BANKING & INSURANCE
HBoS bullish on shares take upEdinburgh banking giant has shrugged off concerns there will be a limited take up of shares when its £4 billion rights issue is completed on Friday. The City speculation comes amid
reports from private client stockbrokers that they have been advising the bank's retail shareholders to ignore the issue. The advice is mainly being given on the grounds that the issue price of 275p is currently significantly higher than the level at which the shares are trading – 266.5p. A spokesman for HBoS commented: "We have never given an indication of the likely take up of the rights issue. We will not do so until it has concluded." One analyst told the Scotsman: "HBoS has a greater number of retail shareholders than virtually any other British company. As such, it could be that a rump of shares will be left with the underwriters. But the confidence damage from that could be overstated. After all, the cash call is taking place against the most tumultuous period in the market for many years. The bank would certainly argue that the depressed backcloth was as much to blame as anything else."
(The Scotsman)New warning on financial sectorAnother warning has been issued over the possibility of job losses within the Scottish financial sector. Ernst and Young has revealed the sector issued the most profits warnings in the second quarter of 2008 and claimed in a new report that sector transactions were in slowdown or, in some cases, 'dead stop'. Ernst and Young restructuring partner Colin Dempster said: "The slowdown, or in some cases, dead stop, in transactions is hitting Scotland particularly badly. We have a disproportionate number of deal-doers in Scotland who operate across the UK, particularly in London. We must brace ourselves for more job losses amongst Scottish financial institutions."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMY
Private sector suffering, say bankThe Royal Bank of Scotland's purchasing managers' index has revealed the Scottish private sector is suffering some of the worst conditions ever recorded. Service companies are particularly suffering as the credit crunch continues to bite hard and output contracts. Head of microeconomics at RBS, David Fenton explained: "Scotland's private sector economy lost further momentum in June, with the service sector hit harder than most. Activity also contracted in the manufacturing sector, though the rate of decline was less pronounced and the modest increase in new orders suggests that conditions might improve in the months ahead." ABI chief economist Rebecca Driver added: "Confidence in the economy is deteriorating rapidly: 61 per cent of people now think the economy is a lot worse than a year ago, compared to 49 per cent in April. Only five per cent expect the situation to improve next year. But people are less pessimistic about their own circumstances – while nine per cent feel a lot more concerned about the prospects of losing their job than they were three months ago, 13 per cent actually feel a lot less concerned."
(The Herald) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIES
SSE ponders Irish link-upScottish & Southern Energy is believed to be a front-runner in the £2 billion auction or Ireland's biggest independent power company, Energia. The bidding is expected to be started this week and city analysts claim the Scottish firm is keen to complete a cross-border deal. One analyst commented: "Normally you would think trade buyers would have an advantage over private equity in this sort of bid battle because of the duplication of synergies they can get that are not available to financial buyers. However, it is not so simple with Energia, because they would be fairly limited cost-saving synergies with a UK or European utility taking it over. It should make the bidding interesting." The comment came in the wake of claims that financial buyers are also lining up a deal for the utility firm.
(The Scotsman) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comINDUSTRY
AC Yule hit by rising costsRising raw material costs saw Aberdeen glazier AC Yule struggle to turn increased business into profits last year. The company, which supplies glass, aluminium and uPVC products to the construction industry north of the Border and in the north of England saw net profits up 7.9 per cent on last year despite an 18 per cent surge in turnover. Managing director Bryan Yule commented: "Overall, throughout 2007, turn-over was up due to strong demand for glass and aluminium, at our various sites, although turnover decreased slightly within PVCu in line with our forecasts, however, margins continued to be adversely affected by significant price rises in raw materials and energy costs. The current credit crunch is undoubtedly having an impact on the commercial new-build and home improvement sectors, but despite the challenges facing all companies, at present, we are currently sitting with a strong commercial order book for the remaining part of 2008 and into the early part of 2009, although we are continuing to see material and energy costs rising."
(The Herald) Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMANAGEMENT
Leadingham profits spell pay day for staffAberdeen legal firm Ledingham Chalmers booked a 25 per cent increase in profits last year, much to the delight of the staff. Figures released today revealed that members of the firm's limited availability partnership took home an average £173,000 share of the £4.1 million profit. Turnover at the mid-tier practise was up 19 per cent to £9.4 million with staff also sharing in £129,000 from the profit-related pay scheme. Chairman David Laing said: "We are very conscious that many clients are facing, or may yet face, severe economic pressure arising from the credit crunch and an ever-rising oil price. Our challenge is to respond by continuing to deliver effective support and value for money. Our continued financial growth has further secured our position in the marketplace and given us the confidence to invest for the future. Our current financial year has started well, in spite of the well-publicised problems of the residential property market."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's management news from scotsman.comTRANSPORT
MB Aerospace secure Airbus contractLanarkshire's MB Aerospace has won a seven figure contract to work on the new Airbus A400M military transport aircraft. The Scottish firm has been appointed to design and build operational tooling for building wings for Europe's latest military transport plane. General manager of the firm's aerospace division, Ian Eaves commented: "Airbus is one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers and we are very proud of our close association with the company." Chief manufacturing engineer on the A400M wing programme, Graham Wood added: "This tooling contract is pivotal to the success of the A400M wing production and our supplier selection was based on a detailed understanding and knowledge of wing assembly requirements."
(The Herald) Read all today's transport news from scotsman.com
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