BANKING & INSURANCEHBoS fears on rights issueIt is believed that HBoS could reveal as few as ten per cent of its shareholders have taken part in the £4 billion rights issue it launched as it bids to shore up its
balance sheet. The Edinburgh banking giant would be facing one of the least successful cash calls the City has known should it return the kind of figures being widely predicted. Such a result would also see underwriters Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort saddled with around £3.6 billion of shares they would be seeking to dispose of, further driving down the bank's already suffering share price. HBoS have so far refused to reveal the scale of the take up but it is widely predicted that the bank's smaller shareholders have turned their back on the rights issue after the share price slipped below the offer price. The underwriters are now expected to spend the next several days attempting to place the shares with City investors.
(The Scotsman)Barclays fundraiser leaves 40 per cent in foreign handsA fundraising bid by Barclays has resulted in some 40 per cent of the banking giant now being in foreign hands. Only one in five existing Barclays shareholders backed the £4.5 billion cash bid and now the Gulf state of Qatar is the bank's largest shareholder – investors baulked at the rights issue after the Barclays share price fell below the 282p offer price. Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitusi has become a new investor, while Singapore state investment company Temasek and the state-run China Development Bank have also increased their holdings.
(The Herald) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMYScotland weathering economic stormThe new Business in Britain poll has revealed that Scotland is the only part of the UK looking to the economic future with anything approaching optimism. According to the new survey, of the 1800 UK companies questioned, the balance expecting better rather than worse order books for the next six months fell from +18 per cent in January to -8 per cent for this month. Meanwhile, the balance of UK firms predicting higher rather than lower profits over the same period has fallen from +4 per cent to -25 per cent. However, there appears to be a more confident outlook in Scotland with business confidence north of the Border at +2 per cent and with +8 per cent of Scots firms reporting a rise in sales, against an overall +6 per cent UK wide. Corporate and commercial director of Lloyds TSB Scotland Manus Fullerton commented: "The UK, as a whole is experiencing a challenging business climate. However, it is encouraging that Scotland appears to be weathering these difficulties better and indeed is more optimistic for the future."
(The Scotsman)Bank to hold on rate cutsSir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, has given a fresh indication that the central bank is in no hurry to cut interest rates as inflation continues to rise. He also added that he could not rule out the possibility of the UK economy slipping into recession and the risk of such an outcome increased as the credit crunch dragged on. Speaking at the London Stock Exchange, he said: "Am I satisfied with the state of tensions in financial markets? No, not at all. It's going on longer and it's more fragile and fraught than I would like." He added: "With inflation rising well above target we need a period of slower growth to create a margin of space capacity. I can assure you that we will do whatever it takes to bring inflation back to target in the medium term. If the sharp credit squeeze was the only challenge we faced, the MPC would be expected to continue reducing rates to mitigate the risk of an excessive fall in demand. But we do face another simultaneous shock, the sharp rise in commodity prices, which is driving inflation across the world. That raises the question of whether we should be raising rates. But we must ensure that inflation returns to target when this year's increases fall out of the index in a year's time. That means ensuring that the higher rate of inflation does not become embedded in expectations of wage and price setters."
(The Herald) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIESTaqa looks to the North Sea long termTaqa, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi national oil company, pledged to remain in Scotland for the long term after recently acquiring eight mature North Sea oil fields from Shell and Exxon Mobil. Chief executive Peter Barker-Homek has also pledged to base an oil 'centre of excellence' in Aberdeen and develop a similar gas operation in the Netherlands. Barker-Homek commented: "Within the next 12 months, you'll certainly hear an announcement from Taqa. We will continue to build not only our European practice, but also our Scottish practice. Ideally, we will have £10 billion of assets in the North Sea by the end of 2012." He added: "We're hiring through 2012 and will be creating a number of jobs in Aberdeen. We would look to have 400-600 employees in Scotland and then around 800 in the rest of Europe."
(The Scotsman)Biomass plant planned for FifePaper makers Tullis Russell have revealed plans for a new £100 million biomass heat and electricity power station for their plant at Markinch. The new facility is set to be built by Npower and will replace the current coal-fired system. The Scottish Government is set to contribute £8.1 million to the construction costs of the facility which is expected to be up and running by 2011. First Minister Alex Salmond commented: "This is tremendously exciting with huge economic and environmental benefits for Scotland. The Scottish Government has fully supported the partnership working of these two leading international companies. The new biomass plant in Markinch is a significant investment in Scotland."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISUREAberdeen FC move to reassure on new stadiumAberdeen Football Club have insisted the cash crisis engulfing Aberdeen City Council will not affect plans for a new stadium in the city. The club have confirmed they will underwrite the city council's share of the business case and concept design stages of a feasibility study into the ground at either Kings' Links or Loriston Loch. Aberdeen managing director Duncan Fraser said on the club's website: "With the start of the feasibility study, we are now really starting to push forward with the arena project and discuss how various key partners can get involved and it is vital for Aberdeen Football Club that we don't lose momentum. As the council is reviewing expenditure on capital projects, we have taken the decision to underwrite the business case and concept design work, which is being tendered at the moment and follows the award last week of the environment and transport assessments as part of the feasibility process. This decision by the club should enable the full feasibility study to be completed by the turn of the year."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.com
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