LOW levels of savings will condemn many to finance problems, reports Jeff Salway

THE Scottish Government’s announcement earlier this week of details of its £6 million weather aid aimed at sheep and cattle farmers was yesterday viewed with a degree of scepticism by the chairman of the Scottish region of the National Sheep Association.

Growers of horticultural crops who are not paying a levy to the Horticultural Development Council (HDC) were warned this week that a “spy in the sky” will be used to track them down.

THE FTSE 100 continued its retreat from near-record highs after a previous session that saw the London market’s biggest fall in a year.

ENGLISH Premier League winner Manchester United has now trimmed £10 million off the annual interest bill on its debt through a refinancing arranged by Bank of America.

WATERLOGIC, the Aim-quoted maker of water dispensers, is poised to break into the Australian market after agreeing the A$60 million (£38.4m) acquisition of Cool Clear Water (CCW).

Spare a thought for Ed Miliband. Earlier this month the Labour leader gave a keynote speech on banking reform at the Co-op Bank’s headquarters.

THE National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and Berkeley Insurance Group have formed a partnership under a new division, Berkeley Heritage.

BANK of England policymaker Paul Fisher has cautioned against a US-style commitment to long-term financial stimulus, although he remains in favour of a “slow amount” of additional bond purchases.

LASER maker M Squared is teaming up with German research institute Fraunhofer to develop ways of detecting harmful gases from chemical plants, industrial sites and rubbish tips.

THE board of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation yesterday approved plans to split the conglomerate into separate entertainment and publishing businesses.

HSBC chairman Douglas Flint publicly apologised to shareholders yesterday for the bank’s failings after it was fined £1.3 billion in December following a probe into its Mexican and stateside operations.

BANKS have been asked to gauge market appetite for a £1.5 billion syndicated loan to back the planned privatisation of Royal Mail, according to banking industry sources.

CANADA’S Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is understood to be nearing a deal to acquire US eye care company Bausch & Lomb (B&L) in a $9 billion (£6bn) deal.

SSE and RWE npower have been given the go-ahead for a £1 billion offshore wind farm.

THE Co-operative Bank has stopped offering loans to new business customers, part of measures designed to quell growing concerns over its capital position.

Oil and gas explorer Petroceltic International, which bought Edinburgh-based Melrose Resources last year, has abandoned an exploration well off the Bulgarian coast after it failed to find enough gas to justify commercial production.

PRIVATE equity group 3i is to take over the European infrastructure fund management business of Barclays bank to boost its fee income from public-private partnerships and energy investment projects.

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FAVOURABLE weather conditions saw John Lewis enjoy an 8.8 per cent increase in sales last week, with its Glasgow store among its best performers.