Economy

The Scottish Government has announced that thousands of businesses can now apply for up to £15,000 to help retrain and upskill their workforce. The Flexible Workforce Development Fund provides workers in organisations of all sizes with access to training courses through local colleges, the Ope

The Consumer Prices Index has risen to 10.1% in the 12 months to July, the highest it has been since 1982. A 0.6% increase from 9.4% in June, now the highest level of inflation in 40 years, has surpassed economists' forecasts of 9.8%, worsening the cost of living crisis. Some experts speculate the B

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has estimated that the country's GDP contracted by 0.6% in June and 0.1% for Q2. The June decrease is attributed to the Platinum Jubilee and the move of the May bank holiday leading to "an additional working day in May 2022 and two fewer working days in

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG released research reporting a 2.3% increase in sales in July (on a total basis), a 1.6% like-for-like basis increase from July 2021. Although there is an increase in sales, volume is down. This is attributed to rising inflation and households cutting back

The Post Office has posted figures showing that a record £801 million in personal cash withdrawals were made in July.

The Treasury has collected a record £14.3 billion in capital gains tax (CGT) in the last financial year, an increase of 42% from the previous period. The record sum was realised on £80bn of gains. This is attributed to rushed sales of buy-to-let homes and growing house prices as an all-t

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has announced an interest rate hike of 0.5% today in the face of rising inflation. At its meeting ending on 3 August 2022, the MPC voted by a majority of 8-1 to increase Bank Rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 1.75%. One member preferre

A report has revealed that the over-50s are being hit hardest by the current financial crisis and could face a lifetime of financial insecurity. According to the report, economic inactivity rates have risen a third amongst the over 50s since 2019, and people aged 50-54 face double the financial vuln

Consumer confidence has fallen for the forth consecutive quarter, reveals Deloitte. The rising cost of living has forced UK consumer confidence to a record low of -19% in Q2 2022, according to Deloitte’s latest Consumer Tracker, as rising inflation and subsequent price increases tighten the sq

The rate of credit card borrowing has reached 12.5%, the highest annual growth rate since 2005.  Figures in the Bank of England's Money and Credit June 2022 report show that individuals borrowed an additional £1.8 billion in consumer credit in June, on net, following £0.9 billi

Fast-growth businesses in Scotland attracted over half a billion pounds of venture capital (VC) investment in the first half of 2022, according to the latest figures from KPMG UK. Despite investors becoming more cautious globally, there were 45 investments completed in Q2 2022, raising over &po

Business confidence in Scotland fell 11 points during July to 16%, according to Bank of Scotland's latest Business Barometer survey. Companies in Scotland reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 17 points at 32%. When taken alongside their optimism in the econo

With inflation having reached 9.4% in June, new insights have found that almost one in five (18%) Scottish adults report their total household wealth has decreased over the past year. St. James’s Place's (SJP) financial health research report reveals the devastating impact recent months have h

Deloitte has warned of high expectations of a recession occurring within the next year as surveyed industry leaders brace for economic downturn. Amid rising inflation and intensifying economic headwinds, finance leaders assign a 63% probability to experiencing a recession within the next year, accor

Scottish business confidence has fallen to a record low in June, but remains stronger than Europe, according to the latest Accenture / S&P Global UK Business Outlook. Whilst the findings come amid global economic uncertainty, a net balance of +17% more private sector firms forecast their ac