In the News...

SCOTS AIRLINE GOES BUST
A Scottish airline has been placed in administration, it has been announced.

Highland Airways called in PricewaterhouseCoopers on Wednesday night to take over the running of the business, which also operates in Wales.

Most of the company's 100 staff will lose their jobs. All of the airline's Thursday flights have been cancelled.

The Inverness-based airline's problems came to light at the start of the year after severe weather led to cancelled flights and worsening debts.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said operations had been suspended "with immediate effect."

UK RETAIL SALES UP

UK retail sales rose strongly between January and February, official figures show, following a sharp fall a month earlier.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a 2.1% rise in retail sales volumes.

In January, volumes fell by 3% - a sharp revision down from the 1.8% fall initially reported.
Economists said the rise in sales was expected, following suppressed sales in January due to the poor weather.

"Sales in January had been hurt very badly by the weather and the reintroduction of VAT," said Sarah Hewin, senior economist at Standard Chartered.

GOOGLE v CHINA: CHINA HITS BACK

China Unicom is to stop using Google search on Android handsets.

The second biggest operator in China is believed to be taking the step in reaction to Google's decision to stop offering a censored search service.

Instead of using Google search, handset makers will be able to decide which search service to use on phones that run Google's mobile operating system.

At the same time Google said it would withdraw more of its uncensored search services in China.
The China Unicom deal will first have an impact on Android phones being developed for it by Motorola and Samsung.

The move could be a big blow for Google as China has far more people owning and using mobiles than it does using the net.

MAN UTD FREEZE TICKETS

Manchester United has confirmed it is freezing ticket prices next season.

There has been criticism of the Glazers for price rises since their takeover in 2005, and many fans have joined a green -and-gold protest against the owners.

As recently as this month, there had speculation that further increases were in the pipeline for fans of the Old Trafford club.

But the club has now announced that prices will be kept on hold for the 2010/11 season.

STRIKERS TO LOSE OUT ON FRINGE BENEFITS

British Airways cabin crew who took part in the Unite union's three-day strike will forfeit their travel perks permanently, the company has confirmed.

Staff are eligible for free and heavily discounted flights, depending on how long they have worked for BA.

Unite condemned the move, confirmed in a letter to strikers, as "vindictive" and said it would challenge it.

Meanwhile, the UK Supreme Court has sent a dispute over BA pilots' holiday pay to the European Court of Justice.

The striking staff had been warned by BA's chief executive Willie Walsh before they took part in the action on Saturday, Sunday and Monday that they were at risk of losing the perks.