Investor disquiet at Menzies meeting

Three non-executive directors, each with more than 20 years on the board, were all re-elected at John Menzies yesterday.

LSE shares fall despite profits hike

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) posted a 56% rise in annual operating profits but its shares promptly fell almost 5% as investors fretted it would not be able to sustain its growth amid intense competition.

F&C future uncertain as Friends still talking sale

The future of fund manager F&C is likely to remain uncertain until at least the autumn, majority shareholder Friends Provident revealed yesterday after it disclosed it is continuing talks about the sale of its stake to several organisations.

PSN reports year of joint ventures and acquisition

PSN, the Aberdeen-based energy services business, has said it performed "well ahead of planned expectations" last year and continues to invest in long-term, sustainable growth.

C&W considers ways to improve shareholder value

Cable & Wireless announced yesterday that is considering demerging some of its businesses and is exploring other options to improve shareholder value after beating City forecasts with a 23% rise in annual underlying core earnings.

Nationwide new mortgages plunge 40%

Nationwide today said new mortgage lending dropped by almost half last year as the UK's biggest building society looked to weather the credit storm.

Bank minutes suggest MPC in hawkish mood

Fading hopes of an early cut in benchmark UK interest rates were dealt another blow yesterday when publication of minutes of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee's May 7 and 8 meeting signalled some of its nine members are in hawkish mood.

	Tesco buys out Hunter stake in Dobbies
	Tesco is to take full control of Dobbies Garden Centres after pushing through a deal to buy the 29.2% stake of garden sector rival Sir Tom Hunter, at a price that has cost Scotland's highest-profile investor more than £9m on what he could have picked up nine months ago.

Increase in pre-tax profits sees Optos shares rocket

Shares in Optos yesterday surged more than 9% after the Scottish eyecare specialist and rising technology star almost quadrupled its interim pre-tax profits and said its expansion projections were back on track.

Buoyant Thus posts maiden operating profit

THUS, the Glasgow- based telecoms group, yesterday posted its maiden operating profit for the year and said outlook for the current 12-month period is in line with estimates despite the uncertain UK economy.

£84m dividend haul for Hewden Stuart owner

Finning International took £84m dividends out of Hewden Stuart last year as the Canadian group sold off big chunks of the plant hire specialist ahead of the recent decision to close its fromer head office in Lanarkshire.

In the event of turbulence, CBI adopts the brass neck position

Alf Young on Thursday: When it comes to brass-necked denial and platinum-plated chutzpah in the face of reality, some of our leading business figures can show our senior politicians a fresh trick or two

Council of Mortgage Lenders expects business to fall by 21%

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said yesterday that it expects gross mortgage lending for the current year to fall by 21% to £285bn compared with 2007.

Oil industry warns on North Sea disposals

Uncertainty about who is responsible for cleaning up mature North Sea oil fields is threatening their future exploitation, the oil industry warned the government yesterday.

Clear sign of Noble ambition

Noble, the Edinburgh-based banking group, has signalled its growth ambitions with the acquisition of small and mid-cap research specialist Clear Capital.

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