WELCOME to scotsman.com's Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today.
BANKING & INSURANCEAegon sells Scottish Equitable profitsA deal structured by Barclays Capital has seen insurance group Aegon raise £250 million from institutional investors. The group securitised, or effectively
sold off, some of the profits from its Aegon Scottish Equitable pension fund. The deal is being seen as many as the first step in a move by institutional investors towards new assets as they lose interest in banking shares of asset-backed mortgages. Aegon's UK finance director Mark Laidlaw explained: "What we have not done is sell the business. We have retained the business, but the basic profit comes off."
(The Scotsman)Underwriters step in for HBoSThe underwriters of the ill-fated HBoS £4 billion rights issue have been left with £2.6 billion of unwanted shares after investors contributed just £332 million to the fundraising bid. The Edinburgh banking giant revealed that shareholders took up their rights to just 124 million shares leaving underwriters Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort to pick up the remained. However, the investment banks did manage to sell on another 443 million shares at the offer price and claim they are comfortable holding the shares. Shaun Miskell, analyst at fund managers Blue Planet commented: "I think the fact that only 8 per cent of the issue was taken up says loud and clear that it may be some time before investors feel comfortable and confident parting with their cash to buy bank stocks." Fund manager at Edinburgh Partners, Graham Campbell added: "We feel that some of this caution has been overdone. We will be looking at banks' relatively strong position in the economy. We certainly see substantial attractions if those investors were prepared to look three, four or five years ahead."
(The Herald) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMY
UK facing a 'very rough ride'PC arch dove David Blanchflower has predicted the UK economy is facing a rockier ride than its US equivalent and claimed it may already be in recession. The economic academic who lives in the US is one of the few members of the Monetary Policy Committee to consistently call for interest rate cuts and he continues to believe cuts should be made to avert disaster. He said: "I think we are going into recession; we are probably in one right now. It's not too late to stop it, but we have to act right now. Monetary policy has been too tight for too long. We can't just sit and do nothing." He added that the 'we will probably have three or four quarters of negative growth' and that the US and UK could look forward to 'the biggest economic problem since the Great Depression'. Blanchflower also believes the MPC must now turn its attention toward inflation: "Our job is to focus on inflation in the medium term, so we have to look through the short term shock from oil and commodity prices. The economy is now slowing so fast that we run the risk of writing a letter on the low side in the medium term."
(The Herald) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIES
Scotland to become green capital of EuropeFirst Minister Alex Salmond has revealed the greenlight has been given to what will become the largest wind farm in Europe. The announcement came at the World Renewable Energy Congress in Glasgow and confirms permission for the construction of a 152 turbine wind farm in South Lanarkshire. Salmond claimed the development and the pending plans for hundreds more turbines and other renewable energy projects "demonstrates that we are only at the start of the renewable revolution in Scotland." The new wind farm will be capable of powering 320,000 homes and is bigger than the Whitless project near Glasgow and pushes Scotland closer to the target of generating 31 per cent of its electricity demand from renewable sources. He told the congress: "The initial target of 31 per cent will be exceeded long before 2011, and by 2011 we will be through the target by a very, very substantial margin." He added on the target of 50 per cent production by 2020: "I am even more confident about that than about the 2011 target. By 2020, we will be able to mobilize some of our gigantic stuff offshore."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
No aid for fishing fleetA House or Lords report has ruled out offering aid to the beleaguered fishing fleet as they struggle to pay for increasingly costly fuel. The report from a committee chaired by Lord Sewel also found that withdrawing from the Common Fisheries Policy is not a viable option. The Labour peer commented: "If we look at what has happened in the UK, particularly in Scotland, over the past few years, we see a very robust attitude to the size of the fleet and we have gone through significant decommissioning programmes. There can be a good case made that the balance, certainly in Scotland, is about right at the moment." He added: "Subsidising fuel prices seems to me to be completely the wrong way to go. Many industries are facing difficulties because of increased fuel prices and are having to confront a difficult market. Where you have got, on a European level, over capacity, it seems to me to be quite illogical to maintain that over-capacity by subsidising fuel."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comMANAGEMENT
KCRS to open Glasgow officeAmerican software firm KCRS is set to open its first international office in Scotland as it attempts to tap the market for employers seeking to counteract employee absenteeism. The group plan to launch in Glasgow by the end of the year and market their HR related packages allowing companies to measure and manage the 'sick-note culture'. Chief executive Pat Kalnas commented: "Scotland has a lot of initiatives that make it an attractive prospect for us. We needed to have a presence outside the US – a lot of companies we work with have told us that – and Glasgow seems like the perfect choice." He added: "Scottish Enterprise have been a great help – they're not just potentially giving us an RSA grant, but they give support and want our presence to be a win-win situation for everyone."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's management news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISURE
Costley chain hit by lossesCostley & Costley, the Ayrshire based hotel chain, has blamed the economic slowdown for reported losses. Pre-tax profits have slide from £1 million in 2006 to a £52,634 loss this year, however, the group still expects to open two new inns this year. The company believes the ongoing economic slowdown may see results suffer further as its hotels will be 'affected by a reduction in the number of overseas visitors to the west of Scotland'.
(The Herald) Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comPROPERTY
Milne reveals job cutsThe Stewart Milne Group is the latest housebuilder to announce substantial job cuts as the housing sector continues to suffer in the global economic slowdown. The Aberdeen-based group blamed 'deteriorating market conditions' as it announced plans to cut up to 289 jobs across its operations in Scotland and the north of England. Group managing director Glenn Allison said: "We have worked hard to overcome the challengers and minimise the impact of market conditions. We deeply regret that redundancies may be required at this time. We will do everything we can to support those employees affected and all other employees in our business while continuing to provide the highest quality standards of service to our customers."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
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