Scottish Business Briefing - Monday May 30, 2011

ECONOMY

Business group cuts growth forecast and predicts rate rise

A BUSINESS lobby group yesterday cut its economic growth forecasts for this year and predicted that the Bank of England was set to inflict further pain by raising interest rates in August (Scotsman).

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Engineer seeks to tap Middle East markets Motherwell Bridge plans growth into Iraq oil fields

MOTHERWELL Bridge, the Scottish engineering group, plans to drive its business into Iraq as part of a Middle East expansion strategy and boost turnover by 20% to 100 million in four years, said chief executive Russell Ward yesterday (Herald).

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

MEDIA & LEISURE

Distrify link to CMI makes perfect sense

THE COMPANY behind the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and Edinburgh Filmhouse has launched an online channel that is the first step in creating a new film distribution platform (Scotsman).

Firms asked to back panda deal

SCOTTISH financial services firms have been called upon to stump up 2 million to sponsor the giant pandas due to arrive at Edinburgh Zoo. Sir David Brewer, chairman of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), said firms that put up the cash would have "quite a card to play" in their efforts to win business there (Scotsman).

Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.com

TECHNOLOGY

Protein hologram is a world first

A UNIVERSITY of Edinburgh-based start-up company has claimed a "world first" by creating a 3D hologram of a protein for use in biomedical research (Scotsman).

Read all today's technology news from scotsman.com

TRANSPORT

Used cars drive Barnetts' sales but VAT hike a worry

USED car sales proved a boon to Barnetts Motor Group last year as its turnover rose 11 per cent to 45 million. The Dundee-based dealership said used car sales accounted for 2.2m of the increase, while new car sales remained "stronger than anticipated" following the end of the government-backed car scrappage scheme (Scotsman).

Read all today's transport news from scotsman.com