Business7 - Insider Magazine

RISING STARS 2012: Entrepreneurs on the up Apr 19 2012

Meet Insider's Rising Stars of 2012. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and locations, range in age from 25 to 48 with an average age of 35 and around 78 per cent of them went to university. On average they work 60.62 hours a week ranging from 40 to 85 Read

RISING STARS 2012: Profiles Apr 19 2012

"Despite continuing economic uncertainty, Scotch whisky continues to meet increasing demand from all corners of the globe."Read

FINANCIAL SERVICES REVIEW: Battered sector puts itself back together Apr 19 2012

Taking a close look at Scotland's financial services sector is a bit like leaving your car overnight in an insalubrious part of Naples. You go away for a bit and come back to find two or three of the body panels kicked in and the windscreen cracked, but the basics remain sound and you can still drive it away to get it repaired. To say it has been a tough three or four years for the industry is a spectacular understatement. Read

FINANCIAL SERVICES – BANKS: Challenges, new and old Apr 19 2012

There must have been moments of late when RBS's chief executive Stephen Hester felt as if he was in the centre of some surreal Greek tragedy, being handed the hemlock as the mutilated bodies of others lay all around him. First, there was the public cashiering of Fred Goodwin, his knighthood for services to banking taken away. Then the public row over Hester's close-to-£1m bonus - which he was pressured into rejecting - and the small matter of the doubling of the bank's losses to £2bn Read

FINANCIAL SERVICES – LIFE AND PENSIONS: Ready for changes to come Apr 19 2012

Nearly all of us want to enjoy decades of leisure time between the day we retire and the hour the Reaper rings the doorbell. It is clear, however, that as the UK Government becomes less willing to fund our golden years, more and more of the burden is going to fall on individuals. In theory, this should be good news for Scotland and its giant life and pensions companies Read

FINANCIAL SERVICES – FUND MANAGERS: Tricky times but ticking over Apr 19 2012

Fund management may not have attracted many headlines in Scotland in recent years but, given the turbulent times the financial services sector has endured of late, that can probably be seen as a blessing Read

BIG PROFILE – KEITH ROGERS, GOALS SOCCER CENTRES: Five-a-side boss with a game-plan to tackle growth Apr 19 2012

Keith Rogers was arguably one of the most unusual environmental engineering students at the University of Strathclyde. When he wasn't attending lectures or writing essays the then teenager was running his own fleet of ice cream vans Read

ROUND TABLE – COST MANAGEMENT: Take control of costs to benefit from best value Apr 19 2012

Our expert panel discuss cost control and the vital part it plays in every business's long-term strategy Read

REGIONAL REPORT – GLASGOW: Gearing up for Games and going for gold Apr 19 2012

Glasgow has been facing big challenges for a long time and anyone looking at the bare statistics is left in no doubt about the size of them. But it is also worth reminding ourselves Glasgow still employs just over 400,000 people and is a big driver of the Scottish economy. Its activities range from whisky production to financial services and it remains the biggest shopping centre outside LondonRead

CONFERENCING AND EVENTS: Event destinations exceed expectations Apr 19 2012

A new conference fund and £2bn of investment in tourism infrastructure is helping Scotland punch above its weight as an international conferencing and events destination. The £2m 'Conference Bid Fund', unveiled by the Scottish Government earlier this year, will help Scottish cities and destinations compete for international conferences linked to key sectors including life sciences, food and drink, creative industries and energy Read

BRIBERY: Anti-'sweetener' laws with added bite Apr 19 2012

What impact has the Bribery act 2010 had on businesses across Scotland? The new law, which came into force on July 1, 2011, carries tough penalties including unlimited fines and prison sentences of up to ten years for offering or requesting a bribe, bribing a foreign public official or failing to prevent bribery by those acting on the company's behalf - including agents, employees, subsidiaries, intermediaries, joint venture partners or suppliers in the UK or overseas Read

FLEXIBLE WORKING: Remote working can improve output Apr 19 2012

Every weekday morning and evening across Scotland, the arguments for flexible working are plain to see. Commuter trains and buses are often full. Queues along the M8 in and around Glasgow and across the Forth Road Bridge can stretch for miles. Tens of thousands of people sit in cars, literally going nowhere, while vast clouds of carbon dioxide pour into the atmosphere from uselessly turning engines. It all adds up to wasted time, huge frustration, and unnecessary damage to the environment Read

FLEET MANAGEMENT: 'Mixed' reaction to budget Apr 19 2012

Fleet managers hoping for some positive news in the recent Budget were left wondering if it had the aim of supporting business or stifling it with more crippling tax hikes Read

SOLAR POWER – Clean energy continues to spark debate Apr 19 2012

As the renewables industry continues to grow apace, of all natural energy sources solar appears the squeakiest cleantech. It derives from the sun after all, what can be cleaner than that? Read

INTERNATIONAL – LIFE SCIENCES: Biotech firms can 'compete and flourish on the world stage' Apr 19 2012

For biotechnology chief executive Athol Haas, the different attitudes to healthcare he encounters as he travels round the world is proving to be something of a revelation. His stem cell banking company is attracting significant interest from patients in some surprising locations Read

SCOTLAND PLC AWARD WINNERS: Well-earned plaudits for the pick of the plc bunch Apr 19 2012

This year's worthy winners unveiled...Read

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY REPORT: Innovation and ingenuity Mar 07 2012

Just over a year ago one of Scotland's most successful businessmen Jim McColl was on a trade mission with Prime Minister David Cameron in China. During that tour he met renowned life sciences investor Gerald Chan and told him there were some great things going on in Scotland.Read

Insider profile: Frank Blin of PwC: Influential innovator in search of new challenges Mar 07 2012

Is an accountant a businessman? If you ask Frank Blin the answer is certainly in the affirmative. "It amuses me that sometimes people say if you come from the professions you aren't a business person," says Blin, who has headed PwC's operations in scotland for the past 17 years as well as playing UK and international roles in the accountancy giant.Read

DRIVING GROWTH IN THE DOWNTURN: New ways to cultivate success Mar 07 2012

Grim forecasts for the European economy in the years ahead may mean discussions in many Scottish boardrooms are focused more on how to protect current sales rather than how to look for growth Read

REGIONAL REPORT - FALKIRK AND THE FORTH VALLEY: 'Sleeping giant' looks to bright future Mar 07 2012

Falkirk stands at a crossroads. it always has done, its location on the central belt's key north-south east-west routes has guaranteed the town a share of the action for centuries. It played host to the roman army while the Antonine Wall was being built. it was the - reluctant - site of two pivotal battles, then developed Europe's largest cattle market in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuriesRead

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