The FTSE 100 slumped again as fears the West will cut off Russian oil supplies sent the price of crude oil soaring again. London’s blue-chip index was down 155 points in early trading at 6,831.
Brent Crude Oil (LSE:BRENT) prices hit their highest levels since 2008 on Monday morning, at US$139 per barrel. Experts say there is no sign of downward pressure on prices, while the US may begin boycotting Russian crude imports as a further sanction.
Two of the world's four largest accounting companies, KPMG and PwC, became the latest companies to halt operations in Russia. PwC's decision will affect 3,700 partners and staff in the country.
Russian banks will begin issuing cards using Chinese card operator, UnionPay's, system. Russia's dependence on the Asian giant is growing due to its lack of sanctions with Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) recently suspending their operations.
Among the small caps, Argo Blockchain announced it has reached a supply agreement to buy Intel Corporation’s new blockchain accelerator. Argo will have pro-rata allocation rights to purchase a supply of the Intel units, with delivery expected to start in the second half of this year.
Blackbird reported its fourth consecutive year of record revenues in its report released today. Sales in the year to December 2021 rose by 32% to £2.1mln with growth in sports and news, two of Blackbird's core target sectors, up by 28% year on year.
OKYO Pharma has announced plans to list on the Nasdaq in the US. It confirmed it had filed the Form F-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but is yet to decide on the number of shares it will sell.