THE DAILY BRIEFING

OIL JOBS Low oil prices will have cost the UK nearly 125,000 jobs by the end of the year, experts predict.

The number employed in the oil sector stood at 450,000 when the price of Brent crude peaked in summer 2014 at around $115 per barrel, according to trade figures from Oil & Gas UK.

But after months of global overproduction, prices plummeted to 12year lows in January, falling below $27-per-barrel. The number of industry jobs fell by 84,000 in 2015.

SLUMP SLOWS Iceland has stepped up its marketing to compete with discount rivals as it slowed the pace of a sales slump.

The frozen food specialist saw sales drop 2.7pc at stores open for more than a year, compared to a fall of 4.4pc a year earlier. Sales at the group overall were down by £22m to £2.7bn, a drop of 0.8pc.

The firm has ditched celebrities from advertising, opting instead to promote real mothers as the face of its brand after admitting the use of the former pop star turned reality TV regular Kerry Katona had been damaging.

ACCELERATING SALES The car industry boom shows no sign of slowing as finance on new vehicles jumped by 17pc in April, figures show.

The amount of borrowing taken out for new cars rose to £5.4bn over the month, according to a report by the Finance and Leasing Association.

Finance on second-hand vehicles also rose – by 9pc in April to £1.2bn.

WINGS CLIPPED Eagle-Eye, a company which helps provide technology for promotions in supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury’s, has seen its revenues climb by more than a third to £6.5m in the past year.

But Eagle-Eye warned that its revenues were lower than expected and shares plunged 16pc or 30p to 152.5p.

WASTE TAKEOVER Biffa has agreed a £13.5m deal to buy part of Cory Environmental Group.

The waste management company bought Cory Environment Municipal Services and will provide waste and recycling services for Cornwall, Lincoln, Rutland and Tunbridge Wells, as well as street and beach cleaning. MAST MAKER Investment firm 3i Infrastructure has completed its acquisition of a 36pc stake in Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG) for £75m.

WIG builds mobile phone masts and other infrastructure for the telecoms sector to improve coverage.