Is there price to pay for sticking with Scottish bank?

Personal finance: Loyalty to your Scottish bank might hurt your pocket – it’s official.

High street banks hold the keys as Bradford & Bingley cash-call closes

Bradford & Bingley's £400m cash-call closed yesterday, and may leave six high street banks holding big stakes in the Yorkshire-based mortgage lender.

UK not taxing for Merrill Lynch

US banking giant Merrill Lynch might not pay any corporation tax in the UK for several decades after channelling $29bn (£15.7bn) of losses through its London operation, a report said yesterday.

Shires down after move to Aberdeen

Shires Smaller Companies, one of the investment trusts formerly run by Glasgow Investment Managers, has underperformed during a period of upheaval in its first half-year under Aberdeen Asset Management.

Scottish hotel sector maintains investors’ interest

The Scottish hotel sector is attracting new investors and enjoying relatively healthy trading conditions despite the current gloomy economic picture, a leading property consultancy and estate agency said yesterday.

	Taxpayers boost executive pensions
	The top two executives at taxpayer-funded Scottish Enterprise last year saw the accumulated total value of their pensions surge £400,000 to almost £1.5m.

Russian court bans BP chief for two years

BP said last night that a Russian labour court has barred Robert Dudley, the chief executive officer of its troubled Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, from office for two years.

Beleaguered pound hits near two-year low against dollar

The pound found itself on the ropes against the strengthening dollar again yesterday, weighed down by financial markets’ belief that the Bank of England’s inflation report on Wednesday signalled cuts in UK interest rates.

	Holiday group reports bright, buoyant outlook
	TUI Travel, which operates the Thomson holidays business, yesterday posted stronger third-quarter profits and said trading in the UK was "buoyant".

Credit crisis is slowing market, admits Bellway

Bellway, the housebuilding group, said yesterday that activity in the housing market remained depressed in June and July, with home reservations falling by around 45% in the second half of the financial year.

Petrobangla ‘frustrated’ as Cairn reveals Sangu field is running out

Petrobangla, Bangladesh's state-run oil and gas corporation, has claimed to be "frustrated" by the revelation that Cairn Energy's Sangu gas field is running out of reserves.

Logica sales growth figures take City by surprise

Information technology services firm Logica surprised the City yesterday by revealing it expected to beat its sales growth target for this financial year.

Stella Artois brewer InBev reveals UK sales drop

Stella Artois brewer InBev today reported a further drop in UK sales volumes, but said it had increased market share as the wider industry suffered sharper falls.

	Bank’s inflation report fuels hope of rate cut by end of year
	The Bank of England yesterday forecast UK economic output would stagnate "over the next year or so".

British Energy earnings dive 50%

British Energy said yesterday it is completing repair work on one reactor at the Hunterston power station in Scotland and hopes to get it up and running soon, as it announced that first-quarter profits fell by nearly 50% to £129m because of nuclear power station outages.

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