Scottish Business Briefing - Monday March 8, 2010

Published on Monday 8 March 2010 08:40

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

Capital barrier may rule out newcomer buying RBS branches

HOPES that 320 Royal Bank of Scotland branches south of the Border will be sold to a new banking market entrant appear to be fading as documents reveal bidders will need to stump up 2 billion of capital to support the network's 24bn loan book (Scotsman). Politicians had hoped that the sale – required under European Union state aid rules – would help increase competition if the network went to one of the hopefuls jostling to gain a foothold in the UK market.

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

ECONOMY

PMI: private sector up, but Scots still lag UK

SCOTLAND'S private sector staged an encouraging comeback in February after adverse weather conditions at the start of the year saw output plummet, figures out today reveal (Scotsman). Activity levels on the respected purchasing managers' index (PMI) soared in February – but economists warn that the Scottish recovery is still lagging far behind that of the rest of the UK.

Homes market bounces back to life

Scottish house-sales activity sprang back to life last month (Herald). The latest report from the Agency Express Property Activity Index shows the number of houses sold in February compared to the same month last year has gone up by 132%.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE

Glenfiddich takes throne as best-selling malt

FOR more than a decade it has held its position as the best-selling single malt whisky in Scotland (Scotsman). But after 13 years at the top, Glenmorangie has lost its title as the nation's favourite to its rival Glenfiddich.

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

INDUSTRY

CBI Scotland demands greater export help

A leading business group has called on the Scottish government to give more help to exporters (BBC). CBI Scotland said there needed to be a greater focus on Scotland's export industry and private sector investment.

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

TRANSPORT

Peel Group could increase Forth Ports bid to 800m after airports stake sale

TRANSPORT and property giant Peel Group is understood to be in talks to sell a majority stake in its airports division in a move that could see its bid as part of a consortium for Forth Ports rise to 800 million (Scotsman). Peel – which is led by billionaire John Whittaker – is believed to be negotiating with Vancouver Airport Services to sell a stake in loss-making Peel Airports.

Read all today's transport news from scotsman.com

Scotsman Business Club

Get 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."

Scotsman Conferences

Following the successful launch of Scotsman Conferences at Edinburgh: The Next Five Years on 22nd February, the debate is moving on with two new events. On 24th May Can the Green Economy Deliver for Scotland, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, will investigate whether the green economy can deliver the tens of thousands of jobs promised. The conference will be followed by the announcement of The Green List, a roll-call of the environmental heroes who are making a genuine difference to Scotland. Then, on 1st June, Shopping for Growth, in association with the Scottish Retail Consortium will examine the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the retail sector which accounts for 10% of the Scottish workforce.Find out how Scotsman Conferences can bring you and your organisation to the heart of the debate at www.scotsman.com/conferences.