ECONOMYInterest rate hintThe minutes from the latest meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee have hinted at a possible cut in the base interest rate as early as November. Analysts have suggeste
d the fact the committee was split three ways on the correct course of action as the Bank juggles a slowing economy and rising inflation could point to action rather than the continuing status quo. According to the minutes, arch-hawk Tim Besley once again called for a quarter point hike while dove David Blanchflower was urging a quarter point cut. Senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young Item Club, Hetal Mehta commented: "The majority of MPC members of MPC members though the current weakness in the economy and the resulting space capacity was enough to bear down on inflation without the need for an increase in the interest rate. Item (Club) still believes that interest rates will stay on hold during the summer months, but the possibility of a cut in November seems increasingly likely." Senior economist with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Brian Reade added: "Our central view remains that we will see the first rate cut in early 2009, with an outside chance of a cut before Christmas if it becomes clear that inflation is starting to turn the corner."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIESSheikh joins SovereignAberdeen oil services company Sovereign Oil group is making a bold move to win contracts in the Middle East by appointing a 25 year old member of the Kuwaiti royal family to its board. The firm, one of Scotland's
smallest listed companies, has announced the appointment of Sheikh Sabah Ali Fahad al-Salem al-Sabah as a non-executive director with immediate effect. The firm has refused to answer questions on the appointment but a statement from chief executive Graham Burgess revealed: "We are delighted to welcome Sheikh Sabah to the Sovereign team. His knowledge, experience and connections will strengthen our capabilities in key Middle East and international markets and will expand opportunities to develop internationally." A spokeswoman for Sovereign, which has a sales office in Kuwait, added: "The idea is to progress and take advantage of his connections in the Middle East to help facilitate Sovereign's expansion there. Hopefully new contracts will come through."
(The Scotsman)North Sea revenues boost UK public financesBritain's suffering public finances were pushed into surplus in July by strong tax revenues from North Sea oil companies, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics. Almost £4 billion of the £9.9 billion Corporation tax paid was from North Sea companies with higher oil prices pushing up the tax paid by the operators.
(The Herald) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYCBI adds to the economic gloomA new survey from the CBI has revealed output expectations in the manufacturing sector are at their lowest level for almost seven years. Of the manufacturers polled, 33 per cent expect to see a fall in output in the next three months with just 20 per cent predicting a rise – the net 13 per cent forecasting a fall is the worst result since December 2001. UK economist with Capital Economist, Paul Dales commented on the survey: "August's UK CBI monthly industrial trends survey suggests that the manufacturing sector is leading the rest of the economy into recession. The fall in the output expectations balance from -7 in July to -13 is consistent with the official measure of (manufacturing) output falling by around 3 per cent (per annum) in the coming months. Both the total and export orders balances fell back to the lows seen back in April. And the recent weakening in activity in the eurozone – the UK's largest export market – suggests that further falls are likely. Overall, this survey suggests that it won't be long before the official data confirm that the manufacturing sector is in recession."
(The Herald) Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISURECalls for Montrose cinemaA pressure group in Montrose is demanding a permanent cinema in the town, complaining that film-goers must travel to Dundee or Aberdeen. The Montrose Picture House team has been showing films in an old church and a hotel but are now calling for a permanent facility to be opened in the town. They have now targeted the town's former Gala bingo hall which is currently being turned into a bar. Campaigner Anthony Baxter explained: "The great thing about bingo halls which have come from cinemas is they tend to retain many of their original features. The Montrose Gala bingo hall is no exception. At the top of the first floor there's a balcony with tiered seating in it and lovely old cinema seats."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comTRANSPORTStagecoach on London shortlistPerth based Stagecoach has made it onto the shortlist to run a new English rail franchise operating some of London's most important commuter routes. The South Central franchise will go to either Stagecoach, National Express, Govia and Dutch rail firm Ned Railways. Under the franchise, the successful operator will be responsible for the Southern Railway routes and the Gatwick Express service. Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach commented: "Stagecoach has an excellent track-record of high operational performance and delivering major investment to improve services for millions of passengers across our existing rail networks." He added: "Our experience in running the UK's biggest commuter rail franchise at South West Trains and attracting new leisure passengers will give us a strong platform to develop innovative and environmentally sustainable plans for the South Central franchise."
(The Scotsman)Competitions Commission calls for sale of Scottish airportThe Competitions Commission has said BAA should cease to run either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport amid claims that its control of seven airports in the UK leads to adverse consequences 'for passengers and airlines'. As well as ceding control one of the Scottish airports the commission also believes BAA should relinquish operations at two of its three London facilities. Chairman of the CC's BAA airports inquiry group, Christopher Clarke commented: "While we accept that constraints on runway capacity in the south east will limit the scope for the benefits of competition in the short-term, we believe that separate owners would be more active than BAA in exploiting existing opportunities. In Scotland, where there are no similar capacity constraints, we believe separate owners of Edinburgh and Glasgow would similarly improve their offerings. In Scotland, BAA has until recently been noticeably slow to develop new routes at Glasgow and Edinburgh, while at Aberdeen, its investment plans are regarded as unambitious despite relatively high levels of profitability."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's transport news from scotsman.comPROPERTYMortgage slump to continueThe Council of Mortgage lenders has warned the fall in mortgage lending across UK will continue in the coming months, with the slump getting worse. New figures from the CML revealed that total lending in July was up to £24.8 billion, up by 5 per cent on the previous month but still 27 per cent down on the same month just 12 months ago. The council's head of research, Bob Pannell commented: "While there was a small month-on-month increase in activity, it represented a notable decline from a year ago. This continues the weaker picture seen in June and points towards the more subdued levels of lending we are likely to see in the second half of 2008."
(The Herald) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
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