The Scotsman

Bush's Economic Guru to Replace Greenspan at Fed

PRESIDENT George Bush last night named his top economic adviser, Ben Bernanke, as the successor to Alan Greenspan as the head of the US Federal Reserve. Bush said the former Fed board member would make an "outstanding" chief, but the decision still needs the backing of the Senate. If the Senate does back Bernanke's appointment, he will become the 14th Fed chairman, taking over from 79-year-old Greenspan, whose 18-year tenure runs out on 31 January.

Drink and Drugs Put Life-Saving Mountain Shelters Under Threat

SOME of Scotland's life-saving mountain bothies may be forced to close because of a rise in anti-social behaviour in the remote shelters. Trustees who look after about 100 of the remote stone huts across the UK have warned that they are being put at risk by people with little interest in outdoor pursuits.

Bt Changes Will See Local Links Opening Up

STEVE Robertson, chief executive of new BT division Openreach, yesterday unveiled plans to split the company into ten separate regional divisions, while a new head of the Scottish operation will be appointed within the next fortnight. The Edinburgh-born executive was speaking ahead of a meeting with 500 of the new firm's 3,000 Scottish staff - mainly engineers - to clarify changes to their jobs as a result of the new division.

Cameron Makes Most of Blair's Education Troubles, Labelling Him History's Man

DAVID Cameron, the young favourite to lead the Conservatives, took a swipe at Tony Blair's diminishing authority yesterday, as the Prime Minister was locked in a row with his own Cabinet over education reform. Mr Cameron mocked Mr Blair's urgency in trying to push through a radical shake-up for schools, suggesting that Mr Blair was "shuffling" through his "twilight years" after failing to make a difference after almost a decade in power.

Review: Jim Lambie: The Byrds; Louise Hopkins; John Houston; the Sea; Steven Hood: Confronting an Art Scene That Celebrates Only Itself

JIM LAMBIE: THE BYRDS, MODERN INSTITUTE, GLASGOW **** LOUISE HOPKINS, FRUITMARKET, GLASGOW ***

Farming and Rural Affairs: Wiseman Drops Gbp 900,000 Takeover of Smd

ROBERT Wiseman Dairies has dropped plans for a GBP 900,000 takeover of Scottish Milk Dairies less than a week after the move was referred to the Competition Commission. The announcement was made in a one-paragraph statement yesterday by the GBP 492 million turnover East Kilbride company.

Following a Euro-Route On Inflation

A PRINCETON economist who was appointed chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisors in June, Ben Bernanke is currently President George Bush's chief economic advisor, and has spent most of his career at the great New Jersey seat of learning, before becoming a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors in 2002. He is a leading advocate of "inflation targeting", the idea that central banks should set a target for inflation and stick to it - an approach opposed by Alan Greenspan, who...

Galloway Facing Jail Amid Fresh Corruption Claims

GEORGE Galloway could be facing a lengthy prison sentence in the US after a Senate committee last night claimed it had fresh evidence his political organisation and his wife had received nearly GBP 340,000 in oil for food allocations from Saddam Hussein and then lied under oath about the deal. The committee said it had the "smoking gun" that proved the anti- war activist received valuable UN oil-for-food allocations from Saddam Hussein, a charge Mr Galloway denied vehemently denied under oath...

Forgotten Scot's Brush with Fame

A HIDDEN hoard of paintings by a forgotten Scots artist - once so poor he used his own hair to make brushes - is promising to pluck him out of obscurity five years after his death. A London gallery specialising in Scottish painters has billed the work of Alexander Galt as a major discovery, after dozens of oils and watercolours were found in the attic of his Greenock cottage.

Scotland's Biggest Shopping Mall to Be Built for Gbp 350m On Glasgow's South Side

THE biggest shopping mall in Scotland is to be built on Glasgow's south side. The GBP 350 million centre will dwarf the Braehead centre in Renfrewshire and the city centre's Buchanan Galleries.

Ward Off Winter...Feed Your Face with Oil Protect Your Skin Inside and Out with Oil From Nuts, Seeds, Fruit and Vegetables, Says Tracey Lawson

MOISTURISE, moisturise, moisturise is a mantra most often associated with the sun-parched skin of summer, but it remains the key message in the colder months, too. Whiplash winds, central heating and even the alcoholic indulgences of the festive season can all leave your complexion dehydrated. Add to that a winter cold and the abandonment of summery salads in favour of comfort carbohydrates, and you risk entering the new year looking like a lizard. A Scottish winter calls for a touch of the s...

Huntly's Halloween Party Should Be a Treat, but Castle Bosses Have Missed a Trick

FOR almost a decade now, the small Aberdeenshire town of Huntly has punched well above its weight in the art world, thanks largely to the efforts of Claudia Zeiske. A former curator at Duff House near Banff, the most northerly outpost of the National Galleries of Scotland, Zeiske set up an organisation called Deveron Arts in Huntly in 1997 with the aim of bringing established and up-and- coming artists to the area and encouraging them to engage with the local community. Rather than simply ope...

20 Die in Hotel Car Bomb Blasts

AT LEAST 20 people were killed by three massive car bombs yesterday that exploded close to a hotel complex used by western journalists and contractors in Baghdad, the Iraqi authorities said. The attack was aimed at taking over the Palestine and Sheraton hotels and holding foreign and Arab journalists as hostages, according to Iraqi security chiefs.

Itis Lose Second Chief in a Month

SCOTLAND'S flagship economic development agencies, the three Intermediary Technology Institutes, were yesterday thrown into disarray by the shock departure of a second chief executive in less than a month. Tony Amor, chief executive of ITI Energy, stunned the sector by announcing he was to step down by the end of the year, citing "personal reasons", only 18 months after taking on the role.

Monkey Business Provides Lesson On Pensions

ON THE face of it, neither capuchin monkeys nor cucumbers have much relevance to whether or not we all see out our twilight years in grinding poverty. Yet, however unwittingly, the furry little blighters and their bland snacks do have a lesson about one of the biggest questions facing this country over the next generation, albeit a grim one. Capuchins are obliging creatures, and can easily be persuaded to perform small tasks in exchange for rewards. In one important experiment - described by ...

Kpmg Plans Public Sector Push

KPMG is planning to expand its public sector business in Scotland, after seeing a 20 per cent rise in its total UK income last year. Craig Anderson, head of the "Big Four" accountant north of the Border, said tax and audit work made up 60 per cent of his income in Scotland but admitted the firm had been "underweight" in its targeting of public sector work.

Reward for Top Edinburgh Law Students

TWO BRIGHT students are to benefit from a scholarship from one of Scotland's leading law firms. Adam McKinlay and Lynsey Hutchison will receive funding from the fifth year of the Tods Murray scholarship programme at Edinburgh University. The scholarship is awarded to the student or students who have gained the highest grades in both commercial law and property law in their second year at the school of law. The firms says the aim of the scholarship is to strengthen links between Tods Murray an...

Lord Glennie Demonstrates He's a Man in Touch with Reality

A NEW kid on the judicial block he may still be, but part-time farmer Lord Glennie is showing a clear determination to plough his own furrow. Within a few weeks of being elevated to the Supreme Courts bench in Scotland, Glennie - who has been a QC on both sides of the Border - showed independence of mind. He was faced in the High Court with a man who jumped bail and failed to turn up for a trial on charges of serious assault. It took police almost four years to pick him up on a warrant and th...

Mcpherson Sets Course for Uncharted Water

IT HAS been a busy month for Malcolm McPherson, managing partner of Henderson Boyd Jackson. While celebrating his 30th anniversary with the Edinburgh firm, he has pulled off a unique cross-border merger with Gateley Wareing and is in the final stages of preparation for a sail across the Atlantic. "Everything has moved so quickly since the merger was announced," he says. "The feedback from staff has been positive. Over the last few years, we have been through our own process of consolidation a...

Legal Awards: Teams Help to Grow Scotland's Economy

LAWYERS delivering exceptional service in the field of corporate law are to be rewarded with a new prize. The Bank of Scotland Corporate Team of the Year Award is one of the new categories at the 2006 Cuthbert Scottish legal Awards. It aims to recognise the most successful corporate team of 2005, especially those that have developed new business and those that have helped to seal big deals for Scottish companies.