The Business - 21/12/2008

Graham Stewart asks what lies down the road for the motor industry as the US government bails-out troubled carmakers and the British government holds talks with Jaguar Land Rover over the possibility of state aid. Professor Garel Rhys of Cardiff Business School and Brian Gilda, chairman and CEO of People's Group, offer their analysis. Chief executive of Chivas, Christian Porta, tells us why he's optimistic about the future, following double-digit growth in the drinks company's premium whisky brands. In the week that higher education funding councils claimed Scottish universities are punching well above their weight in terms of research, Gillian Sharpe reports on the rather more mixed record of new enterprises being able to exploit innovative ideas. And we ask Bill Munro, chairman of Barrhead Travel, about the clouds forming over the travel business after airport operator BAA predicted a fall in airport passenger numbers.