UK borrowing hits post war record

The U.K. government will borrow  a staggering £163 billion this year,  but down £12 billion from forecasts last year and £3billion less than projected in the budget.  This equates to £3,200 for every adult in the United Kingdom. 

Ithaca Energy announces $140 million debt financing

Good news from Ithaca Energy today with the announcement that they mandated Bank of Scotland as lead arranger on a $140 million senior secured borrowing debt facility. The money will be used to fund the development of the Stella field and the satellite discoveries Harrier and
Hurricane and/or fund future potential acquisitions of production properties in the North Sea. Furthermore the company confirmed that engineering scoping work has already started on the Stella development and satellite discoveries, Harrier and Hurricane based on the outcome of the Stella
appraisal well.

Iain McKendrick (Chief Executive Officer) commented:
"Further to our strong 2009 financial results and the very encouraging Stella appraisal well, the Company is well positioned to grow. This facility provides a major building block towards funding the capital expenditure required for the development of the Greater Stella Area but also the flexibility to finance a significant acquisition. The high level of support offered by the Bank of Scotland to Ithaca reinforces our view of the underlying strength of the Company cash flow and reserves".

The share price has responded positively with a rise of 5.7% to 177p despite a falling market. It means that the threat of a dilutive placing or rights issue has been avoided which is good news for Ithaca shareholders.  The company now has the prospect of a fully funded programme to exploit the Stella field and opportunities to pick up other assets which should drive earnings significantly upwards in 2011.

IMF predicts Europe growth will lag U.S.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting that growth in euro area would lag that of other developed economies reducing its growth forecasts in the region to 1.5% in 2011 from 1.6%. It revised up its prediction for U.S. growth next year from 2.4% to 2.6% with the U.K. being revised down from 2.5% from 2.7%.

The IMF forecasts world growth at 4.2%, up from 3.9%, with 2011 unchanged at 4.3% growth. This supports the view that investors should be focusing on companies with a global earnings profile, not those with a large percentage of its earnings in the euro zone or the U.K.