News

The first month of the year saw total Scottish retail sales decrease by 3.8 per cent compared with January 2015, when they had declined by 2.3 per cent. The result, recorded by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG, was is the weakest store performance since April 2012, but follows the best perfor

(L-R): Back row: Keith Graham (tax assistant formerly of Neil Ross & Company); Sean Cockburn (tax director of Murray Beith Murray); Neil Ross (tax consultant formerly of Neil Ross & Company); front: Hugh Younger Edinburgh-based law firm Murray Beith Murray has announced its acquisition of fi

UK inflation edged up to a 12 month high in January, according to latest official figures released today. An easing in the recent dramatic fall in petrol prices saw inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, rise by 0.3 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.

Russia has been joined by three Opec countries in agreeing to freeze oil output at January levels, as long as others follow suit. Minsters from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and Russia met in Doha today before announcing the agreement which could lead to a stabilisation in oil prices which have bee

Susannah Simpson Scotland’s ‘generation rent’ is expected to continue throughout the next decade as the country is predicted to be one of UK’s fastest growing private rental markets.

David Biddle Standard Life Wealth, the discretionary fund manager, has announced the appointment of David Biddle as senior business development manager with responsibility for engagement with Professional Connections throughout the UK.

Steven Jansch The insolvency regime seems to be in a perpetual state of flux, writes Steven Jansch, partner and head of insolvency at Gilson Gray.

Financial firms hiring senior staff will need references going back a minimum of five years to prevent bankers covering up past misconduct, the Bank of England has said. The move marks a climbing down from a previously proposed longer timeframe.

National Australia Bank no longer has any shares in Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank after sale manager Morgan Stanley exercised an over-allotment option. NAB had granted the option in respect of 28,673,323 ordinary shares at the offer price of 180 pence per ordinary share, worth £52m in total.

A new employee benefit - enabling employees in the UK to take control of their finances, especially those who are experiencing difficulties managing their debt – is now available to one million people across the country. SalaryFinance offers UK businesses an employee benefit allowing staff to cons

Global accountants PwC have announced that troubled shoe retailer Brantano has been sold. Tony Barrell, Mike Jervis and Rob Hunt of PwC were appointed joint administrators of Brantano (UK) Limited on 21 January.

John Swinney Revenue Scotland has received its 100,000th tax return, ten months on from the creation of the first Scottish taxes in more than 300 years.

The number of people moving home in Scotland continued to increase last year, according to the latest Bank of Scotland homemover review. The introduction of the Scottish Government’s new land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) which has provided a savings boost for many homemovers, combined with

Scottish footfall in January rose 1.5 per cent year-on-year and were up on the 0.2 per cent rise recorded in December, according to latest data from the Scottish Retail Consortium. The result was the best performance since March 2015 and is ahead of the UK average.

Oil and gas firms need to expand their focus beyond short-term issues such as tumbling oil prices and over supply if they are to successfully navigate the growing range of disruptive forces that will shape the industry, according to accounts PwC’s New Energy Futures report. In the wake of December