Author: Lucas

Oil baron Winston Soosaipillai seemed to vanish into the sunset after he abandoned his Lincolnshire oil refinery and left a trail of £1.5billion debts behind last June.The sudden collapse of Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery (PLOR) under a mountain of unpaid loans saw hundreds of workers left jobless, redundancy packages slashed and family livelihoods ruined.Meanwhile, Mr Soosaipillai and his wife Arani are said to have deserted the refinery near Grimsby, their £5million Surrey mansion and repayments on a £783million loan riddled with ‘irregularities’, but took £11.5million with them in pay and dividends. Refining will not continue at the site as new owners Phillips…

X Register for free to receive latest news stories direct to your inbox Register Listed investor Palace Capital has confirmed it is selling commercial property at Broad Street Plaza shopping centre, Halifax, for £9.9m with completion expected in the next few weeks. The company first revealed in April 2025 the disposal of Units 5&6b, Broad Street Plaza on a long leasehold interest for £4.8m to Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. On completion of the disposal announced today – 9 February – the business says it will have disposed of all its interests in Halifax. Palace Capital adds that it has also…

Eligible people could get hundreds from HMRC through the unique savings accountThe scheme offers a Government bonus of up to 50% for eligible savers(Image: GETTY)HMRC is urging people to check their eligibility for one unique savings account with a 50% government-backed bonus. Currently, it’s only available to people who work and claim Universal Credit but more people will become eligible from 2028.HMRC shared on X: “Want to boost your savings? With Help to Save, for every £1 eligible Universal Credit claimants save, the Government adds 50p. That’s up to £1,200 in bonus payments over four years. Check eligibility and apply…

THE recent boom in gold and platinum group metal (PGM) prices is set to provide the South African fiscus with a much-needed boom over the next few years. A report released by RMB Morgan Stanley last week shows that income taxes and royalties from the South African mining sector are set to rise from R30bn in 2024 to about R40bn in 2025. For 2026 the tax intake from mining is set to double to about R80bn and then an estimated R90bn in 2027. This will come as a major boost to the South African government which is struggling with a…

US President Trump’s threat of a 25% penalty on Indian crude oil imports casts a shadow over the Nayara refinery in Jamnagar, which is majority-owned by sanctioned Russian energy giant Rosneft.New Delhi: US President Donald Trump’s threat to bring back the 25 per cent “penalty” if India does not stop buying Russian crude has deepened the question mark on the operations of the Nayara refinery in Jamnagar.The crisis facing the refinery has triggered talks about change of ownership. While the refinery, under normal circumstances, would qualify to be a good buy, US’s hardline stance may prove to be a dampener…

Key PointsThe Trade Desk is still a top partner in the ad space.Amazon has stolen some market share.The stock is dirt cheap despite market-beating growth.The ultimate goal for growth investors is to outperform the S&P 500. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time and should look for an index fund. Although I consider myself a growth investor, the reality is that it’s all just different varieties of value investing. If you’re a growth investor, you’re buying a stock because you believe its business will rapidly grow and allow the stock to outperform your chosen index. At its core, that is value…

Agoco completes major overhaul of Al-Sarir refinery in eastern Libya Facility resumes operations after planned shutdown and safety tests Restart comes as Libya seeks to expand refining capacity nationwide Libya’s Al-Sarir refinery, located in the eastern part of the country, has restored its production capacity following the completion of major maintenance work on its facilities, operator Arabian Gulf Oil Company said. Agoco, a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, announced on Wednesday, February 4, that the overhaul focused mainly on the crude distillation unit, the core of the refining process. The large-scale operation required a planned shutdown to carry…

JP Morgan Chase is an investment bank Investment bank JP Morgan Chase has upgraded its view on the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), moving its recommendation from underweight to overweight after recent market repricing made the securities more attractive relative to peers.According to a report cited by Reuters, the shift reflects growing investor confidence in Afreximbank’s underlying financial strength, institutional structure, and its ability to navigate sovereign debt restructuring environments while maintaining strong shareholder and policy support.Afreximbank bonds experienced a sell-off in January after Fitch Ratings revised its assessment of the bank’s credit profile, raising questions about how development finance institutions…

Stephen Greenwood has been appointed Head of Residential Property in the Kendal branch of Milne Moser Solicitors, where he will lead the firm’s growing property team.  Mr Greenwood said: “I am delighted to be joining Milne Moser Solicitors and to take on the role of Head of Residential Property. “Milne Moser has been serving the local community for over 200 years and has built an outstanding reputation during that time, while continuing to look forward and invest in the future. “I am particularly pleased to be joining a firm that has been recognised nationally for its conveyancing work and that…

KUALA LUMPUR: YX Precious Metals Bhd’s net profit rose more than fourfold to RM7mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, from RM1.6mil a year earlier.The group said the stronger performance was mainly driven by higher gross profit, supported by an increase in gold jewellery selling prices, although this was partly offset by higher selling and distribution, as well as administrative expenses.Its quarterly revenue rose 27.4% to RM65.2 mil from RM51.2 mil, while earnings per share climbed to 1.88 sen from 0.43 sen.“The increase was mainly due to higher average gold jewellery selling price from both the wholesale and…