BANKING & INSURANCEScots fear sweeping job cutsWhen Scotland lost its parliament as a result of the 1707 Union with England, the outcome was famously lamented as "the end of an auld song" (
FT).
There was a similar mood of melancholic resignation in Scotland on Thursday over Lloyds TSB's rescuing of HBOS – which includes Bank of Scotland, the country's oldest bank, founded in 1695 by act of the Scots parliament. But historical musings were overshadowed by more immediate concerns over the prospect of sweeping job cuts in a financial sector that in recent years has been the most vibrant part of the Scottish economy. Lloyds TSB said its management focus would be to keep jobs in Scotland. It also promised the enlarged group would continue to use HBOS's historic Edinburgh head office as its Scottish headquarters, hold the group's annual general meeting in Scotland and continue to print Bank of Scotland notes. But even Alistair Darling, the chancellor, who helped smooth the deal, said on Thursday he was "extremely concerned" about local jobs and was seeking assurances.
As an Edinburgh MP, Mr Darling has good reason to worry. With 17,600 HBOS employees, Scotland has the biggest single concentration of staff anywhere in the UK. More than 8,000 are based in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYWorkers may take Freescale to courtWorkers at the doomed Freescale Semiconductor plant in East Kilbride are attempting to challenge the legality of the company's slashed redundancy terms amid allegations of bullying by management (
Herald). Andy Kerr, MSP for East Kilbride, has confirmed that workers are now mulling the possibility of raising a legal action against the US electronics giant. He also said he had been "made aware of claims" that some workers had been threatened with a further-reduced redundancy package if they pursued a legal challenge against the company.
Venture gets pumping at ChestnutVENTURE Production has begun pumping oil from Chestnut, one of the oldest undeveloped fields in the North Sea, using a floating vessel designed to make smaller fields more viable (
Scotsman). The field, which was discovered in 1986, is expected to produce up to 10,000 barrels of oil a day, and the start of production was hailed as a milestone for the Aberdeen-based company. Venture acquired a 5 per cent stake in the field in 2001 and increased that holding to just under 70 per cent after its previous owners deemed it non- viable as a standalone development.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISUREGoals manages a much-needed score but match still as level as its sharesGOALS Soccer Centres has had a hard time of late (
Scotsman). Once the shining star of Scotland's Aim-listed companies, the five-a-side football pitch operator has come under fire over fears – seemingly unfounded – that the consumer slowdown will hammer its business, and company specific issues, with some analysts claiming the firm's outlook statements are inappropriate. But yesterday, Goals received a morale boost as analysts at Evolution initiated the company with a "buy" rating and a 350p target price, claiming few leisure sector businesses had the potential of Goals. The shares, though, were unchanged at 207.5p.
Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comRETAILBeanscene deal is 'Sex And The City meets Bohemia'FIONA Hamilton and Alison Fielding, the entrepreneurs behind Glasgow's Fifi and Ally restaurant chain, were yesterday named as the new owners of coffee-shop chain Beanscene (
Scotsman). Hamilton described the deal as "Sex And The City meets bohemia", saying the two brands complimented one another and both had "personality". The deal, for an undisclosed amount, will secure 130 jobs in Beanscene's 16 branches and is expected to treble Fifi and Ally's turnover to £6 million.
Read all today's retail news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGYGlasgow firm signs US wind turbine dealA SCOTS firm has secured a £1 million order to supply wind turbine technology to the United States over two years (
Scotsman). Glasgow-based Macom Technologies builds sensors to monitor the performance of turbines and has already shipped some of the 750 components on order. The deal was signed with Clipper Windpower, which is building turbines across the US. An agreement between Clipper and BP could bring further investment to Macom in future. Macom's device fits into turbines to monitor lubricants for metal particles, which indicate wear. The company, formed in 1999, has ten employees and plans to take on a further two. Ashraf Mabrouk, a Macom director, said: "The deal helps establish Macom as a prime player in the wind energy sector as suppliers of specialised but critically important wear debris condition monitoring equipment." Jim Dehlsen, of Clipper Windpower, said deals with other Scottish companies could follow. He praised "Scotland's leadership in driving forward technologies in support of wind energy's global expansion".
Read all today's technology news from scotsman.com
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