Mortgage approvals continue to tumble

Fresh UK mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped to yet another record monthly low in August, banking industry figures revealed yesterday.

Nomura buys Lehman operations in Europe and Middle East

Nomura Holdings, Japan’s largest brokerage, reached agreement yesterday to buy the European and Middle Eastern operations of bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings that are based at London’s Canary Wharf.

	Whyte & Mackay’s spirits fly
	Whyte & Mackay, the alcoholic beverage group, has surged back into the black in the wake of its acquisition 18 months ago by flamboyant billionaire Indian drinks tycoon Vijay Mallya.

‘From euphoria to despair and back again’

Analysis: CRUDE oil futures dropped in choppy dealing yesterday, knocked lower by doubts about the US government’s $700bn plan to bail out stricken banks and mortgage companies and by investors who booked profits after an epic one-day rise in the previous session.

EDF buys British Energy

EDF, the French utility, has agreed to buy nuclear power generator British Energy for £12.4bn, in a deal that will reshape the UK energy sector.

Public left confused by finance, says Aegon chief

Recent financial market turbulence has left people so confused and afraid about their finances that the government needs to act to help restore confidence in the financial services industry.

Pub chain warns of need for more sales

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers yesterday warned it faced rising costs next year and will need to accelerate sales growth to maintain profits.

UK approval of cancer drug boosts ProStrakan

Prostrakan, the Borders-based specialist drugs firm, yesterday said it had received earlier-than-expected approval in the UK for its cancer drug Abstral.

Faroe to develop fourth gas field in North Sea

Faroe Petroleum said it was on course to take a fourth gas field into development next year following a successful well test in the southern North Sea.

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr profits rise despite poor weather

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr said today the rainy summer weather failed to dent demand for its soft drink brands as it posted a 9.8% rise in interim profits.

	Hornby: I accept responsibility for job fears at HBOS
	HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby yesterday conceded he did feel to blame personally for putting thousands of his employees’ jobs in jeopardy.

Markets plunge as investors await US bail-out details

Equity markets plunged into the red and the dollar dived yesterday as jittery investors awaited more details of the US government’s $700bn rescue plan for the stricken financial sector.

Workers may take Freescale to court

Workers at the doomed Freescale Semiconductor plant in East Kilbride are attempting to challenge the legality of the company’s slashed redundancy terms amid allegations of bullying by management, The Herald has learned.

When US banking crisis proves transformational

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last big independent investment banks on Wall Street, will transform themselves into bank holding companies subject to far greater federal government regulation in a radical move that will reshape US high finance.

No takers over here if they start touting cash for trash

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is touting his audacious masterplan – designed to spend at least $700bn of American taxpayers’ money buying up all the toxic paper currently clogging global financial markets.

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