Scottish Business Briefing - Tuesday 31 August, 2010

Published on Tuesday 31 August 2010 09:36

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.

ECONOMY

Capital yet to feel full force of banks' collapse

SCOTLAND has yet to feel the full impact of the banking crisis and must brace itself for a migration of top earners to London, senior business figures have warned (Scotsman). The loss of scores of high earners will have a knock-on effect on the housing market and professions such as law, accounting and insurance, and will ultimately hit every part of the Scottish economy, it is predicted.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Life-saving technology for military vehicles drives Fife plant's success

PIONEERING battery technology that is saving lives on the frontline of the armed forces will contribute this year to record sales figures at the Glenrothes plant of US defence firm Raytheon (Scotsman). The battery management system prevents batteries in military vehicles being drained by increasingly sophisticated electronic devices.

Armoured vehicle maker rolls in with bumper profit

Penman Engineering Holdings, the low-profile armoured vehicle producer based near Dumfries, has turned in a bumper trading profit as escalating global security fears and continuing military and police campaigns against insurgent movements around the world have sharpened demand for its products (Herald).

Sales target sets the gold standard for spinouts

A GLASGOW University spin-out is targeting 2 million of annual sales within three years after signing its first contract (Scotsman). Gold Standard Simulations (GSS) has already signed a contract to provide services for California-based Semi Solutions and is in talks with other potential customers, including Cambridge-based CSR.

Scots clean energy experts in call to up pressure on China and India

A Scottish-based consultancy is calling on the international community to apply more pressure on China and India to switch to cleaner energy sources. M&C Energy Group did not specify whether the pressure should be applied through diplomatic or economic means (Herald).

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

PERSONAL FINANCE

Pension deficits fall on rebound in share prices

RISING stock markets have helped Scotland's biggest companies to reduce their pension fund shortfalls to their lowest level in a year (Scotsman). The total deficit of the final-salary schemes of the largest private-sector employers north of the Border fell over the four weeks in July from 10.6 billion to 8.9bn. It was the lowest figure since July last year, according to figures from employee benefits experts Buck Consultants.

Read all today's personal finance 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.