ECONOMY
One British worker loses job every 30 seconds ALISTAIR Darling said last night that Britain appeared to be on the road to recovery, despite new figures showing that a job was lost every 30 seconds over the past three month
s (
Scotsman). The Chancellor said in his annual Mansion House speech to the City that there was "growing evidence" that the action taken around the world to stabilise banks and support economies was beginning to work. But his speech came just hours after figures revealed that unemployment had risen to a level not seen since Labour came to power in 1997. The 2.26 million unemployed include a rising number of white-collar workers.
Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comBANKING & INSURANCEHSBC to take on Scotland's corporate banking giantsBANKING giant HSBC has unveiled ambitious plans to boost its operations north of the Border in a move that will see it gearing up to take on Scottish rivals in the corporate banking market (
Scotsman). The plans to step up the pressure on the established Scottish banks was revealed yesterday by the newly appointed Scotland chief executive of Britain's biggest bank. Speaking on the day of his appointment, John Rendall revealed HSBC's strategy to further expand its business banking team. He also promised to open additional retail branches north of the Border.
Governor seeks more bank powers The governor of the Bank of England has called for greater powers to allow it to fulfil its new role of promoting financial stability. In a major speech in London, Mervyn King said the Bank could no longer act "like a church" whose congregation "ignores its sermons" (
BBC). His remarks appeared to be at odds with those made earlier by the chancellor. Alistair Darling told the same event he had no plans to fundamentally change the current system of regulation. At present, oversight is carried out jointly by the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority. But Mr King, delivering the annual Mansion House speech, said the major lesson of the financial crisis was that these authorities lacked the means to take effective action to prevent excessive risk taking at banks.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYDawson spins an £8.4m deal for yarn armCASHMERE group Dawson International yesterday announced it has sold its lossmaking yarn business to a major Chinese supplier in a deal worth about £8.4 million (
Scotsman). Dawson's 140-year-old Todd & Duncan cashmere yarn spinning arm, which employs 200 in Kinross, will be taken over by Zhongyin Cashmere, which is based in Ningxia. Zhongyin has been a major supplier of cashmere fibre to Todd & Duncan for five years. The deal also involves a four-year supply agreement, which will see the Chinese firm continue to sell yarn and garments to Dawson's couture knitwear business Barrie and its American division, Dawson Forte.
Tullis profits add up on paperFAVOURABLE exchange rates and price hikes helped Tullis Russell, the employee-owned paper maker, to today post a 20 per cent rise in full-year operating profit (
Scotsman). The Glenrothes-based group – which also owns paper coating factories in Macclesfield and South Korea – made an operating profit of £1.63 million, on the back of a 6 per cent rise in turnover to £153m. Tullis Russell said a "strict pricing discipline", which involved raising prices during the first quarter of its financial year, and favourable movements in foreign exchange rates had helped to offset rising energy and raw material costs. All 740 members of staff are shareholders and received a share in a £600,000 profit- related bonus pot, along with a further £150,000 in dividends.
Scots firm to build homes in devastated Italian cityPowerwall Systems, the futuristic construction services group based in Wishaw, yesterday told
The Herald it had struck a £35m-plus deal to build around 800 earthquake-proof homes in the devastated city of L'Aquila in central Italy, much of which was reduced to rubble after a series of devastating tremors in April. Powerwall, which is one of Scotland's premier mid-sized engineering and construction companies and one of the few to exhibit confidence amid a recession that crippled the sector, yesterday said it had struck a joint venture deal with an unnamed Italian company to replace many of the homes destroyed in the earthquake.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comScotsman Business ClubGet to the heart of the issues affecting Scottish business at
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