Scottish Financial Review

Oil & Gas UK chief executive Deirdre Michie (pictured) has welcomed the first rise in UK oil and gas production for more than 15 years —…

Shares of Edinburgh-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy rose at least 4% after it announced the successful testing of its SNE-2 offshore appraisal well near…

The Scottish Government said around £690 million will be invested in housing in 2016-17 as part of a £3 billion plan to deliver 50,000 affordable homes…

A poll carried out for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) shows that 92% of Scots consider the 76% tax levied on a bottle of Scotch to be unfair….

Shares of Glasgow-based travel firm Minoan Group rose about 8% after it said the presidential decree required for a joint venture resort it is planning on the Greek…

Edinburgh-based security camera company IndigoVision said its sales were lower than it expected in the second half of this year, mainly due to the delay of a project…

Sixty-nine merger and acquisition (M&A) deals worth $10 billion or more this year have helped propel global M&A volume to a record $5.03 trillion, according…

Scotland’s female employment rate is the second best of all 28 European Union countries, according to Eurostat figures covering July 2014 to June 2015. “Earlier this year I…

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said the ban on heavy lorries using the Forth Road Bridge until February will cost the industry at least £40 million. The bridge…

Renewable energy is now the biggest contributor to electricity generation in Scotland and has reached a record 38% of total output — higher than nuclear (33%) and fossil fuels (28%) for…

Three of the top jobs in Edinburgh transport have been filled — two of them by former military men — as the capital city’s integrated bus-and-tram transport leaders seek…

The Forth Road Bridge will be reopened to all vehicles except HGVs from 6am Wednesday morning. Operating company Amey confirmed that temporary repairs had been…

Polly Purvis, chief executive of digital technologies trade body ScotlandIS, has been appointed the first chair of CodeClan, Scotland’s first digital skills academy. CodeClan opened in September…

ScotRail has announced a £475 million train improvement programme it said will deliver new trains, thousands of extra seats, at-seat power points and better wifi. When the seven-year programme…

Greenock-based British Polythene Industries (BPI) said on Monday it is on course to meet its expectations for 2015 despited a rise in raw material costs. “Trading remains…

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it has acquired Springboro, Ohio-based Kelchner Inc, a privately-owned construction and energy field services company, for…

Rental take-up in Edinburgh’s office market is expected to exceed 1 million square feet for 2015, as tech companies and banks drive demand, according to real estate firm Savills….

Glasgow-based temporary power supplier Aggreko said on Friday it has withdrawn from the bidding process for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games. Aggreko’s shares…

Family-owned whisky and spirits firm William Grant & Sons said chief executive Stella David (pictured above) has decided to step down at the end of February 2016…

Bridge of Allan-based Graham’s The Family Dairy announced that its 2015 sales increased to £86.5 million from £85 million last year. Pre-tax profit rose to £1.6 million in…

The UK’s Institute of Directors welcomed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade, and urged the…

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said on Wednesday it has received “a number of informal approaches” for its Williams & Glyn branch network. RBS said that while…

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show unemployment in Scotland fell by 8,000 to 156,000 in the August to October quarter. The official unemployment…

Confusion surrounds the tender from Glasgow-based temporary power supplier Aggreko to provide generators to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year. Reuters reported that a spokesman…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that the Scottish government is moving closer to issuing Scottish debt — by selling bonds to institutional investors….

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan has outlined the company’s fast-moving plans to shrink its global investment banking operations as it moves to…

Edinburgh Airport is on course for its busiest year ever and Glasgow Airport is on track to record its strongest year since 2008. Edinburgh had 794,792 passengers in November, a…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global energy services giant Wood Group rose almost 3% on Thursday after it published a strong trading update for the year to…

Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup has retained the TransPennine Express rail franchise until at least 2023. The franchise will play a key part in delivery of the UK Government’s…

Shares of Perth-based bus and train operator Stagecoach fell more than 13% after it said the terrorist attacks in Paris have discouraged people from traveling to major…

Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday night that former UK finance minister Alistair Darling has been elected to its board of directors, effective January 1, 2016….

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to join four other “world-renowned experts on economic and political issues” on a new global advisory board at…

National Australia Bank (NAB) has urged its shareholders to support a proposed demerger of its Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) at a special meeting on…

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) says an “uneasy calm” exists in global financial markets as they prepare for the expected increase in U.S. interest rates…

North Sea oil and gas doyen Ian Wood believes the next few years will be the industry’s toughest — with up to 10,000 job losses in…

Former Experian, Aviva, RBS and Standard Life executive Graeme Jones has been appointed chief executive of trade body Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), replacing Owen Kelly…

Scotland’s forestry sector now contributes nearly £1 billion to the economy through forest management, timber processing and recreation and supports about 25,000 jobs, according to a…

Grangemouth refinery operator Ineos said it has set up a new oil and gas subsidiary to hunt for opportunities as it completed the purchase of the North Sea natural…

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Standard Chartered have survived the 2015 stress test set by the Bank of England, the UK’s central bank —…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided that the Chinese renminbi (RMB) should be considered a global “reserve” currency. The move means markets will now prepare for…

Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management, which specializes in emerging markets and Asia, said its assets under management fell from roughly £324 billion to £284 billion in the…

Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust, under pressure from US activist shareholder Elliott Advisors to restructure, said on Friday that its chair Karin Forseke (above) will leave her post on…

Edinburgh-based airport cargo handling and news distribution company John Menzies has warned shareholders it now expects full year earnings to be £2 million below previous expectations due partly…

Interest rates “must go up because they (artificially low rates) are distorting so much” said Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia. “I mean, it’s not…

Edinburgh-based fund giant Standard Life Investments, a shareholder in HSBC, would support the global bank if it decided to move its headquarters away from London…

The report into the collapse of HBOS has recommended that regulators should consider whether former bosses at the bank should be banned from the finance industry. The review also concluded…

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to investigate whether Britain’s $10 trillion (£6.6 trillion) asset management industry delivers value for money for investors. The FCA said…

Royal Bank of Scotland has offered to buy back up to $6.4 billion of bonds — effectively paying off debt — as it seeks to cut its…

The UK government has sold $20 billion (£13 billion) of former Northern Rock mortgages and loans to US private equity firm Cerberus in the largest ever…

Edinburgh-based fantasy sports operator FanDuel looks set to legally challenge a “cease-and-desist letter” from New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman that has ordered it to stop accepting bets in New York State….

Perth-based energy giant SSE said adjusted pretax profit rose 48.2% to £548.8 million for the six months to September 30 amid windy and wet weather…

Standard Life has said there “are no current plans” for its chairman Gerry Grimstone to leave the Edinburgh-based investment giant despite the news that Grimstone is joining…

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s latest results show a big increase in its stakes in companies not listed on the stock market and reveal that more than…

Scotch Whisky exports totalled £1.7 billion in the first half of 2015 as the decline of recent years slowed significantly. Scotch exports to Brazil, India and Russia…

The strong pound — which can make Scottish exports more expensive — and the weak oil price have combined with other factors to lead to…

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it made a third quarter operating loss of £134 million, down from a profit of £1.1 billion in the same…

A growing number of international and UK-based investors and developers are showing interest in the £1 billion Dundee Waterfront regeneration project that will transform 240 acres…

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group has won a multi-million dollar contract to provide engineering services to BP in the Gulf of Mexico, UK…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Standard Life said it enjoyed net inflows of £2.4 billion ($3.6 billion) in the third quarter — well ahead of analysts’ expectations….

Statoil said on Wednesday it will delay the start up of the $7 billion Mariner field in the North Sea — the biggest field development…

French love of Scottish whisky and seafood has helped Scots food and drink exports to France to increase by more than 50 per cent since 2007…

The chairman of Lloyds Banking Group — which includes Halifax Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows — has caused a stir by arguing there was no…

Scottish-born Angus Deaton, a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for economics “for his analysis of consumption, poverty,…

The Investment Association (IA) — the powerful trade group for the Scottish and UK fund management industry — said Daniel Godfrey is leaving his role as its chief executive,…

Glasgow-based Arnold Clark Automobiles, Scotland’s biggest privately-owned company, said its turnover rose almost 12% to a record £3.3 billion in 2014. “It is very fitting that…

Scotch whisky giant Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits maker, said Kathryn Mikells (pictured) will become its chief financial officer on November 9. Mikells succeeds Deirdre Mahlan, who is returning to…

Aberdeen-based global oil services giant Wood Group said its chief operating officer Robin Watson would succeed veteran Bob Keiller as chief executive officer on January 1….

The UK government is planning to sell its remaining 12% stake in Lloyds Banking Group, owner of Halifax Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows, in…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has launched a £78 million ($118m) fund to help the country become an “innovation nation” and push Scottish businesses to develop almost 1,000 new inventions, products and…

About 73% of Scottish businesses would vote to remain in the European Union in a referendum, with that figure rising to 90% for large Scottish companies, according…