The first products are not expected to hit the market before 2001, as Olibra will have to be approved by the US regulatory authorities.Dr Robert Dow, the chief executive of Scotia, said that the potential market for appetite suppressants was immense. It is already used in the Swedish yoghurt Maval, sold in some UK supermarkets, and in some St Ivel desserts produced by the dairy group Unigate.Scotia declined to spell out the financial terms of the deal, but it is understood that General Mills will pay the Stirling-based group a number of milestone payments during further product developments and a royalty of around 3 per cent on sales of Olibra products. Analysts said the tie-up with General Mills, which has yearly sales of $7bn and a market value of $13bn, was a vote of confidence in the product.”It’s a good deal, the choice of General Mills is a good endorsement of Olibra and it is in the American market, which is by far the largest in the world,” said Nick Woolf, the vice-president of BancBoston Robertson Stephens, the US financial house.Olibra is a fat-based ingredient derived from palm and oat oil which appears to reduce appetite, helping people to lose weight. The American company bought the worldwide rights to use Olibra – a substance that makes people feel full after a few spoonfuls – in its breakfast cereals, which include the best-selling Cheerios and Kix. General Mills will also be allowed to sell Olibra-enhanced yoghurt, soups and salad dressings in North and South America.
News of the deal with the US company, the world’s largest producer of cereals, sent shares in Scotia soaring.The stock – which has slumped in recent times as Scotia was hit by drugs setbacks and boardroom rows – closed 42 per cent higher at 98.5p. Nissan’s Sunderland plant was a big recipient while the renaissance at Jaguar would not have been possible had central government not oiled the wheels. The clincher for both Nissan and Jaguar, however, is that they both had new models that people were eager to buy Whether the same can be said about Rover is less certain.

There are plenty of other countries that would be a good deal more generous than Mr Byers in attempting to attract the investment for the 200/400 series.Moreover, state aid can sometimes be a necessary pump primer. His successor was there yesterday on a “fact finding” mission. Even with their better paid workers and expensive labour laws BMW’s German plants are 30 per cent more efficient.
The new man in the BMW hot seat, Joachim Milberg, has given himself a fortnight to digest the information and decide whether to throw good money after bad and invest another pounds 1bn in a replacement for the Rover 200/400 series.Mr Byers has pounds 300m of taxpayers money in his pocket to help Mr Milberg make up its mind. Before his sudden fall from grace, Peter Mandelson made the trip up the M1 to beseech the Rover workforce to “sharpen up their act”.

Indeed, the latest grim news from manufacturing could point to a bigger and faster fall in interest rates than most analysts expect. And if that does the trick, the economy could be starting to build up steam by the time the Chancellor is drawing up next year’s Budget.. IT WAS the turn of Stephen Byers yesterday to make the pilgrimage to Longbridge. The economy would have to turn on a sixpence in April for it to come true.

While Mr Brown may be a cheerful and upbeat fellow, he has no business basing his Budget on extreme optimism.On the other hand, the last thing the Chancellor needs in the run up to a Budget that will confirm his determination to set a steady fiscal course is the demand from his colleagues to Do Something about a non-existent recession.The signs are that the Bank of England will manage to keep it at bay for him. “We have just been caught up in the general malaise that affects smaller companies.”Industry analysts pointed to Rebus’ relatively pedestrian growth as another reason for its underperformance. There will be job losses, with the Stakis head office in Glasgow moved to Watford and the likely closure of overlapping divisional offices. All too often small private investors are being forced out at an undervaluation.

Later, on the other hand, they are asked to participate in the inflated valuations at which these companies return to the stock market. The capital markets are not meant to work in this discriminatory and unfair manner.. THE TREASURY is doing its best to convey an impression of calm about the economy even as the pundits veer from euphoria about last week’s surprisingly big cut in interest rates to panic about the figures yesterday confirming that manufacturing is in recession for the first time since the early 1990s. Knowing in advance that yesterday’s news would be bad, the Treasury had indicated to the Sunday newspapers that the Chancellor saw no need yet to reduce his forecast of 1-1.5 per cent growth. So who’s right about what’s happening in the economy, the optimists or the pessimists? While the economy as a whole has slowed down, the chances are that it will still avoid outright recession.