced at the hearing that GM had hired Kenneth Feinberg - who handled the fund for the victims of 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombing and the BP oil spill - to explore ways to compensate victims of accidents in the GM cars.

"Ms Barra held her ground, claiming that today's General Motors is a different company from the one whose corporate culture allowed this issue to fester for a decade," said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director at car valuation service Kelley Blue Book.

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Paym 'Pay By Phone' System: Banks Sign Up

A system which allows mobile phone users to send and receive money from their handsets without the need to swap account details has won the backing of most high street banks.

Customers can now register their devices ahead of the Paym - pronounced 'pay em' - scheme's launch on April 29.

The Payments Council (PC), which developed the system, said it can be used by "friends and family" to settle IOUs between each other.

The organisation said UK consumers rack up an average of £255.81 annually on informal debt, totalling £12.6bn.

It claims the system, which is similar to Barclays' two-year-old Pingit mobile money transfer service, is ideal for sharing restaurant bills with friends or putting money towards household bills.

However, both payer and payee must have their phone numbers registered to utilise the service.

Payments are password-protected but it is unclear to what extent the system is impervious to hackers.

Customers of the Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, TSB, Cumberland Building Society and Danske Bank will be able to use the service on its launch date.

First Direct, Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank users will be able to join later this year.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest are implementing IT upgrades, some mandatory and others by choice, ahead of joining the system.

An RBS Group spokesperson told Sky News: "RBS and NatWest are committed to participating in the Paym service and offering our customers an additional way to send and receive payment using a mobile number only.

"We expect to be able to offer this service later in the year."

The banks have joined Barclays in rolling out peer-to-peer mobile payment systems, but they have general inter-bank restrictions.

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Chrysler Recalls 867,795 SUVs Over Brake Concerns

Chrysler Group is recalling 867,795 SUVs to install a shield that protects brakes.

It comes following an investigation by the company that was prompted by customer complaints about stiff brake-pedals.

The models under inspection are the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango, made between 2011 and 2014.

The majority of cars affected are in North America, though 160,000 will be called back from outside the continent.

The recall, which comes eight weeks after the issue was flagged, includes 2,420 Jeep Grand Cherokees in the UK.

Chrysler has discovered that certain vehicles with brake boosters may be subject to corrosion in crimp joints that are exposed to water.

If water passes through the joints and makes its way into the brake boosters, there is a risk that brake function may be compromised as drivers "experience excessive brake-pedal firmness."

The company says it will examine all recalled vehicles and replace boosters if their capability has been reduced.

It says all new boosters will be equipped with a shield to protect crimp joints from water.

Chrysler Group has reported one accident related to the problem but to date there are no known injuries.

The latest recall adds another dent in the motor industry as Chrysler's move follows that of General Motors', which has recalled 2.6m cars since February.

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Nationwide - Home Prices Up 10% In Last Year

Average house prices have risen by nearly 10% in the last year, according to a property survey.

Nationwide said year-on-year prices were up 9.5% in March, the biggest annual jump since mid-2010.

The March figure was up on the 9.4% recorded in February and the 8.8% rise in January, the building society said.

The average house price in Britain reached £180,264 in March, it added, but said London prices were more than double that - at £363,000.

The year-on-year price increase in London reached 18%.

The figure was still around 3% lower than the unadjusted inflation peak recorded by the lender in 2007.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: "There is little doubt that the recovery in the housing market is now firmly established, with activity levels picking up and house prices recording their 15th successive monthly increase in March.

"(But) there are some tentative signs of moderation."

On Monday, the Bank of England (BoE) released mortgage lending data that showed approvals slowed in February, possibly reflective of the unstable weather across Britain.

Mr Gardner said a combination of greater credit availability, green shoots of growth and low mortgage rates were all boosting property demand.

However, he warned of the continued lag in housing stock supply.

"The number of new homes being built in England is still around 40% below pre-crisis levels, and this was already insufficient to keep up with the increase in the number of households being formed," he said.

Last month, Chancellor George Osborne said the Government would extend its Help to Buy scheme, which involved the provision of equity loans to buyers of newly built homes until the end of the decade.

BoE governor Mark Carney has played down suggestions that the housing market is overheating.

But the bank refocused its Funding for Lending scheme away from mortgage lending and dedicated it exclusively to business lending at the start of this year.

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Cowdery Nets £200,000 Profit After FCA Fiasco

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The founder of the closed life insurer Resolution has netted a profit of almost £200,000 on shares he bought after last week's botched launch of a probe into the sector by the City regulator.

Sky News can reveal that Clive Cowdery, one of the wealthiest and most prominent tycoons in the insurance industry, is sitting on the paper windfall after swooping for 1.2m shares last Friday.

He acquired the shares at an average of just under 274p, in the wake of a newspaper report that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would be investigating millions of so-called "zombie" life insurance policies dating back to the 1980s.

The report wiped billions of pounds from the value of listed insurance companies, including Resolution, which saw its shares slump by as much as 16% at one point on Friday before recovering to close down 7%.

The partial recovery came after the FCA corrected some details of the newspaper report, but insurers were furious that it took the regulator more than six hours to issue the clarification.

Later on Friday, the watchdog issued a further statement to say that its board would be appointing a law firm to conduct an inquiry into the fiasco, which has also drawn the ire of George Osborne, the Chancellor.

Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, has called the FCA's actions "an extraordinary blunder".

Mr Cowdery's share purchases last week were an indication of his belief in the continuing strength of Resolution, which will shortly be renamed Friends Life, according to people close to him.

The company announced last month that its founder would step down from the board at its annual meeting.

He is expected to establish another life insurance acquisition vehicle focused on Germany, Italy or the Netherlands next year, although he has said he remains interested in further opportunities in the UK.

An ally of Mr Cowdery said that his £200,000 gain on the shares he acquired for £3.3m last week was modest in the context of the sums he spends annually on his think tank, the Resolution Foundation.

Mr Cowdery, who now owns shares in Resolution worth roughly £28m, has fared far better from the recent share trades than his boardroom colleagues.

Andy Briggs, the company's chief executive, bought 47,000 shares at 313p ahead of last Friday's fall in Resolution's share price.

Tim Tookey, the finance director, acquired 20,000 shares at 315p on March 25 and a further 175,000 shares two days later at 320p.

Both men are nursing significant paper losses on those holdings although neither has any intention of selling the shares in the short term.

The insurance industry has been left reeling by both last Friday's FCA fiasco and Mr Osborne's Budget announcement that pensioners will no longer be effectively forced to buy an annuity.

A spokesman for Mr Cowdery and Resolution both declined to comment.

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