Wood brewery clinches Brent contract
ENERGY services firm Wood Group yesterday bagged a maintenance contract with Shell covering four oil rigs in the massive Brent field in the North Sea.The contract, which will last for several years,...
View ArticleNew inquiry overshadows £4bn profit from troubled Barlcays
BARCLAYS was rocked again yesterday as a bumper £4 billion interim profit was overshadowed by the disclosure that its finance director is among four current and former staff being investigated by the...
View ArticleRaw material costs up says Irn Bru maker Barr but so are sales
IRN-Bru-maker AG Barr yesterday warned that its half-year profit margins would be lower than last year because of rising raw material costs.The company said that margins would be affected because it...
View ArticleFacebook plunges on fears for its mobile ad problems
FACEBOOK shares slumped to an all-time low yesterday as investors debated whether the social website can convert users into cashflow on the increasingly mobile internet.Investors wiped $10 billion...
View ArticleMarkets: Markets respond to positive rhetoric
BRITISH and mainland European stocks climbed as eurozone leaders amplified the rhetoric yesterday on preserving the single currency.Sentiment was boosted as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Francois...
View ArticleJJB starts hunt for chief exec as Keith Jones quits
JJB Sports is in “advanced talks” to appoint a new chief executive after Keith Jones stepped down amid a further slide in sales at the struggling retailer.The company, which recently named US retail...
View ArticleSSE hydro schemes on hold ahead of review
SCOTTISH Hydro electric owner SSE yesterday revealed that it has put plans for four small-scale hydro-electric schemes “on hold” as it awaits the Scottish Government’s decision over subsidies.The...
View ArticleScotland’s exporters to benefit from more overseas support
SCOTTISH Development International (SDI), which promotes overseas trade, is opening seven more offices, including its first in Africa and Brazil.It hopes to exploit what it sees as huge opportunities...
View ArticleMobile growth has William Hill jumping
Rapid growth in online and mobile phone betting helped bookmaker William Hill enjoy a 13 per cent increase in profits for the first half.Favourable results at the Grand National and Cheltenham Festival...
View ArticleFifty shades of trouble for publisher Pearson
PEARSON, the owner of publisher Penguin, yesterday admitted its own sales had suffered as erotic best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the market.E L James’s novel, published by rival Vintage...
View ArticleMortgage problems are expected to grow warns state giant UKAR
THE state-owned company that took on assets from bailed-out lenders Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley yesterday warned it was braced for an increase in customers struggling to cope with their...
View ArticleBusiness news in brief: John Lewis | Samsung | John Swan & Sons
JOHN LEWIS posted yet another double-digit rise in weekly sales yesterday, as shoppers geared up for London 2012 with Games-inspired purchases ranging from TVs to Lego to replica Olympic torches.The...
View ArticleMilk producers warn ‘ the war is not yet over’
Even though the remaining two milk buyers yesterday rescinded plans to drop the price of milk from next week in the face of mounting farmer protests, farming leaders made it clear the war was far from...
View ArticleSumming up: Investing in financial education will pay off
WHAT would you say to your 20-year-old self if you could pass on what you had learned along the way?Would you deliver a few home truths, part with some homespun homilies or offer some practical advice...
View ArticleMarket Watch: Aggreko boss facing questions over US performance
INVESTORS are likely to quiz Aggreko chief executive Rupert Soames on Thursday over trading at the Glasgow-based temporary power supplier’s North American business, which has reported a slowdown in...
View ArticleShare liquidity move pushes Caithness Petroleum towards flotation
PLANS for a flotation of North Sea oil explorer Caithness Petroleum appear to have shifted up a gear after the privately-owned company boosted the liquidity of its shares.The firm – which operates in...
View ArticleTech entrepreneur buys firm’s website-hosting division
SERIAL technology entrepreneur Graham Duncan has snapped up a website-hosting business in Glasgow.Duncan’s latest venture, Broadband Cloud Solutions (BCS), is paying a “six-figure sum” to buy the...
View ArticleBiotech firm targets food and oil sectors
A SCOTTISH drugs industry company is expanding into food and drink and even oil and gas after moving into bigger premises and doubling its turnover in the past two years.Solid Form Solutions (SFS),...
View ArticleBill Jamieson: Does it make sense to carry on saving?
A ROUND of applause is surely due this morning to an early Scottish success at the Olympics. I refer to the display on the verbal gymnastic bars by our very own Dr Gary Gillespie, chief economic...
View ArticleHow to take on the taxman if you believe your fine is unfair
PENALTIES for late tax returns are heading for almost £1bn – but they can be challenged, says Jeff Salway. Taxpayers are being penalised unfairly by HM Revenue & Customs as its crackdown on late...
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