'Firms call for Scots lending 'matchmaker' to accelerate recovery'

The directors of small businesses in Scotland have been forced to dip into their own savings to stay afloat during the recession. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) announced yesterday that in the last 12 months, 48 per cent of members used a bank overdraft to survive, 38 per cent raided their savings, 31 per cent used their retained - Scotsman ​

Fraudsters conned cash from two million people last year with bogus money making schemes and fake friendships. The crooks' main weapons are letters, texts, emails and websites such as Facebook - Mirror ​

Plans to cut the number of smokers by pressurising them not to light up at home and in cars have been unveiled. The Government's 'tobacco control strategy' also proposes banning smoking at entrances to buildings and selling cigarettes in plain grey packets as part of a series of policies aimed at halving the number of smokers by 2020 - Daily Mail ​

A specially brewed ale to support 15 former Wales captains in their quest to reach the roof of Africa will go on sale in supermarkets this week. The Up and Over Brains ale will be sold at Welsh Tesco Extras and superstores with 15p from every bottle going towards the £1m Brains SA Captains Climb appeal - Western Mail ​

The toyboy lover of an £8m Lotto winner told yesterday how he rejected her cash - and became a £6-an-hour barman. Simon Lynch, 24, says he has never been happier since splitting from Jenny Southall, 46. Now while she lives the high life in a £1.6million mansion with heated swimming pool, he is often working until 3am in a pub - The Sun ​