Business confidence falls into negative territory
Scottish businesses have reported a “troubling” dip in confidence in their prospects for the coming year.
business
Opinion: Lean cash-flow practice vital to improving energy sector resilience
Businesses across the energy sector are increasingly adopting a lean approach to cash-flow to improve their resilience to the challenges the low oil price continues to bring.
Scottish small businesses report gloomy outlook
A majority of small Scottish firms expect business conditions to worsen, according to a quarterly report.
Former Noreco chairman Erik Henriksen dead after boating accident
A billionaire Norwegian investor in Noreco has died in a boating accident off the Cayman Islands, according to reports. Erik Henriksen was taken to Cayman Islands Hospital following the incident where he was later pronounced dead.
KPMG reveals corporate insolvencies down by almost a third
The number of Scottish firms going out of business has fallen to pre-recession levels.
Exclusive: Wood Group brings Altablue business back in-house
A company set up by Wood Group last year to perform personnel services to external businesses will now be brought in-house once again. Wood Group said the move to reel in its Altablue recruitment and payroll business was to reflect the “changing need” for resourcing service provisions in the current climate. The 100% owned Wood Group firm was set up in June last year and registered in Jersey.
Opinion: Collaboration – ideas from the construction industry?
During the current difficult period faced by the UKCS oil and gas industry, collaboration between the various parties in the offshore industry has been identified as one of the key factors in ensuring that the oil and gas output from the UKCS is maximised. There has been recent discussion in Energy Voice about some of the ways in which this can be done – and some of the problems being encountered, including the publication of some very interesting survey results published by Deloitte. Looking at these things in terms of their legal and contractual dimensions, there might be lessons to take from the way that the (onshore) construction and engineering sector has dealt with these issues in the last decade or so. In that area, particular forms of standard form contracts and the use of “good faith” obligations have been at the centre of trying to ensure collaborative working – with some success.
Aberdeen to move away from ‘oil tourism’
Aberdeen is going through a “period of reinvention” to move away from a reliance on visitors linked to the oil and gas sector, a tourism expert said yesterday. Andrew Martin, director of the Scottish Centre of Tourism at Robert Gordon University’s Aberdeen Business School, said efforts were being made to develop hospitality niches in the north-east, such as golf tourism and the whisky and castle trails. Any hopes of replacing lost income from the energy industry were “un-realistic”, he added. Steve Harris, chief executive of tourism body Visit-Aberdeen, said the Granite City’s weekend visitor market was holding up well, with numbers higher “than before”, while plans to create a single marketing organisation for the north-east would boost them further. Mr Martin and Mr Harris were speaking after a new study revealed yet more hardship for hotels in Europe’s energy capital, as low oil prices drive custom away.
Oil and gas chain proving the exception to Scotland’s economic growth
The oil and gas downturn is holding back Scotland’s economy against a background of continued overall growth, a new report says. According to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), which reveals the findings of its latest Quarterly Economic Indicator today, business trends were mostly positive in the three months to June 30. SCC says the construction sector “appears to be continuing to enjoy the buoyant trade that it has experienced throughout 2014 and into this year”.
Is obesity actually a health issue, asks MP
A ruling that obesity can be classed as a disability will cause “confusion” and may open a “can of worms”, it was claimed yesterday. Politicians and business chiefs were divided over the consequences of the European Court of Justice judgment on the case of 25-stone Danish child-minder Karsten Kaltoft. Dame Anne Begg, Labour MP for Aberdeen South and chairwoman of Westminster’s work and pensions committee, said: “It’s difficult to tell what the impact will be.
Sir Ian Wood becomes founding member of advisory group
An advisory group has been established to help the Government address Scotland’s failure to equip young people for work. Sir Ian Wood will be a founding member of the Scottish Government’s Developing the Young Workforce National Advisory Group. The oil magnate chaired the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, which found Scotland is “simply not preparing or equipping young people for the world of work”.
Technip acquires German polymer business
Technip has entered into an agreement with Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions Germany to purchase all of its Zimmer polymer technology business. The French services company said the deal will diversify and strengthen its portfolio of downstream technologies in its onshore division. It follows the announcement by Technip that its bid for CGG was unsuccessful.
Houston business district behind Aberdeen city link-up
A Houston business district made its own business trip to Aberdeen in the run up to the Granite City’s first business breakfast link-up with Houston this week. Greenspoint District, which is one of Houston’s 22 special business areas, came to show what they had to offer firms considering a move to the US energy-hub.