BANKING & INSURANCE
Hunt in Standard moveFormer Norwich Union Insurance chief finance officer Jackie Hunt has been appointed the new deputy to Standard Life finance director David Nish. Nish is seen as one of two internal candidat
es to succeed SI chief executive Sandy Crombie, despite not date having been set for the incumbent's retirement. Standard Life's Paul Keeble commented on the new appointment: "It is a key appointment for us. Clearly David has a lot on his plate, the role of deputy frees David up to focus more on the strategic development of the finance function on the group's strategic direction."
(The Herald) Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMY
Interest rate heldThe interest base rate was held steady at 5 per cent yesterday, however, confidence is rising among economists that a cut will happen before the winter. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep the rate steady as they battle to reduce inflation, but now economists believe November will see the first of several expected cuts as the evidence of recession continues to pile up. Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said the rates freeze was 'no surprise'. She added: "If as expected we begin to see falling inflation again towards the end of the year, then it is vital that the Bank of England acts in a timely fashion to reduce interest rates further in order to support Scottish businesses. There is no doubt that the economic slowdown is beginning to impact on Scottish firms." Cameron's view appears to be held by much of the market, with many pricing in a good chance of there having been three quarter point cuts by this time next year. Global Insight's chief UK economist Howard Archer commented: "We now lean towards the view that interest rates will be cut to 4.75 per cent before the end of 2008, with a move most likely in November. We expect the Bank of England to cut interest rates significantly further to 3.5 per cent in 2009." Frank Blin, Scotland chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers added: "With fears of recession rising and little sign yet of higher headline inflation feeding through into earnings growth, there is now a reasonable chance of a rate cut before the end of the year. This is far from certain, but if the MPC waits too long… it will increase the risk of the downturn being longer and deeper than necessary."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIESCBI urges government to exploit oil resourcesThe Confederation of British Industry's director general has urged the Government to invest alongside North Sea operators to 'scoop up every spoonful' of oil rather than impose an 'arbitrary and unfair tax'. Richard Lambert made the comments during a speech to the CBI Scotland dinner in Glasgow, which Prime Minister Gordon Brown also attended. While Lambert insisted the Government should help the most vulnerable in society that such help must make 'economic as well as social sense'. He commented: "There's a good example of what I mean coming up very soon. Quite a lot of people are going to find difficulty in paying their fuel bills this winter. The worst way to assist them would be to impose an arbitrary and unfair tax on the energy industry, just at a moment when we want those same companies to be preparing for vastly-increased investment in our energy infrastructure. The best way will be to work with, rather than against, industry to identify both those citizens who are in the most need, and the resources that will be required to help them."
(The Herald) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comFOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTUREVenters takes over at BelhavenScottish born former Sara Lee executive Euan Venters has been named as the new head of Belhaven, the brewer acquired by industry giant Greene King in 2005. Venters takes over from long-standing chief executive Stuart Ross who announced his retirement in 2007. The outgoing Ross said: "Belhaven has been the love of my working life. I have been very lucky to the leader of a great team of talented people for many years now and I will miss them a lot. Belhaven is a fantastic business and I wish Euan well." Commenting on Venters' appointment, Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand added: "Euan loves beer and pubs and brings over 25 years experience building major branded consumer goods to Greene King and the Belhaven business. Euan takes over the reins from Stuart, whose long and distinguished career with Belhaven has seen him build the business into what it is today."
(The Herald) Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.comMANAGEMENTScottish business failing to cash in on exportsThe opportunities presented by the weak pound are not being exploited by small Scottish businesses, a new survey has revealed. The poll by GE Commercial Finance found that fewer Scottish businesses are making overseas expansion a high priority when compared with other areas of the UK. According to the GE study, only 6 per cent of Scotland's small and medium-sized enterprises are considering moving abroad as compared to 16 per cent in Wales and the north-west and south-west of England. Chief executive of business finance at GE Commercial Finance said: "The weakening of sterling against the Euro and the US dollar should provide excellent opportunities for UK firms to maximise their export." Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland commented: "It's up to Scotland's and Britain's business support agencies to ensure our SMEs have the information they need to expand sustainably overseas. It's important to remember, in the current economic conditions, there exist both opportunities and challenges for Scotland's small businesses. The flip-side to these results is that it's becoming more expensive to import gods and services from abroad – which could see sourcing locally coming back into fashion." A spokesman for Scottish Development International added: "Our customers are very active internationally and, in 2007, we helped more businesses than ever access overseas market. With the current economic uncertainty, accessing new markets will become ever more important, particularly if existing traditional markets slow down. SDI is working with businesses across Scotland to ensure they have all the support they need to help them capitalise on these opportunities."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's management news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGYWolfson set to cut pricesSemiconductor group Wolfson has seen its shares jump after it was revealed the Edinburgh firm was planning to cut the prices of some of its components as it battles to fight off its cheaper rivals. Wolfson sells audio components used in portable media players and mobile phones but has lost out recently after rivals entered the market touting lower prices. The news came following a meeting between Royal Bank of Scotland analyst Didier Scemama and Wolfson finance director Mark Cubitt where it emerged the group were planning 'selective mark downs' in a bid to defend sales to key customers. In a note to client, Scemama later wrote: "We continue to believe that Wolfson's audio products remain best-in-class, but we believe that the gap between them and competitors has narrowed for some high-volume/maturing segments like PNDS (portable navigation devices) and PMPs (portable media players) where price is increasingly the only element of differentiation."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's technology news from scotsman.com
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