BANKING & INSURANCE£37,000 a day: What RBS boss Hester could earn with controversial pay and bonus packageSCOTLAND has a new record for pay in the public sector today: a package worth up to £12 million over three
years for the new chief of the 70 per cent publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland (
Scotsman). It is set to astound and inflame in equal measure. The deal for chief executive Stephen Hester was agreed by the government agency UK Financial Investments (UKFI) and other leading institutional investors at the weekend. Both in size and structure, it has prompted some to suggest that a massive opportunity has been missed to make a clean break with the past.
Scots firms 'move away from banks as source of finance'SCOTTISH businesses are moving away from their traditional reliance on banks, with many planning to issue shares to raise money, a survey has revealed (
Scotsman). As the effect of the credit crunch on banks' ability to lend becomes apparent, Scottish owner-managed businesses (OMBs) are planning to raise more capital by issuing stocks. Last night representatives of Scotland's small firms claimed trust between some companies and banks had broken down. According to the survey by accountancy group Baker Tilly, 20 per cent of OMBs, often family-run, now plan to raise more capital by issuing shares. That figure compares with a UK average of 10 per cent.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMYJobs outlook 'as bleak as 1980s' The outlook for jobs in the UK is bleaker now than it was in the 1990s recession and more like the "deep" recession of the 1980s, the TUC says (
BBC). The unemployment rate increased by 30% in the first 12 months of the current recession, compared with 22% in the 1990s and 29% in the 1980s, it says. Unemployment rose to a 12-year high of 2.261 million in April.
Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURERoyal Highland showground's £75m makeoverORGANISERS of one of Scotland's biggest annual events have unveiled its new-look arena – months after being forced to ditch plans to move site (
Scotsman). The £75 million overhaul for the home of the Royal Highland Show includes a flagship pavilion overlooking the main arena, 6,000-capacity indoor arena and "centre of food excellence". The revamp is aimed at helping the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which owns the showground, attract more year-round events as well as increasing the value of their annual agricultural show, currently worth in the region of £100m. The arena is worth £250m to the nation's economy but the plan is to increase that to £300m by 2014, when the £75m programme should be complete.
Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comINDUSTRY
Holyrood firm wins contract for 2014 gamesOne of the biggest regeneration projects of its kind in Scotland, the £300m 2014 Commonwealth Games village, will be designed by the team behind the Scottish Parliament building (
Herald). Scots international architectural company RMJM is part of the winning City Legacy consortium, and is expected to be confirmed as the successful bidder for the prestigious project by Glasgow City Council on Friday.
Kirriemuir textile firm sets out to safeguard its futureA textile company that helped make Kirriemuir the centre of a home-weaving industry in north-east Scotland about 140 years ago is planning a multi-million-pound development to safeguard its future and create 200 new jobs (
Herald). J&D Wilkie was established in 1868, eight years after the birth of the town's most famous son, Peter Pan creator JM Barrie. At that time, the town produced about nine million tonnes of linen a year. Demand eventually fell sharply but J&D Wilkie adapted to survive and remains a key employer in Kirriemuir where more than 80 staff work at its manufacturing plant and headquarters of its global textile business. The company also has a manufacturing site in China.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comScotsman Business ClubGet to the heart of the issues affecting Scottish business at
www.scotsman.com/businessclub. Features include blogs from The Scotsman's formidable team of business writers - including Bill Jamieson, Martin Flanagan, Peter MacMahon and Scott Reid, a diary of forthcoming company announcements and networking events and video interviews with leading business experts covering a wide range of useful topics."
