Scottish Business Briefing - Friday September 3, 2010

Published on Friday 3 September 2010 09:10

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 & INSURANCE

Edinburgh spared the worst as RBS axe swings

ROYAL Bank of Scotland has delivered another blow to the beleaguered financial services community by revealing 3,500 more jobs are to be slashed in its UK business - including several hundred in Scotland (Scotsman). While the majority of the cuts will be in business services centres in England, about 1,000 posts are to go in the bank's IT services division which has a major hub in Edinburgh.

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE

Alcohol consumption 'continues to fall'

Alcohol consumption in 2009 saw the sharpest year-on-year decline since 1948, figures from the British Beer and Pub Association suggest Other figures show beer is the most popular drink sold, accounting for 60% of all alcohol sales in pubs, hotels, and restaurants (BBC). Wine is in second place at 17%. In 2009, the UK ale market increased its market share of all beers for the first time since the 1960s.

Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Weir Group expands in India with 40m deal

Weir Group is set to double business in India after swallowing a fast-growing valves business based in the subcontinent for an eight-figure sum (Scotsman). The swoop on the valves division of BDK Engineering Industries is the latest in a line of bolt-on deals which have boosted the size and reach of Glasgow-based Weir.

Scots engineers showing cautious optimism as exports drive rebound

Rising domestic and export orders have pushed optimism among Scottish engineering firms to its highest level in 12 years, according to a report published today (Scotsman). Order intake and output volumes have both increased significantly, leading to a "healthy" rise in employment numbers and hours of overtime, Scottish Engineering's quarterly review showed.

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

RETAIL

Currys owner in bullish mood as it plays down fears of a double-dip

Currys owner DSG International was firmly in the upbeat camp yesterday saying it did not expect a double-dip recession despite waning consumer confidence (Scotsman). The group offered the rosy outlook as it met forecasts for first-quarter trading, with sales boosted by the World Cup and strong demand for Apple's iPad

Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com

TECHNOLOGY

5m boost for firm's treatment against head lice

A Scottish biotechnology pioneer hopes to take the hassle out of treating head lice after licensing its know-how to the maker of some of the country's best known medicines (Herald). Borders-based Ectopharma's technology will be used by Thornton & Ross to add a new generation of products to tackle head lice to its stable of remedies

Read all today's technology news from scotsman.com

Entrepreneur

Be inspired and communicate with other Scottish entrepreneursat http://entrepreneur.scotsman.com. Features includeupdates from The Scotsman's Executive Editor Bill Jamieson, a diary of forthcoming company announcements and networking events and videoadvice on how to succeed with your new business start-up.