A round-up of today’s other stories in brief

Petroneft encouraged by initial results from Russian oil asset

Exploration group Petroneft has reported "very encouraging initial results" from the evaluation of one of its oil licences in Tomsk in Russia, while the development programme on its second licence in the area is proceeding ahead of schedule.

The company, which is listed on London’s AIM index and Dublin’s ESM market, is hosting a three-day visit to its Tomsk assets for oil and gas financial analysts this week.

Warning over investment firm

The Financial Regulator has issued a warning notice in relation to Marcus Jones International (UK).

The firm has been offering investment services to Irish consumers, according to the regulator, but it is not authorised as an investment firm in Ireland.

It is an offence for an investment firm to operate in Ireland unless it has authorisation and clients of unauthorised firms are not eligible for compensation under the Investor Compensation Scheme.

KBC ups maximum mortgage LTV to 90%

KBC Homeloans, the Belgian-owned Irish mortgage lender, has raised the maximum loan-to-value ratio on loans to 90 per cent from 80 per cent, bringing them closely in line with loan deals on offer from AIB and Bank of Ireland. The bank has also increased its two- and three-year fixed rates for new borrowers to 3.45 per cent and 3.75 per cent respectively.