The Scotsman

Council Chiefs Defend Rise in Gbp 100k Salaries

SCOTLAND'S highest-paid council officers have been forced to defend the record level of six-figure salaries they earned last year. New figures have revealed that 107 senior council officers earned more than GBP 100,000 in 2008-9. This compares with just 89 last year and 14 in 2002-3.

Federer Back in Groove As He Sinks Soderling

TORMENTED. Tortured. Finished. Remember when those adjectives were applied to Roger Federer? When he had been so demoralised by Rafael Nadal that his best days seemed behind him, his retirement imminent? That was barely a year ago, when his humiliation by the Spaniard in the French Open final was followed by his losing the Wimbledon title he had held since 2003. But it feels like another era.

Applecross Boss Attacks Bank Over Payday Action

THE former chairman of collapsed luxury housebuilder Applecross has launched a scathing attack on Bank of Scotland for putting his firm into receivership just before payday. Graham Aggett claimed that the bank's move resulted in his redundant workers losing a month's wages.

Asos Unveils 92 Per Cent Profit Hike, but Warns of Tougher Times Ahead

ONLINE fashion retailer Asos has revealed that its rocketing growth rate has slowed slightly in the first quarter of this year, as it reported a 92 per cent hike in full-year profits. The firm yesterday reported that sales in the 13 weeks to 26 June were 52 per cent ahead of the same period last year - compared with 80 per cent ahead at the end of April.

Barkers' Scottish Arm Closed As Struggling Parent Sold

"We came into work one day last week and were told that we were all to lose our jobs" THE Scottish PR, advertising and social marketing divisions of marketing firm Barkers have been shut as its parent company fell into administration.

Between the Lines: Why, Despite the Bright Spots, a Double Dip Looms

HOW ironic that Tom Vosa, chief economist at National Australia Bank, should have delivered his latest forecasts for the UK economy at the Royal Highland Show. His core message to an audience drawn largely from the rural economy was that the green shoots of recovery will be overcome by weeds. This was grim news for show visitors and I don't suppose it did much for the sheep and cows, either.

Analysis: Steam Train Delivery Fails to Hide the Lack of Substance

IT RAN to 127 glossy pages, and came with much pre-announcement excitement. But what does Building Britain's Future mean for Scotland - and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's hopes north of the Border? One thing is clear: the bulk of yesterday's announcements are targeted at the English (and Welsh) heartlands. Money is being spent on housing - 110,000 new local authority homes for rent or sale will now be built over the next two years, up 20,000 on the number announced in April's Budget - while 15...

Dark Star Leisure Business Collapses

DARK Star, the leisure management business part-owned by the entrepreneur behind the collapsed McKever Group of hotels, has gone into administration. A subsidiary of the McKever Group, the firm, which manages a number of hotel and bar businesses, has fallen into the hands of administrator Tenon, putting 280 jobs at risk.

A Real-Life Soap Opera

When a car crash left her husband paralysed, Denice Purdie started a business to bring in money for her family. Four years later it's just won her a major award, discovers Alice Wyllie DENICE PURDIE left school at 16, married at 17 and had her first child a week before her 18th birthday. Ten years later, she divorced her first husband on a Friday and married her second husband the following day. She had spent her adult life as an at-home wife and mother, when four years ago everything changed.

Lots to Learn As Beef Farmers Debate Their Sector's Future

SCOTLAND'S farmers have hardly had time to draw breath after the amazing success of the Royal Highland Show. But tomorrow at Pitlcohie Farm, near Kinross, and just off the M90, the Scottish Beef Cattle Association stages its "Beef Fayre", and lessons could well be learned. This is a largely technical event, but there will be some pertinent issues aired, not the least of which will concern animal health and the future of the GBP 1.6 billion Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP).

First Bid for National Express Is On Track Despite Debt Fears

FIRSTGROUP last night promised to press ahead with its audacious bid for rival National Express despite warnings that the deal could increase the Aberdeen company's debt and force it to ask shareholders for cash. National Express yesterday rebuffed First's surprise move, describing it in a statement to the Stock Exchange as a "highly preliminary approach" and saying that it did not consider negotiations on a deal "appropriate".

General Sir Mike: Scotland Safer in the Uk Than Under Independence

SCOTLAND is safer as part of the United Kingdom than it would be if it separated, the man who until recently headed the British Army has claimed. General Sir Mike Jackson, who led Britain's armed forces into Iraq, made his claim on a programme marking ten years of devolution by BBC's Panorama last night.

Hydro-Electric Energy Could Power Every Scottish Home by 2017

SCOTLAND could have enough hydro power to supply every household in the country in less than a decade if two new schemes get the go ahead. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) announced yesterday that it wants to develop the large-scale pumped storage hydro electric schemes in the Great Glen. Plans could be submitted by 2011 after consultations on the possible environmental impact and built by 2017.

City Warms to Interbulk Despite 4 Per Cent Sales Fall

EAST Kilbride transport logistics company Interbulk saw shares jump by more than a fifth yesterday after reporting an increase in first-half profits, despite a drop in revenue. Aim-listed Interbulk provides logistical services for the transport of bulks goods. Its customers include major chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

Michael Jackson's Father Raises Spectre of Foul Play

THE father of Michael Jackson said he suspects "foul play" was behind the death of his son. Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the musical family, said he had "suspicions" about the suddenness of the singer's demise. While an autopsy has revealed the 50-year-old died of a heart attack last Thursday, there is growing speculation that abuse of prescription pain-killers and other drugs contributed to his death.

Hard Days for Stirling Knight Who'd Been Hit by Axe, Arrow and Sword

WHEN the skeleton was discovered buried beneath Stirling Castle more than a decade ago, archaeologists knew only that the man had been someone important, possibly a priest. However, new analytical techniques have revealed the 600-year- old bones had a very different past - as they are those of a horrifically injured knight who lived a short but "incredibly violent" life.

Visual Art Review: Edvard Munch Prints: The Power of Print

EDVARD MUNCH: PRINTS, HUNTERIAN ART GALLERY, GLASGOW ***** THE Scream by Edvard Munch is one of the most universally familiar images in Western art. Having the unusual honour of being twice stolen (although in fact the objects of these thefts were two different versions of the picture from two different Oslo museums) the picture seems to touch a universal nerve, to encapsulate all the feelings of angst and alienation which have pervaded so much of western experience since the Reformation. Mun...

Visual Art Reviews: Walking the Line Between Something and Nothing

CERITH WYN EVANS *** INVERLEITH HOUSE, EDINBURGH

Mortgage Numbers Fall As Mutuals' Cash Dries Up

MORTGAGE lending by building societies contracted for the fifth month in a row during May as the sector continued to struggle to raise funding. Borrowers repaid GBP 752 million more during the month than societies advanced through new mortgage lending, according to the Building Societies Association (BSA).

Murray Keeps Dream Alive