BANKING & INSURANCEBusinesses fear Lloyds TSB could shackle HBOS activityA MERGER between HBOS and Lloyds TSB would have "serious and important implications" for Scotland's businesses, according to some of Bank o
f Scotland's most prominent corporate customers (
Scotsman). Last night, the prospect of losing what has been one of the most active and aggressive business banking groups in Scotland was weighing heavily as a number of the country's largest companies were forced to review their business strategies. HBOS not only banks a significant share of Scotland plc, but it is also a major backer of buyouts, investments and other transactions via the Bank of Scotland Corporate team lead by Peter Cummings, who is the bank's highest-paid director ahead of HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby. He is a well-known associate of Sir Tom Hunter – and often a 50/50 financier with Hunter in the billionaire's bold acquisitions including housebuilder Crest Nicholson.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYOutput expectations tumbleFACTORY order books fell at their fastest rate in more than two years in September and UK companies expect to cut output at the sharpest pace in nearly seven years as the global economic downturn bites harder, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed yesterday (
Herald). The CBIs monthly industrial trends total order books balance fell to -26 from -13 in August - the worst reading since January 2006. The output expectations balance fell to -16 from -13, the lowest since December 2001, and even more alarmingly for the sector's prospects, the export orders balance fell to -25 from -9, the lowest since October 2005, despite sterling's recent slide. Policymakers at the Bank of England have been counting on the weakness of the pound against the euro and the dollar to boost exports and helping restore economic growth next year.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comRETAILWoolworths in crisis as losses near £100mWOOLWORTHS plunged deeper into the mire yesterday as the 99-year-old high street retailer posted a loss of almost £100 million and warned its intended turnaround was a "huge" task (
Scotsman). The sweets-to-DVDs chain slumped to a £99.7m loss in the six months to 31 July, an increase of almost £36m over the previous period. Chairman Richard North said parts of the business were performing strongly, but conceded the group's core retail arm was struggling, as it reported a 3.2 per cent fall in like-for-like sales and falling margins. Despite the gloomy figures, Woolworths said there were the first signs of an improvement in recent days, with like-for-like sales in the first six weeks of the second half up 0.4 per cent. Shares in Woolworths fell as much as 8.4 per cent before closing down 1 per cent at 6p.
Read all today's retail news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGYDundee jobs axed as Cyclacel cuts one-third of workforceCYCLACEL, the drug company founded by Professor Sir David Lane in Dundee, is to cut a third of its workforce, blaming the "challenging markets" and the "economic climate" (
Scotsman). About 28 jobs will be lost across Cyclacel's three sites, with about 17 posts going at the firm's main research facility in Dundee. The company will close its secondary research laboratory in Cambridge, with the loss of seven jobs, while the rest of the cuts will be at its headquarters at Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Cyclacel said the redundancies would allow the company to focus on sapacitabine, its key drug, and on its "core competency" in drug discovery and cell cycle biology. The company said the redundancies would save $9 million (£5m) a year and fund operations for about 18 months. Cyclacel said that, as of 30 June, the company had $40m in "cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments". Shares in Cyclacel, which trades on Nasdaq, were yesterday down 11 per cent, or 14 cents, at $1.09.
Read all today's technology news from scotsman.comTRANSPORTBAA faces questions on Scottish airportsAIRPORT operator BAA yesterday admitted customer service needed to improve at its Scottish airports after the group hoisted the "for sale" sign over London Gatwick (
Scotsman). BAA intends to fight a call to sell off any further airports after the Competition Commission last month provisionally ruled the group must sell three of its seven locations, including two in London and either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said improvements had to be made and acknowledged concerns users might have about BAA's monopoly of Scotland's biggest airports, but defended the company's record at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. "I am sure there are a whole range of opinions in Scotland," Matthews told The Scotsman. "We are, I hope justifiably, proud of the performance of BAA in the Scottish airports. Of course we need to improve customer service. That is a healthy state of mind for an operator to have." Matthews denied that putting Gatwick up for sale was designed to quell the commission's case against BAA, saying the competition issues were "fundamentally the same whether we are selling Gatwick or not".
Ferry operator announcement due AN announcement is expected on a new ferry operator to take over the continental service from Rosyth (
BBC). First Minister Alex Salmond is visiting the Fife port later, less than a week after the Greek operator Superfast finally ceased operations. It is widely expected that Dutch ferry operator Norfolkline will take over but possibly not until the spring. Superfast Ferries, which ran a daily service to Zeebrugge in Belgium, announced in May that it was pulling out of Rosyth. The Greece-based company, which had run the service for six years, said it would end in mid-September and blamed fuel costs and passenger numbers for the decision.
Read all today's transport news from scotsman.com
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