Scottish Business Briefing - Thursday 11 March, 2010

Published on Thursday 11 March 2010 08:44

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

Fears for Standard Life jobs amid plans for 100m cuts

STANDARD Life has raised the spectre of job cuts after laying out plans to strip 100 million in costs from the business over the next two years (Scotsman). The Edinburgh-based life and pensions giant, which has been on an efficiency drive since its flotation in 2006, yesterday said it made savings of 47m last year and that the trend would be continued for the next two.

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

ECONOMY

Blow for UK recovery hopes as industrial output drops sharply

GORDON Brown's attempt to persuade voters yesterday that the government is steering a successful path to recovery was immediately thrown into doubt by official figures showing a sharp fall in industrial output in January (Scotsman). Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) unveiled a 0.4 per cent drop in overall industrial activity during the month, surprising City economists who had predicted a 0.3 per cent rise. The picture was particularly grim for manufacturers, who suffered a 0.9 per cent decline between December and January as Britain battled with adverse weather conditions.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

MEDIA & LEISURE

Second Alliance buy-back as DC Thomson sells some of its stake

ALLIANCE Trust has spent 19.7 million on its own shares after publisher DC Thomson put part of its stake in the firm up for sale (Scotsman). It is the second buy-back for Katherine Garrett-Cox, chief executive of Alliance Trust, after the board agreed to purchase 15.6m worth of the trust's own shares in October. The first buy-back was prompted by a sell-off of shares by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the world's second-largest sovereign wealth fund. The trust has been under pressure to buy back its shares due to the discount between the value of its stock and that of its investments.

Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.com

PERSONAL FINANCE

Pensions tax relief plans 'dangerous' warns lobby group chief

THE government's imminent reform of pensions tax relief has been branded "ridiculous" and "dangerous" by the industry's biggest lobby group (Scotsman). Ray Martin, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds' Investment Council, yesterday accused the government of undermining workplace pensions by deciding to withdraw tax relief on employer and employee pension contributions for higher earners.

Read all today's personal finance news from scotsman.com

TRANSPORT

Union to consider BA strike dates

Union leaders representing British Airways cabin crew will meet later to decide whether to call strike dates (BBC). It comes after talks between BA and the Unite union aimed at averting strike action broke down without agreement. The TUC, which has been hosting the discussions, said that no deal had been reached, and no further talks have been scheduled to take place. BA cabin crew voted for strike action last month over jobs, pay and changes to working conditions.

Airline launched by 'baby Branson' grounded one week after take-off

A SECOND airline launched by the so-called "baby Branson" has been forced to suspend flights after only one week, because it allegedly failed to pay aircraft bills (Scotsman). Varsity Express, which operated daily flights between Edinburgh and Oxford, has been grounded, leaving some 500 passengers with bookings. The fledgling airline's troubles come four years after Martin Halstead, then aged 19, launched Alpha One Airways, which flew between Edinburgh and the Isle of Man for just six weeks.

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 movingon withtwo new events.On 24th May Can the Green Economy Deliver for Scotland, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, will investigate whether thegreen economycandeliver the tens of thousands of jobs promised. The conferencewill 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, on1st June, Shopping for Growth,in association with the Scottish Retail Consortium will examine the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead forthe retailsector which accounts for 10% of the Scottish workforce.

Find outhow Scotsman Conferences can bring you and your organisation to the heart of the debate at www.scotsman.com/conferences.