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Jamieson urged to turn clock back and abolish “block fees”

By Ian Fraser The Herald March 26th, 2007 Family law in Scotland is under threat, says Helen Hughes, chair of the Family Law Association. She lays the cause of the crisis firmly at the door of the Scottish Executive’s “block fee” payment system for civil legal aid work. Since the itemised fee system was scrapped […]

March 26th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Debate rages over Brown’s “creative accounting”

By Ian Fraser Sunday Herald March 25th, 2007 BUDGET OVERVIEW: FAREWELL FIGURES Gordon Brown may have designed his final Budget to ease his passage into Number 10, but the jury is still out on whether he pulled it off AS he seeks to spruce up his image so he can move next door as prime […]

March 25th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Thomson enters semi-retirement at age of 43

By Ian Fraser The Herald March 20th, 2007 One-time Scottish international decathlete Ben Thomson has, at the tender age of 43, moved into semi-retirement for now by handing over the reins of Edinburgh-based investment bank Noble Group to former Merrill Lynch executive Angus Macpherson. Thomson becomes the Scottish investment bank’s part-time chairman, following the retirement […]

March 20th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

What’s your speciality, then?

By Ian Fraser The Herald March 19th, 2007 Lawyers and accountants can either be trained under the traditional broad-based system or the ‘single seat’ approach favoured by a minority of Scots law firms. Ian Fraser examines the merits of each approach. Broad-based Johnston Carmichael, the Aberdeen-headquartered accountant, believes that chartered accountants are being forced into […]

March 19th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Officer saddles up for marathon on horseback

By Ian Fraser The Sunday Times Ecosse section March 18th, 2007 A former army captain is set to trek from John O’Groats to Land’s End WHEN the former army captain Grant Nicolle was casting around for the perfect antidote to the stresses and strains of the financial world, he alighted on his love of horses. […]

March 18th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library,Other Articles | Read More »

The world we’re in is no longer risk free

By Ian Fraser The Estate Agency Times March 12th, 2007 THE stock market turmoil that recently wiped some 5% off share prices speaks volumes about the fragility of global capital markets and investors’ changing attitudes to risk. The big sell-off, seemingly sparked by a slump on the Shanghai stock exchange, hit Wall Street on February […]

March 12th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Auditing can mean either pain or gain

By Ian Fraser The Herald March 12th, 2007 Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) regard their annual audit as an expensive and time-consuming chore that brings them little of value, while only one-third carries out an audit because it is a statutory requirement. However, companies with this blinkered approach are unlikely to generate much value […]

March 12th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Graham backs Nats for Holyrood

By John Penman and Ian Fraser The Sunday Times March 11th, 2007 ONE of Scotland’s best known technology millionaires, Iain Graham, said he believes it is time for the Scottish National party to be given a chance to run Scotland. Graham, who started the independent software company Graham Technology 20 years ago, said forming the […]

March 11th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Mackie warns of SNP’s ‘specious’ tactics

By Ian Fraser March 11th, 2007 [Web only – this article unpublished elsewhere] MAITLAND Mackie, the North-East ice-cream entrepreneur, has warned Scots against being seduced into voting for independence by what he calls the “specious” arguments of the Scottish National Party. Mackie warned that ending the union would create a worse environment for business and […]

March 11th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

Proceed with caution and come out on top

By Ian Fraser The Scotsman March 10th, 2007 LINGERING fears of further stock market corrections have prompted investors to pile into the cautious managed sector recently. With the stock market volatility of 2000-3 still fresh in many investors’ minds, and with the outlook for equities uncertain following the market slump of late February, UK investors […]

March 10th, 2007 | Posted in Article Library | Read More »

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