The Herald

Retail Therapy

rita henderson theatre director Q. You have a day to shop - where do you go? A. I have never taken more than a couple of hours to clothes shop but I would gladly spend every waking moment searching for the perfect shoes. Edinburgh is my home, so the smaller boutiques in and around the city centre are the ones I go to first.

Iraq Is Becoming a Disaster Movie - and We're All in It

Looks like they invaded the wrong country. If the Americans had really wanted to retaliate for 9/11, attack the heartland of al Qaeda, bring democracy to the Middle East and stabilise the world oil market, then they should really have invaded Saudi Arabia, not Iraq. I'm not seriously suggesting that George W Bush turn his tanks on the land of Mecca. But in terms of his own perverse military logic, Saudi should have been top of his list of rogue states. Most of the Manhattan bombers had Saudi ...

Billboard

Jazz in Largs LARGS Jazz Festival kicks off on Friday in the congenial surroundings of Nardini's gelateria on the Esplanade with a performance by vocalist Fionna Duncan's Scottish All-stars, which will include the oft-acclaimed talents of pianist Brian Kellock. Tickets are (pounds) 10, 9pm start.

In Leaps and Bounds; the Rsno's Junior Chorus has Come a Long Way Since Its Launch 25 Years Ago. By Keith Bruce

THERE are many reasons to join the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Junior Chorus. Among the least is the opportunity to acknowledge the quarter of a century it has taken the powers-that-be to catch up with the importance of young people's music education. Although the first minister, Jack McConnell, has been much praised for his intention to give every child in Scotland the opportunity to learn an instrument, it is - as many a Scots parent knows - ...

Music Le Weekend, Tolbooth, Stirling 5/5

For seven years now, Le Weekend has served up an annual feast of adventures in modern music. Moving beyond free jazz and avant classical to more primal post-rock stylings, this year sees the festival broadening even more to take in the more acoustic smatterings of the New Weird America wave of artists, who go beyond lo-fi anti-folk to create something defiantly underground. Things kick off relatively straight on Thursday with The Hamid Drake Trio, which sees the Chicago-based percussionist te...

A Spectacular Artistic Talent Learned at an Erratic Mother's Knee; Review

Inside the Mind of Liza Minnelli Channel 4, 10.30pm Bollywood Star Channel 4, 9.00pm Inside the Mind of Liza Minnelli clambered on the old showbiz tightrope between tragedy and comedy and just about managed to keep its balance. At times the piece was simply cruel - why sneer at someone with so many well-documented personal problems? - at others, merely tawdry. But grudgingly, bit by bit, it dragged itself to the conclusion that Liza is weird but also, even now, pretty wonderful. Granted, her ...

Bank Faces 'Worst Nightmare' As Consumer Demand Accelerates; Surge in Retail Sales and Strong Manufacturing Figures Pave Way for Early Rate Rise

UK retail sales grew at their fastest pace for more than two years last month - prompting a leading economist to describe this "re-acceleration" of the consumer as "one of the Bank of England's worst nightmares". John Butler, UK economist at HSBC, said of the Confederation of British Industry survey revealing the surge in retail sales: "If you have a consumer that is re-accelerating, that is going to need more aggressive (interest) rate rises. That has been something the Bank of England has b...

I-Doc Boosted by Trading Update

Macleod Distillers' Full-Year Earnings Soar 50%

IAN MacLeod Distillers, the drinks-maker and bottler, boosted pre- tax profits by almost 50% in the year in which it paid (pounds) 7.2m in cash for Lang's whisky brands and Glengoyne distillery, which makes one of only two unpeated single malts in Scotland. Formerly the Peter J Russell holding group until January, Broxburn-based Ian MacLeod saw its pre-tax profits climb to (pounds) 616,907 for the year to the end of September 2003, compared with (pounds) 417,310 the previous year, according t...

Rigblast Plans to Recruit 70 Staff

Troubled Carpet-Maker Trims Directors' Pay As Losses Mount

DIRECTORS at Stoddard International, the troubled Scottish carpet- maker, continue to breach corporate governance best practice to protect themselves against a takeover, but took home on average 8% less pay last year than the previous year. The company's annual report reveals the directors are "entitled to a severance payment of 24 months' gross basic salary" if Stoddard were acquired - thereby flouting corporate governance guidelines.

British Petroleum Upgrades Russian Reserves

OIL giant BP raised the proved crude oil reserves for its Russian joint venture by 5% yesterday, a move in stark contrast to recent news from arch-rival Shell which has slashed its own reserves four times this year. According to figures from the first full audit of the TNK-BP joint venture, total proved reserves rose to 4.3 billion barrels in 2003. BP paid more than $7bn ((pounds) 3.8bn) in cash and shares a year ago to buy a 50% stake in TNK, Russia's third-largest oil producer.

Dunedin Smaller Outperforms Its Benchmark

THE (pounds) 83m Dunedin Smaller Companies trust, now under the control of Aberdeen Asset Management, reversed a weak performance last year to advance by almost double the amount of its benchmark in the first half. Six months ago the Earl of Dalhousie, the chairman, said the trust needed to "improve significantly", after Advance UK Trust, which has been a catalyst for change at a number of under- performing funds, more than doubled its stake to 7.67%.

Pathfinder Group Places Lomond Galleries in Administration

LOMOND Galleries, the retail centre perched at the southern end of Loch Lomond in Alex-andria, has fallen into administration with debts of "less than (pounds) 5m" following a strat-egic review of its operations by parent group, Pathfinder. The Aim-listed property group specialises in the acquisition, development and sale of urban, brownfield sites to provide residential, working and leisure space.

Rose Appointment Gives M&S Sweet Smell of Success; New Chief Executive Could Prick Some Green Fingers

SHAREHOLDERS yesterday welcomed the appointment of Stuart Rose as chief executive of Marks & Spencer, which confirmed its new chief is to be paid a (pounds) 1.25m "golden hello" and annual salary of (pounds) 850,000. Charles Wilson, Rose's sidekick who has also taken a seat on the M&S board, is to be paid (pounds) 500,000 a year plus a (pounds) 900,000 signing-on fee.

Soaring Insurance Costs Constraining Small Firms' Growth

SMALL businesses in Scotland are in good shape, with more than half expecting to grow in the next two years after recent increases in turnover, according to a wide-ranging survey. Almost half the Scottish respondents to the survey by the Federation of Small Businesses reported increased profitability in an exercise that revealed firms north of the border were performing in line with those in other parts of the UK.

Grain Price Volatility Looks Likely to Continue; Farming

GRAIN prices, especially the value of wheat, are experiencing a period of unparalleled volatility. The Home Grown Cereals Authority reports that feed wheat last week dropped by (pounds) 6 per tonne, while the futures market suffered a (pounds) 5 per tonne drop for July delivery to (pounds) 78 per tonne, with the November position down by (pounds) 2.20 to (pounds) 71.90. These values are in sharp contrast to early January, when feed wheat in Scotland was being traded at (pounds) 110 per tonne.

Life Insurers Come Under Fire Over Free Assets Cover

NEW measures of financial strength being quoted by some life insurers are "bilge", according to industry consultant Ned Cazalet, whose authoritative annual survey is now in preparation. Insurers including Friends Provident, whose group chief executive is Keith Satchell, and Legal & General have cited a high level of cover of their free assets over the new risk capital margin (RCM) that insurers are now required to hold by the Financial Services Authority. At its results, FP said its cover was...

Ryanair Reports First Profit Fall Since Flotation; Chief Executive Upbeat, but Leery of Harsh Winter Ahead

IRISH no-frills airline Ryanair yesterday reported its first fall in annual profits since floating on the stock market in 1997, as increasingly tough competition and higher capacity dented full-year figures. Despite a weaker fourth quarter, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier unveiled pre-tax profits of (euros)228.5m ((pounds) 152.1m), down 14% compared with (euros)264.5m for the same period a year earlier.

Stock Markets Shrug Off Oil Price Rise to Record High

Oil prices rose $2 yesterday, hitting a record $42 a barrel in New York following the weekend's attacks in Saudi Arabia, but failed to spook stock markets significantly as economists said the latest increases should not derail the global economy. After months in which oil prices have been moving steadily upwards as economic recovery stoked demand, experts said despite yesterday's sharp increases in the price of crude, oil was not yet expensive enough to cause big problems.