BANKING & INSURANCERBS to co-operate with sub-prime inquiryEdinburgh banking giant Royal Bank of Scotland has pledged to 'co-operate fully' with an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission into
the bank's exposure to American sub-prime mortgages. The investigation is one of dozens being carried out by US regulators following the collapse of the sub-prime market and was included in the prospectus for RBS' £12 billion rights issue. A spokesman or the bank commented: "We will co-operate fully with any inquiry. But we cannot say anything more than this in the prospectus." A banking analyst told the Scotsman: "This is an industry-wide thing, given the difficulties financial markets are in. It is not a case of Royal Bank of Scotland being singled out. It is obvious that the SEC wants to take a comprehensive look at what went on in the sub-prime market, given its tremendous ramifications."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMYOutput down, concerns riseNew figures released today have revealed that after five years of continuous growth, the private sector in Scotland has slipped into decline. The Purchasing Managers Index also showed that private sector employment north of the Border had fallen for the first time as evidence continues to accrue that the credit crunch is starting to take its toll in Scotland. The output index for April was 48.3 falling from 51.4 in the previous month – any figure below 50 is regarded as a negative and shows a declining economy. Head of microeconomics at Royal Bank of Scotland David Fenton said it did not show an economy in recession but did not bode well. He commented: "Recession would apply to the whole of the economy and these figures do not show that. But they do tell us how things are domestically in Scotland. Scotland made a disappointing start to the second quarter, with a broad-based decline in business activity and the highest cost inflation since records began. Energy, metal and food prices were all in the ascent. Output process rose sharply, which suggests that companies retain a reasonable degree of pricing power."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYBAE yard worth £392 million to ScotlandNew figures from the Fraser of Allander Institute have revealed the BAE shipyard on the Clyde is worth £392 million to the Scottish economy. The figure is a marked increase on the previous year's estimate, upping the value by some £139 million. The influential think tank also claimed the yard currently supports some 5364 jobs in Scotland – 3194 directly employed by BAE at Govan with the remaining 2170 being supported by the yard in other industries.
(The Herald) Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMANAGEMENTLimo firm expands to NYFast-growing Glasgow chauffeur company thebookingroom is to expand into the competitive New York limousine market. The internet-based service currently operates a fleet of 50 vehicles in London and Scotland and targets the banking and financial services to provide the bulk of its clientele. The company also works with a network of owner-drivers across Europe, the Far East and the US. However, thebookingroom has now revealed plans to open an office in New York as it attempts to muscle in on the lucrative Wall Street market. Marketing executive Craig Chambers said: "It's a natural progression for us for the portfolio of financial clients we have in Europe. Speaking to some of our clients, we know they are not happy with some of the US suppliers, and we know that the systems we have, no-one else has. This gives us an advantage in being able to globally track our clients' movements through our control scheme." He added: "If we can grow by 15% to 20% in the US – rather than the 40% growth we've experienced in the UK and Europe – that would be really good going in comparison to the US companies. A lot of people are quite apprehensive at the moment about floating businesses, but hopefully it will be a minor blip and it will pick up. Other chauffeur companies are struggling a little bit in the US, but we should be in a better position to pick up market share because we don't have high overheads."
(The Herald) Read all today's management news from scotsman.comRETAILHunter goes to court to halt Tesco moveScotland's richest man, Sir Tom Hunter, has revealed he has filed an application for a court order to halt a rights issue which will dilute his holding in Dobbies Garden Centre. The entrepreneur lost out to supermarket leviathan Tesco in a battle for control of Dobbies last year but retained a healthy enough stake in the firm to remain a thorn in Tesco's side. Now Dobbies are planning a rights issue, underwritten by Tesco, which would force Hunter to spend £44 million to maintain his 30 per cent holding. A spokesman for Hunter commented: "We don't believe this is in the interests of the shareholders. It's a good deal for one shareholder and one shareholder only – Tesco. We look forward to the judgement on Monday." Dobbies chief executive James Barnes responded: "Obviously, we are a little disappointed. From our point view, well, we need the money. We are now at 220% gearing and more than £100 million of debt. We also plan to use the money for expansion. The money will be earnings-enhancing from day one – so that's good for shareholders."
(The Herald) Read all today's retail news from scotsman.comTRANSPORTScotRail seek locomotives in face of overcrowdingScotRail is seeking new rolling stock and made be forced to bring older locomotives out of storage to tackle increasing customer overcrowding on the Fife-Edinburgh commuter routes. The firm is currently advertising for locomotives after being unable to find trains matching those in the rest of its fleet as it attempts to meet the demands of three million passengers using the routes every year. A spokesman for First ScotRail said: "Our objective is to provide additional capacity – earlier than expected – to meet growing demand for rail travel."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comPROPERTYMore million pound home salesFigures from the Bank of Scotland have revealed the number of million pound house sales in Scotland rose by some 138 per cent last year. Despite the fact the rise far outstripped the three per cent overall increase in house sales north of the Border, the million pound sales accounted for only 0.2 per cent of Scottish property sales last year. Chief economist at the Bank of Scotland, Martin Ellis commented: "Although there has been a marked increase in the number of million pound property sales in Scotland since 2003, Edinburgh continues to account for the significant majority of £1 million sales. Nonetheless, Edinburgh's share of all million pound property sales has declined over recent years, with a number of million pound property clusters starting to appear across Scotland around places like Glasgow and Perth and Kinross."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
The full article contains 1226 words and appears in scotsman.com newspaper.
