Wetherspoon chokes on smoking ban

The English smoking ban yesterday clouded figures from pub chain JD Wetherspoon, which shed 17% and dragged the rest of the sector down with it.

Myners praises pensions reform

The new “personal accounts” for pension saving at work will have “a powerful impact on people’s lives”, the chairman of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority, Paul Myners, said in Edinburgh yesterday.

Goldman raises forecasts as Brent crude sets new record

Investment bank Goldman Sachs raised its target price on Brent crude yesterday as the North Sea blend gained about $1 and set a fresh record in London trading.

AWG sells Morrison utility services division

Anglian Water Group (AWG) has sold off Morrison Utility Services in the latest chapter of its tumultuous ownership of the former Morrison Group.

Phone ads developer makes £2m funding connection

Rapid Mobile Media, the fledgling Edinburgh-based maker of software for mobile phone advertising and betting, yesterday said it had secured a £2m funding round led by US venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Widows Bank lifts profits

Scottish Widows Bank says the change in the financial climate halfway through last year helped it secure a stronger market position in the second half.

Loganair acquisition beefs up maintenance operations

Loganair, the ambitious Scottish airline, announced yesterday it has acquired an engineering and maintenance company based in Aberdeen.

The only thing HMRC can’t seem to lose is its poor reputation

Business Diary: The taxman has always been an easy target for jokes at financial services gatherings but the loss of two discs containing personal data on 25 million people last year has opened HM Revenue & Customs up to further ridicule.

Sterling moves above $2 as MPC holds UK rates steady

The pound jumped above $2 for the first time this year yesterday after the Bank of England held UK base rates at 5.25%.

Scottish Citylink Coaches doubles full-year earnings

Scottish Citylink Coaches, in which the Stagecoach transport group has a 35% stake, more than doubled profits in 2007, according to accounts filed with Companies House.

	Aggreko plans £1bn spending on new stock and jobs boost
	Aggreko is to boost job numbers and expand its Dumbarton plant after announcing yesterday it is investing £1bn in new stock.

Finning shuts down Hewden Scottish headquarters

Plans have been announced to close plant hire firm Hewden's head office in Lanarkshire with the loss of 27 posts in the latest apparent downgrading of what used to be one of Scotland's grandest corporate names.

Record year revealed in modest accounts filing from MJM

Bra tycoon Michelle Mone yesterday said that her MJM International company last year lifted profits to a record high and insisted 2008 would be "even better" as she pushed towards opening 100 stores.

	John Lewis bullish about sales in Glasgow
	The woman in charge of John Lewis’s Glasgow department store said she expected it to defy concerns of a sharp slowdown on UK high streets by increasing sales in 2008-09.

F&C impatient to bring end to frustrations

F&C Asset Management yesterday warned it is losing business while Friends Provident mulls how to dispose of its 52% stake and said it is preparing to cut jobs across its operations.

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