THE DAILY BRIEFING

CRUDE FALLS

The devastation caused in Texas by Hurricane Harvey drove oil prices down 1.1pc to $51.45 a barrel yesterday.

A fifth of US refineries have shut, triggering a slump in demand for crude and driving up US petrol prices amid fears of shortages. UK pump prices are unlikely to be hit.

HQ SALE

The London headquarters of ‘Big Four’ auditor KPMG, 15 Canada Square, is up for sale at £400m. KPMG said it would remain based there.

AIRLINE RETREAT

Budget airline Ryanair has abandoned plans to buy the assets of insolvent German rival Air Berlin. Ryanair believes Lufthansa will buy the assets.

NAVY SABBATICAL

The organisation behind Britain’s two £6.2bn new aircraft carriers has got a new boss. Vice Admiral Sir Simon Lister is taking a sabbatical from the Royal Navy to run the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a partnership between the MoD and weapons makers.

ON TRACK

A strong performance at airports and railway stations has put WH Smith on course to hit its targets for the year, and it says it sees ‘further opportunities’ in the retail travel market.

BETTER TERMS

Discount supermarket Aldi is cutting pay terms to 14 days for all suppliers that transact up to £250k worth of business.

PEAK PERFORMANCE

Fitness chain The Gym Group posted an 18.8pc rise in revenue to £42.8m in the six months to June 30, while profit rocketed 75.5pc to £5.9m. Membership numbers increased by 19.8pc to 508,000.

TRILLION TARGET

The next iPhone could be the ‘defining moment’ that helps Apple become the first company to be valued at $1 trillion, it is claimed. Shares in the world’s most valuable company are trading at record highs – taking it to a market capitalisation of $815bn.

HIGH RETURN

Investment business F&C Commercial Property

Trust delivered returns of 5.1pc in the first half of 2017 – beating the average 4.6pc from rivals. The £1.3bn trust’s boss Richard Kirby said he is not looking to buy and sell property in the present turbulent market.

TAX CALL

The life sciences sector should be handed tax cuts, more public funding and better access to NHS data, says Oxford University professor Sir John Bell, who was asked by ministers to lead a review.