ECONOMY
Blanchflower makes cut callBank of England Monetary Policy Committee 'arch dove' David Blanchflower has insisted the central bank must make a dramatic cut in the base rate of interest or doom the country to recession and u
nemployment. Professor Blanchflower branded his colleagues' fears over inflation 'misguided' and worried that unemployment could hit two million by Christmas if the MPC does not follow his advice. In an interview with Reuters, Blanchflower hinted he would be calling for a cut of at least half a per cent when the MPC meets next week. He added: "To sit and worry about inflation expectations and what is going to happen to those, rather than worry about the fact that the economy is going to go into recession seems to be misguided. The way to get out of it is to act. Sitting by doing nothing is not going to get us out of this, and hoping that a knight in shining armour will come and lift us out of this is optimistic in the extreme." Blanchflower went on: "The question is what's going to happen in prices… 18 months down the road and the answer is inflation is going to plummet like a rock. I've obviously voted on quite a number of occasions now for small cuts but we need to act and we probably need to act in larger amounts than that. We need to get ahead of the game and it appears that we are now behind."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIES
Venture seeks more North Sea assetsNorth Sea focused oil and gas firm Venture Production is continuing its drive to snap up more assets in the mature province according to chief executive Mike Wagstaff. The comments came as the group achieved record first half profits, with strong production helped by a series of acquisitions. Now Wagstaff is eager for Venture to play a part in the consolidation of the sector which is expected to kick off, with the group ready to pay large sums of money for new assets. Wagstaff said: "We could write a cheque for half a billion pounds without requiring any additional financing."
(The Herald) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Johnnie Walker drives DiageoSales of Johnnie Walker whisky have broken through the £1 billion mark and helped bolster parent company Diageo, despite warnings from the drinks giant its underlying group profits could fall by 7 per cent in the current year. The news comes as Diageo, the world's biggest spirits company, revealed it had booked a 9 per cent increase in underlying profits to £2.3 billion in the year to the end of June, however, it continues to forecast a fall of between 7 and 9 per cent in the second half. Commenting on the Johnnie Walker performance, chief executive Paul Walsh said: "It's a momentous achievement. We know it is the first premium drinks brand to reach this target. It has been helped by growth in emerging markets like South Africa and Asia. Johnnie Walker's Formula One sponsorship has also helped."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISURE
SMG in 25 per cent profits announcementSMG, the Scottish television group, has claimed it is on track to hit its full year targets as it pushed operating profits up 26 per cent to £4.9 million. The company's STV channel appears to have shrugged off the slump in the advertising market and compensated falling national sales with strong growth in regional advertising sales. The sale of Virgin Radio and over £5 million in cost savings during the first half of the year is also being hailed as a reason for the limited turnaround of the struggling media group. Chairman Richard Findlay commented: "We remain confident of our ability to achieve the goals we set out and that our core television business will continue to move forward." Chief executive Rob Woodward added: "SMG is now operationally lean, commercially focused and creatively successful. We are outperforming in difficult market conditions."
(The Herald)Festival director calls it quitsEdinburgh Festival Fringe director Joe Morgan has resigned after just over a year in the role. Morgan has quit role after ticket sales dropped 10 per cent this year, but insists he had been thinking about the move for 'some time' and his resignation was nothing to do with the falling sales and ticketing difficulties in evidence this year. He said: "I feel privileged to have worked for the Fringe. It is the greatest arts festival on the planet and plays an important role in developing and showcasing new performing talent on a world stage. However, the role of the Fringe director has taken me away from my first love producing and presenting exciting performances to audiences and my intention is to return to that more direct relationship with artists and audiences."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comTRANSPORT
Stagecoach welcomes better than expected profitsPerth-based transport group Stagecoach has revealed its profits since May 1 have exceeded its expectations due mainly to a greater-than-anticipated growth in its UK bus division. Revenues in the group's UK bus division in the 16 weeks to August 17 were up 9.3 per cent – the jump is believed to be due to the increasing number of people choosing to travel by bus while the cost of petrol remains high. In a statement to the stock exchange, Stagecoach said: "We are encouraged by the current trading performance of the group, which provides further evidence of a modal shift towards bus and train travel prompted by high fuel costs, environmental concerns and healthy lifestyles. Whilst we are mindful of macroeconomic developments and of continuing cost pressures such as increased fuel prices, the outlook remains positive."
(The Herald) Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comPROPERTY
Forth Ports push ahead with Leith development despite delayForth Ports have claimed they are pushing ahead with the redevelopment of Leith Docks despite being forced to delay infrastructure projects until 2010 by the current economic turmoil. The announcement came on the back of the news the firm had enjoyed a 'strong' performance from its shipping terminals with turnover up 21 per cent to 90.1 million and operating profit climbing by 26 per cent to £22.4 million in the six months to June 30. However, pre-tax profits were down 25 per cent to £9 million though Forth Ports put that down to a £7.5 million reduction in the value of the Edinburgh Ocean Terminal shopping centre. Commenting on the regeneration of the Leith Docks, which the group has claimed will create 12,000 new jobs, chief executive Charles Hammond said: "The regeneration of Leith is a long-term plan, over the next 30 years. During that period, we'll go through a range of economic cycles but we will continue to invest in our property. We will focus our spending on securing the right planning consents, some alterations to Ocean Terminal and some investments in securing the tram connection and on the environment. This is one of the key areas that need to be developed for Edinburgh to expand and a key opportunity to grow the Scottish economy."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
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