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As we enter the final furlong of the festive shopping calendar, levels of high street promotions have continued to step up a gear, according to analysis by accountants PwC. Over the last week, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of 100 high street retailers were on sale or advertising promotions - s

Edinburgh Napier University has agreed a three-year funding support deal with Spanish banking giant, Santander. Santander Universities UK, a major funder of higher education, initially pledged £120,000 to the university in 2009 over a three year period and the agreement was renewed in 2012 with a f

John Swinney Tax specialists across Scotland have reacted to yesterday’s budget announcement that saw finance secretary John Swinney rule out an increase in Scottish income tax when Holyrood gets new financial powers next year.

Aberdeen Asset Management has announced its plans to close its UK Flexible Strategy fund next year. The wealth manager said that it had taken the decision after “steady redemptions” had significantly shrunk the fund’s assets to £10m.

Mr Trump’s Menie Estate golf course. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s legal challenge to a planned offshore wind farm has been rejected by the UK’s Supreme Court.

Katherine Garrett-Cox Dundee-based Alliance Trust has announced that it is on track to deliver combined savings for the investment business of at least £6m for 2016.

Edinburgh-based financial recruitment specialist Core-Asset Consulting has been appointed by global equity asset manager Kiltearn Partners as its sole recruitment partner. Kiltearn Partners becomes the second of Core-Asset’s clients to adopt its Principal Recruitment Partner (PRP) model after the

Royal Bank of Scotland has said it has made “significant progress” in separating the reprised Williams & Glyn brand from the rest of the group as it races to meet its obligations to honour the terms of its £45 billion government bailout. The still 73 per cent state-owned lender is required

The liquidation of Edinburgh-based renewable wave energy business Aquamarine Power is moving forward with the sale of the firm’s intellectual property assets on behalf of administrators BDO. Aquamarine was been forced to stop trading last month after it failed to find a buyer having called in admi

Angela Mitchell As the Scottish Government prepares to announce its spending plans for 2016/17 today, global accountant Deloitte has calculated that boosting productivity and freeing up just one hour of public sector workers’ time each year can deliver savings of £7.2 million in Scotland.

There were 8,500 loans made to first-time buyers in Scotland during the third quarter of 2015 - a 4 per cent rise on the previous quarter and a 16 per cent year-on-year increase, according to latest Council of Mortgage Lender data. The CML figures show that loans made to first-time buyers in Scotlan

Between August and October the number of Scots out of work fell by 8,000 to stand at 156,000, according to official figures. Latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that UK unemployment also fell during the same period.

Spending reductions and benefit cuts imposed by the UK government could make Scotland’s poorest families more than £800 a year worse, a think-tank has warned. IPPR Scotland said £500 million would be cut from those on benefits by 2020 as a result of decisions made by Chancellor George Osborne �

Nicola Sturgeon A final deal on the fiscal framework accompanying the Scotland Bill has to be in place by February, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has agreed with Prime Minister David Cameron at a meeting in Downing Street yesterday.

First-time buyers borrowed £4.6bn for home-owner house purchase in October, up 10 per cent on September and October last year, according to latest data from the Council for Mortgage Lenders. The total of 29,900 loans was up 8 per cent month-on-month and 3 per cent year-on-year.