Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday 27 April, 2011

Published on Wednesday 27 April 2011 09:37

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.

INDUSTRY

Cost fears only shadow over resurgent manufacturing

SCOTLAND'S manufacturing sector continues to ride a high with firms enjoying further upturns in domestic and export orders although soaring costs are starting to bite (Scotsman)

Tata Steel to invest 8m and create 26 jobs at Scottish plant

TATA Steel is to pump 8 million into one of its two Scottish plants, boosting output by up to 50 per cent and creating 26 jobs. The Indian steel giant is set to unveil the plans today for the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang, Glasgow, which will increase its capability to produce high-strength steel plate (Scotsman).

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

BANKING & INSURANCE

Barclays' first quarter profit falls by 9%

UK bank Barclays has reported a 9% fall in pre-tax profits for the first three months of the year to 1.66bn. The news comes as the bank prepares to face its shareholders at its annual general meeting (BBC).

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

ENERGY & UTILITIES

BP profits dip on Gulf of Mexico clean up costs

Profits at oil giant BP have fallen as the costs of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blast continue to affect the firm. Replacement cost profit for the first quarter from January to March was $5.5bn (3.33bn) compared with $5.6bn for the first quarter of 2010 (BBC).

Senergy takes the plunge with deepwater contract win

SENERGY, the Aberdeen-based energy services company, has won a significant contract to work on a deepwater oil and gas project in Namibia (Scotsman).

Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.com

MEDIA & LEISURE

Virgin muscles in on Esporta with 77.6m deal as membership grows

HEALTH club chain Virgin Active flexed its muscles with a 77.6 million deal to buy 55 Esporta gyms yesterday, as its profits and membership continues to grow (Scotsman).

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