The Scotsman

Imf Signals a Lift in the Gloom with New 2010 Forecast

GLOBAL economies are beginning a sluggish recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which yesterday gave a surprise upgrade to its forecasts for next year. The IMF estimates that the world economy will grow by 2.5 per cent in 2010, up from its April forecast of 1.9 per cent.

Warning New Capital Rules for Banks Will Hit Lending

Hector Sants, head of the FSA, which may be given new powers Picture: Getty Images MEASURES to force banks to hold more capital to prevent a repeat of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression could reduce the availability of lending and make it more expensive, industry insiders last night warned.

'I'm Not Interested in Being Hip so Much As Being Effective ...I Wanted to Change Things, Not Just Be a Loudmouth Complaining'

Her activism may have seen her blacklisted by two US Presidents, but Buffy Sainte-Marie is still as forthright as ever, finds Fiona Shepherd BUFFY Sainte-Marie may not be a household name, but she means many different things to many different people. She's the songwriter who won an Oscar for Up Where We Belong; who, on one hand, penned the protest anthem Universal Soldier, which became a hit for Donovan, but also wrote the tender love ballad, Until It's Time For You To Go, recorded by Elvis P...

Cleaning Up Their Act As Hospital C Diff Infection Rates Plummet 40 Per Cent

RATES of the hospital infection Clostridium difficile are at their lowest level since monitoring began - but cases continue to rise in some parts of Scotland, figures showed yesterday. Health Protection Scotland (HPS) revealed that there were 1,152 cases among over-65s between January and March - a 38 per cent decrease compared to the same time last year when there were 1,861.

Ticket Prices Slashed After 'Gathering' Sales Falter

ORGANISERS of the world's biggest clan gathering have been forced to slash ticket prices after facing the prospect of hundreds of empty seats at the showpiece event at Edinburgh Castle. A major publicity drive is under way to promote the cut-price GBP 55 ticket - exactly half the cost of a top-flight package for the Gathering, the centrepiece of Scotland's Homecoming celebrations later this month.

Rift Between Governor and Chancellor Denied

CITY minister Lord Myners has denied there is a rift between Chancellor Alistair Darling and Bank of England governor Mervyn King. The minister told MPs on the Treasury select committee that the pair had a "constructive relationship".

New Research Could Increase Crop Yields

WITH margins under increasing pressure for cereal growers, any moves that will boost yields will be welcomed. "Work at the Scottish Crop Research Institute involving a range of partners, including the Scottish Agricultural College, suggests that it may be possible to increase the yield of barley by as much as 0.6 tonnes per hectare.

Nfus in Cautious Welcome to News of Animal Welfare Plans

NFU Scotland has given a cautious welcome to an announcement this week that the department of the environment, food and agriculture (Defra) has established a working group on how to develop the organisation that will eventually oversee cost and responsibility sharing in relation to animal health. The union's caveat is that the working group must be allowed to ask serious questions about the proposed organisations and be allowed to uphold its recommendations.

Climate Change Protesters Occupy Italian Power Plants and Strip Off in Rome

ENVIRONMENTAL protesters broke into power stations across Italy and shed their clothes in central Rome yesterday, as world leaders discussed a new deal to combat global warming. Dozens of activists from 18 countries scaled smokestacks and occupied four coal-fired Italian power plants, hanging banners that called on the Group of Eight summit in central Italy to take the lead in fighting climate change, Greenpeace said.

Fashionista Brown Joins the Silvio Set After Gift of Gbp 500 Parka

IT WAS Tony Blair who heralded the Cool Britannia era when he invited Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher to Downing Street, but Gordon Brown is set for a fashion makeover of his own at the G8 summit. The Prime Minister was gifted a GBP 500 limited-edition parka jacket - as favoured by Oasis stars Noel and Liam Gallagher and footballer David Beckham - by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Theatre Reviews: A Stereotyped Scotland

THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE **** WHAT EVERY WOMAN KNOWS ***

Lib Dem Blow As Candidate Quits in Fury at Expenses Scandal Mps

A SENIOR Scottish Liberal Democrat has stepped down as a Westminster candidate and threatened to quit the party because of his disgust over the MPs' expenses scandal. Stuart Currie, the deputy leader of East Lothian Council, has been left disillusioned by the scandal which has overwhelmed Westminster politics.

Has Holy Grail of Longer Life Been Found?

A COMPOUND found in the soil of a South Pacific island could hold the key to extending life, new research has suggested. Tests in mice found that "rapamycin" from the ground of Easter Island helped the animals live longer.

Heatwave Means Picture for Cider Maker Is Rosy

C&C, the Irish cider firm headed by former Scottish & Newcastle chief executive John Dunsmore, yesterday reported sales ahead of expectations after the summer heatwave and boosted by a new version of its leading drink Magners. C&C said the launch of Magners Pear had gone well, reporting a 4 per cent decline in cider volumes in Britain in the four months to 30 June.

Melrose Held Up by Storage Deal

OIL and gas explorer Melrose Resources told investors yesterday that first-half production was ahead of its full-year target, but a key gas storage contract had yet to be signed. The Edinburgh-based group averaged 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the six months to 30 June, about 2 per cent ahead of its 15,700 boepd target for 2009.

Mobiles Leave Landlines Behind

THE number of mobile phone calls in the UK rose by 11 billion minutes last year, while the number of minutes on fixed lines fell by 8bn, according to research by Ofcom. The number of households with landlines dropped to 85 per cent in 2008 from a peak of 90 per cent for the previous year.

Crunch Time for North Sea Jobs

THE energy potential of vast swathes of the North Sea might be left permanently untapped as Britain's oil and gas industry is caught in the grip of an "energy crunch". . Capital investment in the vital industry is set to fall dramatically by as much 50 per cent as the global recession and low oil price take their toll on the offshore sector, placing up to 50,000 jobs at risk and leaving billions of barrels of oil unrecovered.

Gbp 58m Basketball Arena Deal Is an Olympic Gain for Barr

GLASGOW-BASED building contractor Barr Construction was yesterday awarded the contract to build the main structure for the basketball arena for the 2012 London Olympics, making it the 30th Scottish firm to win a contract for the Games. The temporary 12,000-seater stadium will host the preliminary rounds and semi-finals for the Olympic basketball contest and the semi-finals and finals of the handball tournament. The contract is understood to be worth about GBP 58 million.

Discovery May Help Cure Coughing Misery

SCIENTISTS have discovered a new group of molecules on the surface of nerve cells that make us cough when they are irritated, it emerged yesterday The findings, presented at the British Pharmacological Society's Summer Meeting in Edinburgh this week, could lead to new drugs to treat coughing.

Snp Defends Choice of Candidate

THE SNP has denied claims that its leadership's preferred candidate for the Glasgow North-east by-election was snubbed by local party activists. City councillor James Dornan was selected on Tuesday evening to take on Labour's Willie Bain for the seat vacated by former Commons Speaker Michael Martin. This followed the original candidate, Grant Thoms, another city councillor, stepping down.