Vienna - The price for crude oil pro

Oslo - Norwegian energy giant Statoil Hydro's second-quarter earnings were boosted by record-high oil and gas prices, the group said Friday.

Net income was 18.91 billion kroner (3.68 billion dollars), up 36 per cent on the corresponding business quarter in 2007.

Turnover increased 34 per cent to 170.6 billion kroner, the group said, noting that net operating income surged 74 per cent to 62.6 billion kroner.

"The second quarter result is primarily influenced by high oil and gas prices," Statoil Hydro chief executive Helge Lund said in a statement.

London - Energy giant British Energy has rejected a takeover bid worth 12 billion pounds (24 billion dollars) by French firm EDF which had been expected to carry out a massive renewal of nuclear energy plants in Britain, it was reported Friday.

The deal would have involved the sale of most of Britain's outdated nuclear power stations to the French state-owned energy firm, and was the centrepiece of the British government's future plans for a revival of nuclear energy.

A deal was expected to have been announced Friday. But according to reports, EDF said in a statement that conditions were not right for it to proceed with the deal.

Stock market analysts have maintained ‘buy’ rating on Suzlon Energy stock with an intraday target of Rs 227.

According to them, interested traders can purchase the stock above Rs 219 with a strict stop loss of Rs 215. If the stock market remains on positive track, the stock pricing becomes more attractive, and reach above Rs 228.
 
Shares of the company, on Wednesday (July 30), closed at Rs 218.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 1582826. Current EPS and PE Ratio stood at 8.46 and 26.14 respectively. The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 460 and a low of Rs 174.50 on BSE.

Vienna - If the board of the UN nuclear watchdog approves an inspection agreement with India on August 1 as planned, it could set a precedent for other nuclear weapon-capable countries to also seek limited IAEA inspections in return for wider benefits.

While the inspection agreement will bring New Delhi closer to international nuclear nonproliferation norms, experts warn that the so-called Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does little to limit the Indian nuclear weapons programme.

The IAEA Board of Governors is likely to adopt the agreement unanimously, Vienna-based diplomats said. Even India's regional rival Pakistan has indicated it will not ask for a vote on the issue, they added.