Consumers cash inn on loyalty
SCOTS love their loyalty cards – with 86 per cent of the adult population saying they have at least one card.By using their cards and cashing in their points, consumers save more than £100 a year on...
View ArticleBrewDog’s Olympic beer bites
Fraserburgh craft brewery BrewDog has unleashed an Olympic beer “containing at least fifty per cent of your recommended allowance of sarcasm”.Never Mind the Anabolics contains a list of performance...
View ArticleEnjoying a wake-up call for Scotland’s wine buffs
FIRST we have to learn to wake up the wine. As he swirls a glass of Pouilly Fume in his hand Philippe Larue, director of l’Art du Vin, explains: “The wine has been sleeping – just like you – it needs...
View ArticlePop into the pop–up gallery
A FASHION store in Edinburgh is doubling up as a pop-up art gallery during the Fringe – with an exhibition by up-and-coming painter Sarah Muirhead.Muirhead, who specialises in giant portraits of street...
View ArticleClaire Smith: Food on the go is the future for Scots on the move
LAST year in New York I noticed a strange phenomenon amid the trendy garment stores of the funky Soho district.In between the achingly cool outlets selling Nicole Fahri and Agnes b were achingly cool...
View ArticleTroubled giant Tesco looks in new direction to turn round slide
IT IS still by far the biggest supermarket in the UK – with sales of £79bn and pre-tax profits of £3.9bn.But Tesco is losing ground – with sales down 1.5 per cent in the trading quarter to the end of...
View ArticleRetailers face soaring theft bill
SHOPLIFTING together with theft by employees is costing Scottish retailers more than £300 million a year – with meat, razor blades, condoms and power tools among the most frequently stolen items.More...
View ArticleHolidaymakers facing their own euro crisis
PEOPLE travelling to the eurozone this summer could be missing out on millions of euros worth of holiday money by failing to shop around for the best currency deals.New research carried out by foreign...
View Article£100,000 claims over agents’ letting fees
Private-sector tenants are bidding to recover more than £100,000 in unlawful letting agent charges after a Shelter Scotland campaign against the fees attracted more than 800 claims in just two months....
View ArticleCrackdown on packages that cost bank customers a packet
Banks will be forced to ensure customers are eligible for the benefits sold with packaged accounts, under a new crackdown aimed at tackling the mis-selling of the products.The Financial Services...
View Article‘Bankruptcy is too easy’
Almost two-thirds of Scots think bankruptcy is too easy and allows people to get away with reckless spending, according to research out today showing a hardening of attitudes towards insolvency. It...
View ArticleTop Ten Tips: Cohabiation and financial assets
THE recent case of Gow v Grant in the Supreme court seemingly rubber-stamped Scottish laws giving non-married cohabiting couples more claim on each other’s financial assets in the event of separation....
View ArticleTax Matters: Journey into space can be profitable, just be sure that you set...
Sometimes the answer in difficult financial times lies close to home. In many cases, it lies in the spare room.The number of people letting out rooms in their homes has grown rapidly over the past two...
View ArticleGareth Howlett: Forgo the brilliant mutt myth for some simple dog sense
I READ a brilliant story the other day about a dog with a talent for investment. His owner, who was an avid watcher of stock market news on the financial channels, noticed that the dog would bark...
View ArticleSteve Wilkie: Your home, your castle … and an early legacy
FOR people either approaching retirement or there already, consideration of financial legacy and what support they can leave for the generations that follow are often front of mind. With most people,...
View ArticleConsumer helpdesk
Q: I AM writing with reference to the company EasyLife which caused us major problems last year.In July 2011, we put in a mail order for goods to the value of £65.23 and a cheque. By October, nothing...
View ArticleNHS Lothian appoints Tim Davison as new Chief Executive
SCOTLAND’S second biggest health board - which has been slammed for a culture of bullying, cover-ups and inappropriate management - has appointed a new chief executive.• Tim Davison, the new chief...
View ArticleEric Joyce fined for removing electronic curfew tag
SHAMED MP Eric Joyce has been fined £600 for cutting off his curfew tag to compete in a parliamentary boat race.• Eric Joyce was fined £600 after removing the electronic tag in order to compete in a...
View ArticleScottish independence: David Cameron urges Alex Salmond to go with...
DAVID Cameron has urged Alex Salmond to dump plans for a two-question referendum before September, when the next round of talks on independence are due to take place.• Cameron urges Salmond to stick...
View ArticleScottish fact of the day: Launceston Elliot - the first Scottish Olympic...
THIS year’s Olympics has seen a record number of Scottish athletes head to London to compete for glory - 54 in all - but back in 1896, when the first modern Olympic Games were held, Athens saw a rather...
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