(WG-.L) Wood Group (John) PLC Buy/Sell

Financial Times

WARNING OF ENERGY PRICE RISE

The energy industry regulator Ofgem has warned that consumers face the prospect of large increases in their gas and electricity bills to fund infrastructure investments of 200 billion pounds over the next decade. The regulator predicted that bills could increase 60 per cent by 2016 in its assessment which took account of factors including; new legislation relating to climate change, the effect of the credit crunch and the effect of green stimulus packages.

NO TIME TO STOP INTERVENTION, DATA SHOW

Official figures on manufacturing output were released this week and have revealed that the sector fell back into recession during August, casting doubt on separate claims that the overall economy is improving. The economic think tank Niesr said that the weak industrial production figures suggested that the performance of the UK economy had actually been flat over the quarter. This is opposed to the growth predictions made by the polling company Markit who suggested that positive results from its purchasing managers' index were consistent with economic growth of between 0.5 and 0.6 per cent in the quarter.

HOUSE PRICES RISE FOR FIFTH MONTH

According to figures from the Financial Times House Price Index for September, house prices in England and Wales rose for the fifth consecutive month. The survey showed that prices increased by 0.6 per cent during the month to bring the average house price in England and Wales to 205,338 thousand pounds, compared to the peak of 231,804 pounds recorded by the index in February 2008 and 5.6 per cent lower than they were a year ago.

INSIDERS TO SET OUT STALLS FOR M&S JOB

At Marks & Spencer's investor day next week Ian Dyson and John Dixon, internal candidates to succeed Sir Stuart Rose as chief executive, will put their case to the City. Dyson, as head of the firm's "2020" plan, is expected to outline significant cost savings and an expansion of online retailing capabilities. Analysts expect that changes to its supply chain could lead to savings of between 150 and 200 million pounds. Dixon, widely seen as the leading internal candidate, will update the market on developments in the food business.

WOOD GROUP WARNS OF DELAYS

Oil services company John Wood Group says that full-year results will be in line with expectations despite concerns over a slowdown in the pace of progress in existing oilfield contracts. The group said: "In our development-related engineering activities, we are continuing to see delays both in the pace at which projects are being progressed and in further awards and, although we have a good prospect list, these two factors will continue to impact both activity and margins". Shares closed up 0.7 pence at 326.8 pence.

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