BANKING & INSURANCEBanks will not be bailed out, KingGovernor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has warned he will not rescue banks he holds responsible for the turmoil in the financial sector. While he conceded
the Bank would continue to pump liquidity into the markets we cautioned that it would he a purely short term measure and is not a remedy for the credit crunch. He told the Commons treasury committee: "I want to assure you that the Bank will provide liquidity assistance that the system needs in order to restore confidence. Such lending can only be a temporary measure but it can be a useful bridge to a longer-term solution." He added: "The banks neither need nor want the taxpayer to insure against their losses. One of the lesions of this financial crisis is that providers of mortgage finance had underestimated the risks, and hence the true cost, of the securitisation process."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIESSSE looks to hydro electricScottish & Southern Energy is looking at the possibility of constructing new hydro-electricity plants across Scotland as it bids to complement its drive towards wind power. While currently developing a 100MW station at Glendoe near Loch Ness, SSE has revealed it is pursuing two further, smaller projects. Chief executive Ian Marchant commented: "It is because of a positive experience at Glendoe, but also the fact that renewable energy targets have been increased from three years ago, and so you would expect the boundary between what is acceptable and what is not has moved in favour of renewables." However, the announcement immediately came under attack from environmental groups, with policy director of the John Muir Trust, Helen McDade commenting: "Advocating the destruction of Scotland's natural heritage to 'save' the environment from climate change is a spurious argument put forward for the economic gain of private companies."
(The Scotsman)EDF told to clarify position on IberdrolaA Spanish commercial court has ordered French utility giant EDF to make its intentions over Iberdrola clear. The French power company has long been rumoured to be preparing a bid for the Spanish firm which owns ScottishPower. Now the mercantile court of Bilbao has insisted that EDF should declare whether it intends to buy the Basque company or purchase shares or securities convertible into stocks. Under the court ruling, EDF must also state whether it is attempting to buy Iberdrola with a third party and if it intends the break up of the utility firm.
(The Herald) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTUREHolyrood hits out at DefraA move by Whitehall's rural affairs department to cut funding from the body that promotes UK food abroad has been strongly criticised by the Scottish Government. Hillary Benn, the environment secretary, announced yesterday that Food from Britain will see its funding cut by £700,000 this year and the organisation will be phased out completely by 2011. Scottish rural affairs and environment secretary Richard Lochhead responded: "At a time when the Scottish Government is doing its utmost to promote Scottish food home and abroad, I am disappointed that Defra has taken a unilateral decision to withdraw funding from Food from Britain without consulting us. We are currently looking at how to promote Scottish food exports as part of the ongoing national discussion. We are considering all options and will use this opportunity to review the marketing and advisory services available to the Scottish food industry."
(The Herald) Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comTRANSPORTConcern over Borders rail delayLiberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis has raised concerns over the three year delay in reopening the Waverley rail line between Edinburgh and the Borders. It was revealed earlier this month that the project was likely to take three years longer than expected and Purvis is now calling for more answers on the timetable for the scheme. He said: "The SNP are planning a gaping three year delay to the project, with the construction phase for the project not expected to start until 2011, despite the target date of the design stage being later this year. If, as the minister has said, banks are queuing up to lend the money to build it, why do Borderers have to wait another three years for the rail link construction to begin? More answers have to be given as to why there is this massive gap of three years between the end of the design and the beginning of the construction of the Borders railway." A Scottish Government spokesman responded: "Everyone will understand that with any major transport project of this scale, a thorough procurement process, including tendering, clearly needs to be undertaken before construction can begin. The length of this will depend on the market and negotiations with bidders as we need to ensure that we achieve the best value for the public purse, whilst ensuring a strong management structure is in place."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comPROPERTYNew village plan on trackA plan to construct a 240 home 'village' in the Carse of Gowrie has been given the greenlight after getting the final nod from the Scottish Government. The development had been given the go ahead by Perth and Kinross council in the face of protests from the local community council but had to go to the Scottish Government as the scheme would affect trunk roads and was contrary to the development plan. Developers Morris Leslie welcomed the decision and their representative Mike McWilliam commented: "I'm delighted with the result and I think it is well deserved. I think it is unusual that a local company creates jobs, and then proposes a development on a brownfield site and we've another 60,000 sq ft left to build. We've also said that we'll build our company headquarters here. We're giving 60 affordable homes, there's £200,000 going to the Errol community association to complete their village hall, you know, it ticks all the boxes."
(BBC Scotland Online)Bellway hit by first time buyers travailsDespite a relatively buoyant Scottish market, house builder Bellway has warned the remainder of the year promises to be tough for the sector. First time buyers are struggling to cope with new lending arrangement enforced by the continuing credit crunch which is beginning to hit the housing market. Bellway finance director Alistair Leitch commented: "There are instances of mortgage lenders dropping their loan to value ratio to 70 per cent, Now, with the best intentions in the world, where is a first time buyer going to find 30 per cent of even the most affordable properties." He added: "We're having to do more in terms of incentives to keep the transactions alive, we're seeing more visitors to sites, but it's not yet translating into a spring surge of sales. So I think we're in for a long hard 2008 and it just remains to be seen how long it will last into 2009."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
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