Business and City in Brief

Sky brings jobs to Scotland

British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite broadcaster, has chosen Dunfermline, Fife, for the site of its second subscriber management centre.

BSkyB, half owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, said the pounds 10m centre would create more than 1,000 full and part-time jobs in telephone selling, marketing and computing by the end of the decade.

BSkyB said the centre would process applications by first-time users and provide resources for new schemes such as pay-per-view. The first phase of the centre should be ready for occupation in autumn next year.

Hogg purchase

Hogg Robinson yesterday paid pounds 13m for the whole of the UK and 50 per cent of the Hong Kong financial services operations of the Bain Hogg Group, the insurance broking arm of Inchcape.

Commercial rights

Commercial Union said acceptances had been received in respect of 63,313,432 new ordinary shares, representing about 90.84 per cent of the total offered under the one-for-eight rights issue to raise about pounds 322m.

Housing starts

Between June and August 1994, UK housing starts rose 2 per cent on the previous three months, while completions increased 5 per cent in the corresponding time frame, according to figures from the Department of the Environment. There were 17,000 dwellings started in August 1994 and 15,600 completions in the same month last year.

Dior fragrant

Christian Dior said net profit rose to Fr419m ( pounds 50m) in the first half, 71 per cent up from the same period a year earlier. Earnings were boosted by a non-recurring gain resulting mainly from a rise in LVMH earnings and a rise in Christian Dior's stake in LVMH.

Swan Hunter offer

A firm cash-backed offer to take over the closure-threatened Swan Hunter shipyard will be made by the end of next week, a consortium led by Organisation, Management and Survey, the Greater Manchester-based consulting engineers, said last night after talks with Price Waterhouse, the receivers.

Nadir aide

A former aide of the fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir was remanded on bail when she appeared in a London court charged with two offences of handling stolen money. The case against Elizabeth Forsyth, 58, who returned voluntarily from northern Cyprus last month, was adjourned until November 16. The charges allege that in Octoer 1989 she handled pounds 458,050 belonging to Polly Peck, the conglomerate formerly chaired by Mr Nadir.

Simpler insolvency(First Edition)

The Insolvency Service is bringing in measures this month which will simplify insolvency procedures for the benefit of creditors, the DTI said.

Film money up(First Edition)

The net overseas earnings of the UK film and television industry, for film and television material, in 1993 were pounds 93m, according to UK government figures. This followed revised net earnings of pounds 49m in 1992. Receipts from overseas for the film and television industry in 1993 were pounds 609m while payments overseas were pounds 516m. The level of receipts was nearly 15 per cent higher than in 1992, while payments grew by 7 per cent.

WORLD MARKETS

New York: Prices plunged heavily in morning trade but rebounded on bargain hunting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 13.79 points weaker at 3,787.34.

Tokyo: Shrugging off Wall Street's overnight decline, investors lifted the Nikkei average 182.94 points to 19,751.55.

Hong Kong: Afternoon bargain- hunting failed to recoup earlier losses, leaving the Hang Seng index 205.76 points (2.15 per cent) in arrears at 9,298.36.

Sydney: Hit by US inflation fears, the All Ordinaries index subsided to a near three-month low of 1,979.8, a fall of 18.3 points.

Bombay: Low-volume trade ahead of today's settlement left the index 16.65 easier at 4,349.49.

Johannesburg: Following other markets downwards, the overall index dropped 38 points to 5,616.

Paris: Weak futures added to the effect of Wall Street's malaise as the CAC-40 fell 42.4 to 1,833.72.

Frankfurt: The DAX index ended near its best of the day but still 26.23 points down at 1,968.72.

Zurich: Fears of higher interest rates continued to weigh on the market. The Swiss Performance Index dipped 25.16 to 1,650.65.

London: Report, page 34.