Scotsman.com - Business Feed

£6m weather aid package unveiled

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:09:38 GMT

Details emerged from the Scottish Government on who would be eligible for the £6 million of weather aid cash with sheep, cattle and arable farmers all being eligible to apply for funding.

London blocks calls for livestock levy repatriation

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:08:57 GMT

The prospect of Scotland getting its hands on £1.4 million of livestock levies annually going into the English meat promotion board slipped away this week with Whitehall rejecting the Scottish Government’s latest claim to the cash.

Bowl maker secures backing for exports

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:03:18 GMT

LAWN bowls maker Thomas Taylor, which was founded in Glasgow in 1796, has secured a £450,000 funding deal from Bank of Scotland to help it expand in Australia.

Scotland’s flagging hotel industr’s Easter boost

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:02:31 GMT

SCOTTISH mid-market hotels received a substantial revenue boost in March, with Edinburgh and Aberdeen reporting the best performances.

Colliers taken to court over value

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:01:37 GMT

COLLIERS International is facing legal action over its valuation of a German property whose owners and occupants went bust.

House of Fraser hails internet shopping boom

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:52:50 GMT

Department store chain House of Fraser, owner of Edinburgh institution Jenners, has delivered record sales and profits, driven by the boom in internet shopping.

Next Chancellor must cut deeply, economists warn

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:46:34 GMT

WHOEVER wins the next general election will have to make deeper public sector cuts in order to avoid a “financial crisis” in which international money markets lose confidence in Britain, economists will warn today.

Bowleven hails success of Cameroon well tests

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:44:02 GMT

SHARES in Africa-focused oil and gas explorer Bowleven rose yesterday after the latest positive update from its test well off the coast of Cameroon.

Robert Adair sells residential JV

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:41:07 GMT

Property developer Terrace Hill is buying out a joint venture with its executive chairman, oil tycoon Robert Adair.

Business briefs: Shell | Johnston Press | Wood Group

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:30:26 GMT

Plans to redevelop the Shell Centre on London’s South Bank have been approved, developers have said.

First-time buyers lift Nationwide

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:27:49 GMT

Nationwide has grabbed a record share of the mortgage market after seeing a big rise in the number of first-time buyers joining the property ladder.

Comment: Need to do more than beat drum for exports

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:26:37 GMT

EVER since the onset of recession, we’ve heard near constant clamour for the need to “rebalance” the economy towards trade rather than consumption.

Cold weather hits retail sales

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:19:56 GMT

Freezing weather drove retail sales down 1.3 per cent in April as barbecue goods and garden furniture remained stuck on stores’ shelves.

MPC remained split over call to raise QE

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:45:42 GMT

Outgoing Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King was outvoted again in his call for more monetary stimulus this month, it was revealed today.

Sony to consider entertainment spin-off

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:02:34 GMT

Japanese electronics giant Sony is to consider a partial spin-off of its films and music division after trimming its sales targets for cameras, smartphones and tablet computers.

IMF calls for swift Lloyds and RBS sale

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:36:38 GMT

THE Treasury edged closer to an exit from Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland today after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for a swift sale of its stakes and Britain’s new banking watchdog backed plans to shore up the pair’s capital buffers.

AG Barr ‘positive’ despite Britvic jobs axe

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:19:03 GMT

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has insisted that it “remains positive” over its planned £1.4 billion merger with Britvic, which today unveiled plans to cut hundreds of jobs after reporting a 50 per cent jump in profits.

SSE’s Ian Marchant wants end to ‘interventionitis’

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:55:49 GMT

OUTGOING SSE chief executive Ian Marchant today launched a final broadside against the growing culture of “interventionitis” that is engulfing the UK’s energy sector.

Markets: FTSE edges towards its all-time high

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:31:11 GMT

THE Footsie pushed through the 6,800 barrier yesterday to close above its 2000 and 2007 peaks and within 130 points of its all-time high set in December 1999.

Land reform report opens up several old wounds

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:26:09 GMT

Any views emerging from the Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) set up last year by the Scottish Government to take a radical look at land ownership issues were always likely to be controversial, with a history of division and dispute littering the territory.