Thursday newspaper round-up: Scottish independence, Balfour Beatty, Standard Life...
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Goldman Sachs has warned that the UK could fall into a eurozone-style crisis if Scotland votes for independence later this month. In some of the most bleak predictions economists have made about independence, the Wall Street bank said a "Yes" vote on September 18, while looking unlikely, "could have severe consequences" for both the Scottish economy and the UK overall. Goldman warned that public services would have to be cut if Scotland goes it alone, and that the country would face much higher borrowing costs. - The Telegraph
The head of influential lobby group the CBI has described Scotland becoming independent as the 'most important political risk' facing businesses in the UK. With less than three weeks until the September 18 referendum, CBI director general John Cridland issued a fresh warning about the dangers of a 'Yes' vote. - The Daily Mail
Balfour Beatty has sold Parsons Brinckerhoff for $1.3 billion in one of the most talked-about transactions of the year. The construction group confirmed last night that WSP Global, an engineering consultancy, had bought its American project management division in an £820 million deal that will allow Balfour to return £200 million to shareholders. - The Times
Standard Life is to return £1.75bn to shareholders after announcing the surprise sale of its Canadian arm to Manulife of Canada for C$4bn (£2.2bn), ending its 180-year association with the country. The FTSE 100 insurance and investments giant opted to sell the business following a several year turnaround programme led by chief executive David Nish. - The Telegraph
Virgin Atlantic boss Craig Kreeger denied the airline was admitting defeat, after it dropped four underperforming routes for the safety of transatlantic destinations. Sir Richard Branson's airline is abandoning flights to Mumbai and Vancouver just two years after launching them, while Cape Town and Tokyo Narita are also being axed. The decision comes just two years after Branson predicted that Virgin could make its Mumbai route a 'great success'. - The Daily Mail
Go-Ahead, the bus and rail group, has become the first major listed company to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark, a scheme that aims to hold companies to account over their tax affairs. - The Guardian
In a significant escalation of European sanctions on Moscow, France has announced that it will be suspending the controversial delivery of a state-of-the-art €600m warship to the Russian navy. After an emergency meeting of the national defence council, President François Hollande said that "conditions do not today exist" for the delivery of the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers this autumn. He described the latest developments in eastern Ukraine as "grave". - The Independent
Ryanair's efforts to woo more passengers by improving its customer service helped the budget airline deliver record traffic numbers last month. The Irish carrier, led by chief executive Michael O'Leary, also said the launch of its business service has proved "extremely successful" in tempting more people on board. - The Scotsman
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