Scottish Business Briefing - Monday August 8, 2011

WELCOME to scotsman.com's Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today.

ECONOMY

Seventh month of growth but Scottish recovery 'muted'

Private sector output in Scotland expanded for the seventh consecutive month in July, according to analysis by the Bank of Scotland. The latest survey, which is published today, suggested that growth picked up last month compared to June (Scotsman).

UK growth forecast set to be slashed as turmoil continues

THE Bank of England is expected to slash its forecasts for the UK economy once more this week and signal that interest rates are to stay at historic lows for some time yet, amid the latest market panic (Scotsman).

Asian stock markets dip on global economic growth fears

Asian stocks have slumped on Monday, extending one of the worst sell-offs in recent years, after Standard and Poor's cut the US's triple-A credit rating. Japan's main Nikkei 225 index fell 2.2%, while South Korea's Kospi lost 3.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 3.5% and Mumbai's Sensex slid 2% (BBC).

Glasgow events to offer advice on employee ownership of businesses

SCOTTISH business owners, managers and worker representatives considering turning their companies into employee or mutually owned enterprises will soon have access to valuable advice (Herald).

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

BANKING & INSURANCE

'Taxpayers will wait a decade for bail-out cash'

THE taxpayer was sitting on a 30 billion loss on its 83 per cent shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland and 41 per cent stake in Lloyds Banking Group following last week's stock market rout, as sources predict it could take more than a decade for the government to get its bail-out money back (Scotsman).

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

PERSONAL FINANCE

Scotland likely to become UK 'blackspot' for first-time buyers

SCOTLAND'S housing market is expected to be the worst first-time buyer "blackspot" in the UK as the percentage of those who expect to buy a starter home fell below the country-wide average, a new survey has found (Scotsman).

Read all today's personal finance news from scotsman.com