BUSINESS LIVE: GDP shrinks 0.1%; Oil prices rise; Retail sales volumes jump

Shares in Britain’s biggest North Sea oil and gas producer soared after a near-£9billion deal put it on course to become a major global player.

On a bumper day for investors ahead of the Christmas break, Harbour Energy jumped 21.1 per cent, or 51.5p, to 295.5p after it agreed to buy Wintershall Dea’s non-Russian assets for £8.8billion.

Two of the world’s biggest film and TV studios, Warner Brothers and Paramount, are in talks to merge to take on rivals such as Netflix and Disney.

David Zaslav, the head of Warner, met Paramount chief executive Bob Bakish in New York this week to discuss a tie-up, according to reports.

While the discussions are thought to only have been an expression of interest, a merger would create a media titan worth nearly £30billion.

Oil prices are up as much as 1 per cent today as tensions persist in the Middle East following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, although Angola’s decision to leave OPEC raised questions over the group’s effectiveness in supporting prices.

Brent crude futures were up to $80.09 a barrel by 7am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.9 per cent to $74.55 a barrel.

Both of the contracts have risen for a second week, each up over 4 per cent, as the shipping concerns buoyed prices.

A major investor in payments app Revolut has admitted being ‘impatient’ at its prolonged attempt to gain a UK banking licence.

The fintech firm insisted in March it would be granted a licence imminently – but 297 days later it is still waiting.

The ONS also reported that UK retail sales volumes rose by 1.3 per cent in November compared with the month before, beating economist forecasts of 0.4 per cent growth.

Retail sales were 0.1 per cent higher than in November 2022, far exceeding forecasts of a 1.3 per cent slump.

Excluding sales of petrol, sales volumes rose 1.3 per cent on the month and were 0.3 per cent

higher compared with November 2022.

The UK economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, revised down from previous estimates of flat growth for the period, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics shows.