Business briefs: City jobs | Exports | Manufacturing

• City jobs – The number of jobs created in the City fell by 12 per cent last month to 2,100, according to a report by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.

It blamed regulators’ stringent capital requirements for making banks more cautious about hiring.

• Exports – Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive Liz Cameron has called for all students to be given access to international exchange programmes, after a report found business people who had travelled abroad were more likely to export.

• Manufacturing – Optimism among manufacturers has risen for the first time since April 2012, despite weak activity in the past quarter, according to a CBI survey.

• Alexander Inglis & Sons –Turnover at the East Lothian–based grain merchant rose 20 per cent in 2012 to £70 million, but profits fell by a third to £2m due to a higher interest bill, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

• Retail sales – High street sales were flat in July due to the warm weather, according to accountancy firm BDO’s monthly tracker report.

• Enemetric – Gary Mayatt, managing director at the Wishaw–based construction firm, has met with Albanian deputy prime minister Edmond Haxhinasto to discuss opening a joint venture in the country.