Shell Flags Earnings Hit of Up to $4.5billion From Impairment

Shell said its fourth-quarter earnings took a hit of between $2.5billion (£1.97b) and $4.5billion (£3.54b) in impairments that were offset by significantly higher gas trading, while its overall production volumes are on track to meet targets.

The London-based energy giant said Monday the impairments were primarily driven by macro developments as well as portfolio choices, including its Singapore chemicals and products assets, which it has been trying to sell.

The FTSE 100 leader by market cap also said it expects its cash flow from operations to take a hit from a $900 million charge related to timing of payments of emissions.

Shell expects to report integrated gas production between 880,000 and 920,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day for the fourth quarter, which would be in line with its guided range of 870,000-930,000 BOE a day, and compares with third-quarter production of 900,000 BOE a day.

BT Group to turn old street cabinets into electric vehicle charging points

Old green street cabinets will be converted into electric vehicle (EV) charging points, according to BT Group.

The metal cabinets are traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling, but many are coming towards the end of their lifespans.

The first converted cabinet will be installed in Scotland within weeks, under a pilot programme.

BT hopes up to 60,000 could be converted, which would help tackle a shortfall in electric car chargers.

The government's ambition is to increase the number of charging points from more than 50,000 today to 300,000 by 2030 but Zapmap figures show nearly a third of all UK charging points are currently in London.

Ministers to meet to discuss Post Office Horizon scandal

Ministers are to meet to consider possible ways of clearing the names of hundreds of sub-postmasters convicted in the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk will meet Kevin Hollinrake, the Minister for the Post Office, on Monday.

It comes after the prime minister told the BBC the government was reviewing options to help victims of the scandal.

More than 700 branch managers were convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud based on faulty software.

While the scandal has been public knowledge for some time, an ITV drama which aired last week has thrust the issue back into the spotlight.

Music streaming service SoundCloud tunes up for sale

The owners of SoundCloud, one of the world's largest music streaming services, are preparing for a sale that could fetch in excess of $1b (£790m).

Sky News has learnt that Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean state investment fund, have begun interviewing investment banks about a prospective auction of the company.

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud provides artists with the tools to build their careers by providing them with an online home to publish their work.

In total, more than 40 million artists have released 320 million tracks on the platform.

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