Scotsman.com - Opinion Feed

Farming: Owners of sheep-worrying dogs need bitten

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:12:42 GMT

Ben was about the poorest sheepdog around, and I can say that from pretty close observation as he was the shepherd’s dog on my father’s farm.

Bill Jamieson: Banks: emerging from the bottom drawer

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:57:48 GMT

It’s bottom-drawer rummage time again. Remember those bank shares that made you wince every time you checked them? The ones with 90 per cent falls that dragged down your investment performance, that paid no dividends and were useful only to mitigate capital gains tax liability?

Bill Jamieson: Finally, the recovery gains traction

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:43:13 GMT

WHAT now unites Alex Salmond, the CBI, Sir Mervyn King, the OECD and the Federation of Small Businesses? It’s the economy, stupid.

Comment: Changing of guard bodes ill for FirstGroup

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:42:51 GMT

THE expected retirement this week of Martin Gilbert as chairman of transport operator FirstGroup follows similar announcements over the last month from Lord Smith at Weir, Sir Win Bischoff at Lloyds Banking Group and Richard Findlay at STV. The guard is clearly changing.

Comment: Taxing questions for complicit governments

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:55:03 GMT

IS YOUR business guilty of “false delocalisation”? That’s the fancy EU jargon for the creative tax avoidance schemes engineered by multinational companies such as Google and Amazon.

Comment: Centrica’s price promise creates a warm glow

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:39:18 GMT

MARKETS regard anything that cuts corporate costs as a reason to send company shares upwards as it means more on the bottom line. Even job cuts get a cheer.

Andrew Arbuckle: Carving up the £1bn SRDP cake is no easy task for minister

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:42:47 GMT

YOU would think it was the best job in the world spending £1 billion – but being cabinet secretary and having the next Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) cash to distribute is a veritable minefield.

Week ahead: Lloyds Banking Group and RBS AGMs

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:48:49 GMT

LLOYDS Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland directors will be grilled at their AGMs this week on speculation over government plans for a pre-election sell-off of taxpayer stakes.

Bill Jamieson: Taking a defensive position could be sensible

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:44:36 GMT

WHAT is it that stock markets know that the rest of us don’t? Despite a near brush with a third recession, glacial growth performance and signs that the global economy may be slowing, stock markets round the world seem to have thrown caution to the winds.

Bill Jamieson: Treasury tense as team IMF flies in

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:54:59 GMT

WHERE is the fragrant Christine Lagarde? And where is “Team IMF” which flew into the UK last Wednesday for a week-long assessment of the UK’s books?

Comment: Co-op needs review after bank debacle

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:22:26 GMT

JUST a few weeks ago the Co-operative was poised to become a new force in banking by acquiring more than 630 branches from Lloyds. Now it is contemplating the future of its own financial services operations.

Comment: Pay–TV price war is ready for kick–off

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:18:48 GMT

FORGET Sir Alex Ferguson. The real sports news lies in the impending clash between league champions BSkyB and upstart BT, in the lucrative pay-TV market.

Comment: Parental control helps keep NAB in shape

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:16:09 GMT

CLYDESDALE and Yorkshire Banks have returned to profitability in their first trading half after last year’s losses prompted a sharp overhaul of the UK operations of National Australia Bank.

Comment: Let’s raise a glass to Walsh for a job well done

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:02:50 GMT

VERY few FTSE 100 chief executives after a 13-year tenure leave a legacy as impressive as Paul Walsh will at spirits giant Diageo this summer.

Comment: Is Sid being kept in the dark?

Mon, 06 May 2013 21:44:24 GMT

THE idea of a 1980s “Tell Sid”-style re-privatisation of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group won’t go away, and it is clear it is under serious consideration by the UK government.

Bill Jamieson: this is no normal recession

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:49:59 GMT

Had anyone suggested in May 2012 that within a year the US stock market would have climbed to record highs and that our own FTSE 100 would have gained almost 20 per cent, their sanity would have been questioned.

Bill Jamieson: Daring to hope the worst is past

Sat, 04 May 2013 18:04:48 GMT

AT LAST, a chink in the gloom – or more accurately three arriving all at once. Could the economy at last be on the turn?

Jeff Salway: Flood victims face insurance nightmare

Sat, 04 May 2013 18:01:32 GMT

HOME insurance is one of those financial products that’s taken for granted; it’s essential but it’s easily available and usually affordable. Where would homeowners be without it?

Comment: Privatisation of RBS sends the right message

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:42:03 GMT

HURRAH! Britain’s bailed-out banks are back in profit and on the road to recovery. So can we now have our money back, please?

Comment: Chill winds blowing through global economy

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:32:16 GMT

IT MAY be spring, and the garden centres groaning with stuff to plant, but the global economy has caught an unexpected chill.