SSE soars on wind farm plan, £1bn profit, divi boost
Shares of Perth-based renewable energy and electricity networks giant SSE plc rose 9% on Wednesday after it committed to building the largest onshore wind farm…
Search Results for GDP
UK economy declines 25% in ‘unprecedented collapse’
The UK’s Office for National Statistics said on Friday that UK gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 20.4% in April in what was the first full…
ECB stimulus lifts bond purchases to €1.35 trillion
The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a bigger-than-expected expansion of its stimulus package to support an economy plunged into recession by the coronavirus pandemic….
Brexit extension ‘essential’ for Scots economy
The Scottish government said on Wednesday that billions of pounds would be wiped from a Scottish economy already hit hard by the Coronavirus crisis if…
SPFL football ‘contributes £214m to Scots economy’
New research by the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute has reported that the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) contributes £214 million to the…
IMF fears worst recession since Great Depression
The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday the global economy could shrink by 3% in 2020 — an IMF downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from…
UK economy may shrink by 35%, lose 2m jobs – OBR
The UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said on Tuesday the British economy could shrink by 35% in the April to June period and unemployment…
UK central bank OKs big overdraft for government
The UK’s central bank has agreed to temporarily lend the UK government money via its Bank of England overdraft facility if required to help finance…
Global debt tops $255 trillion, set to soar further
Global debt across all sectors rose by more than $10 trillion in 2019, topping $255 trillion, according to the latest report from the Institute of…
FTSE falls despite boosts from budget and bank
UK finance minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday unveiled his budget — a £30 billion stimulus package — and promised to do whatever it takes to…
Coronavirus may double pension deficits to £900bn
Analysis from Hymans Robertson has shown that the financial impact of the coronavirus contributed to the rise of UK Defined Benefit (DB) pension scheme deficits…
Scots exports to UK and world up 2.9% to £85bn
Scotland’s total international and rest of the UK exports — excluding oil and gas — increased 2.9% to £85 billion in 2018. Exports to the…
Souter buys majority stake in IT firm Stone Group
Souter Investments, the family investment office of Stagecoach Group founder Brian Souter, said on Tuesday it completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Staffordshire-based information…
OECD warns ‘bold action’ required on world economy
Trade conflicts, weak business investment and political uncertainty are weighing on the world economy and raising the risk of long-term stagnation, according to the OECD’s latest…
Global debt to hit $255 trillion in 2019 says IIF
Global debt surged by $7.5 trillion in the first half of 2019, hitting a new record of over $250 trillion, said a new report from…
UK central bank holds rates – but two push for cut
The UK’s central bank on Thursday kept interest rates on hold — but two members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) unexpectedly…
Federal Reserve cuts rates again but signals a pause
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates for the third time this year to help sustain US growth. However, the Fed also signaled…
IMF boss warns of ‘synchronized slowdown’
New International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva issued a warning about the state of the global growth on Tuesday. She warned trade conflicts had…
Brexit blamed as Scots economic growth stalls
The Scottish Government said that following a period of sustained economic growth, Scotland’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in the second quarter –…
Scots revenue rises to £63bn as ‘deficit’ falls £1.1bn
Public sector revenue in Scotland reached £62.7 billion in 2018-19, exceeding £60 billion for the first time, with Scotland’s onshore revenues increasing 5.1% to reach…
UK economy shrinks for first time since 2012
The UK economy shrank for the first time since 2012 in the second quarter of 2019 as manufacturing and construction both slumped. Production output fell…
UK central bank cuts growth forecast, holds rates
The Bank of England (BoE), the UK’s central bank, cut its growth forecasts on Thursday amid increased Brexit concerns and a slowing global economy. However…
EU cuts 2020 growth forecast as outlook is ‘clouded’
The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday cut its euro area GDP growth and inflation forecast for next year as it warned the near-term outlook for the…
Scots economy grows for ninth quarter in a row
The Scottish economy grew for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to the latest GDP figures. The latest figures show the Scottish economy grew by 0.5%…
Fiscal Commission warns on Scots budget reductions
The Scottish Government “will need to manage volatility” in its budget as the devolution of tax and spending powers becomes fully operational, according to the…
SSE profit up 59% to £1.4bn thanks to asset sales
Perth-based energy giant SSE said on Wednesday its reported profit before tax for the year to March 31, 2019, rose 59% to 1.37 billion, boosted…
Sturgeon unveils plan to increase Scots exports
The Scottish Government has outlined an ambitious growth plan which will aim to increase the value of exports from 20% to 25% of Scotland’s GDP…
£1.4bn invested in Scots infrastructure in past year
The Scottish Government said 19 new school projects are amongst the £1.4 billion of new building projects completed in the last year. The details are…
Scotland’s ‘natural capital’ is £273bn – ONS report
The Scottish Government on Friday published the results of a report it commissioned from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) to carry out…
Scots economy outpaces UK in fourth quarter
The Scottish economy has shown growth for the eighth consecutive quarter. Latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures show the Scottish economy grew 0.3% in the…
£42.5bn Scots budget approved by Parliament
The Scottish Parliament has approved the 2019-20 Scottish Budget which the Scottish Government said provides £42.5 billion of investment in the economy and public services….
Scots exports to UK and world up 5% to £81bn
Scotland’s international and rest of UK exports in 2017 (excluding oil and gas) rose 5.2% to £81.4 billion from the previous year. Exports to the…
Scots business R&D spend up 14% to £1.2bn
Scottish businesses are investing record amounts in research and development, according to statistics published on Wednesday. The Business Enterprise Research & Development (BERD) statistics show…
Celtic ‘contributes £165m to Scots economy’
The extent of Celtic’s contribution to the Scottish economy has been set out for the first time by a new independent report by the Fraser of…
Smooth Brexit ‘vital’ for growing Scots economy
Securing a smooth Brexit transition is “vital” to protect Scotland’s growing economy – even if that means extending the Article 50 negotiation period – according…
Scots economy outperforms UK
Scottish GDP grew by 0.8% in the first half of this year compared to 0.6% in the UK, according to new statistics from Scotland’s chief statistician….
Nucleus Financial assets rise 16% to £14.3bn
Edinburgh-based funds platform Nucleus Financial Group Limited on Tuesday announced its inaugural set of interim results as a quoted company, with period end assets under administration rising…
Scots public sector revenue hits £60bn for first time
The Scottish Government said on Wednesday that Scotland’s public sector finances “are continuing to improve” — with total public sector revenue reaching £60 billion for…
‘Cautious optimism’ on Scots economy from Allander
Scottish economic growth is set to recover this year but remain below trend, according to the latest analysis by the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of…
Johnston Press shares slump to record low
Shares of Johnston Press plunged 17% to a new record low after it said in an AGM trading update that no agreement has been reached with its bondholders…
Fiscal Commission predicts ‘subdued’ Scots growth
The Scottish Fiscal Commission has published its latest report ‘Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts – May 2018’ in which it describes the outlook for the…
Sustainable Growth Commission report published
An independent Scotland should keep the UK’s pound for an extended period before setting up its own currency, a report commissioned by the Scottish government…
Investment rises as Scots firms plan for strong 2018
The latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce quarterly economic indicator survey has shown rising levels of investment across Scottish businesses as expectations grow among firms for…
Scots R&D spending edges up to £2.33bn
Scotland’s chief statistician on Wednesday released figures for gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) in Scotland in 2016. The figures show GERD in Scotland…
UK pension liabilities ‘up £1 trillion to £7.6 trillion’
The UK’s gross pension liability across workplace and state provision grew by £1 trillion in five years to hit £7.6 trillion at the end of 2015,…
Migration cut ‘could cost Scotland £10bn a year’
Reducing migration if the UK leaves the European Union would be “catastrophic” for Scotland’s economy, a new Scottish government discussion paper has warned. The discussion…
Scots finance salaries ‘to face pressure in 2018’
The drive for greater cost control across financial and professional services in Scotland this year will have a bigger impact on recruitment activity than Brexit,…
Construction slows as Scots economy grows 0.2%
The Scottish economy grew 0.2% during the third quarter of 2017, according to gross domestic product (GDP) statistics announced by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. During the…
Scots Fiscal Commission in ‘weak’ growth forecast
The Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) said that for many “the big story” of Thursday’s Budget won’t be the tax and spending announcements of the Scottish…
RBS finally closes its ‘bad bank’ – report
Royal Bank of Scotland has closed the “bad bank” it set up to sell unwanted assets nearly 10 years after RBS was rescued in a…
Scots economy grew 0.1% in second quarter
Scotland’s GDP grew by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2017, increasing by a total of 0.7% since the start of the year, according to…
UK asset management up 20% to £6.9 trillion
The UK Investment Association’s first annual asset management survey following the UK’s decision to leave the EU reveals assets under management in the UK increased…
Scotland has highest employment rate in UK
Scotland now has the highest employment rate of any UK nation — with the rate growing to a record high of 75.8% over the last…
Scots employment hits record high
Scotland’s employment rate increased by 1.1 percentage points to a record high of 75.2% over the April to June quarter — meaning 30,000 more people…
Scots unemployment at record low of 3.8%
Scotland’s unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.8% over the last quarter, down 0.7 percentage points, according to labour market statistics for March to…
Scots output rises, employment returns to growth
The Bank of Scotland purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data for June showed a slight increase in Scottish private sector output. The June data extended the…
Scots economy rebounds to outpace UK growth
UPDATE 2 — Scotland’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.8% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous three months — outpacing the quarterly…
Higher education R&D at record; total at £2.15bn
UPDATED — Scotland’s gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) rose 1.1% or £23 million in 2015 to £2.15 billion, according to a report from Scotland’s chief statistician. Scottish GERD…
Fitch: Trump presidency ‘a risk to world economy’
The Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and global sovereign credit fundamentals, Fitch Ratings said on Friday. “US policy predictability has diminished,…
UK housing stock worth £6.79 trillion – Savills
The UK’s housing stock is now worth a record £6.79 trillion, about 3.65 times the UK’s GDP, according to new analysis published by Savills. London and…
DB pension deficits up £90bn to £560bn
New figures from PwC’s Skyval Index show that deficits of UK defined benefit (DB) pension funds stood at £560 billion at the end of 2016, up…
R&D jobs at record level, but spending slips
Research and development (R&D) employment in Scottish businesses reached its highest level on record in 2015 with about 11,000 jobs — but R&D spending fell slightly during that year…
Saudi Arabia in record $17.5bn debt sale
Saudi Arabia has completed the biggest ever emerging market bond sale by selling $17.5 billion of debt securities in the Saudi government’s first international offer, according to…
Brexit ‘could lead to 80,000 Scots job losses’
Brexit could lead to the loss of between 30,000 and 80,000 jobs in Scotland, according to a report by the Fraser of Allander Institute commissioned by…
$152 trillion debt could thwart recovery – IMF
Global debt reached an all-time high of $152 trillion in 2015 — about 225% of world gross domestic product — and could thwart the fragile recovery…
IMF says world economy has moved sideways
The International Monetary Fund warned that persistent stagnation could fuel populist calls for restrictions on trade and immigration that could hamper productivity, growth and innovation around the…
WTO forecasts slowest trade growth since 2009
The World Trade Organization (WTO) said world trade will grow more slowly than expected in 2016, expanding by just 1.7%, well below the WTO’s April…
Strong growth for Scots video games industry
The Scottish video games industry’s development headcount grew by 25% between December 2014 and March 2016, according to trade association TIGA. This was more than…
Scots household wealth ‘grew fastest in UK’
Scotland’s household wealth grew the fastest in the UK over the past year, according to the latest Barclays UK Prosperity Map. Household wealth in Scotland rose by 13%…
Scotland’s public sector deficit at £14.8bn
Scotland had a public sector deficit of £14.8 billion for 2015-16 — about 9.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) — amid plummeting North Sea…