Do all European states play by the same rules?
THE BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE has a legendary reputation for fairness, and when it comes to applying European 'state-aid' rules, these are...
A sorry state of affairs for a sector we helped build
SEVERAL YEARS AGO I organised a big international technical conference on behalf of an American professional institution. Their New York...
Westminster Scots have missed a trick
ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS of devolution has been an increase in localised Scottish editions of UK newspapers, such as the Times, Mail, Sun...
Bad behaviour slows our start-up rate
IN THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL 1970s novel ‘Watership Down’ the wild rabbits, in their epic journey searching for new territory, stumble upon...
An administration all out of ideas to boost innovation
IN AMONG THE UNUSUALLY high Scottish news content over this summer, notably the repercussions surrounding the release of terminally-ill...
Not much business acumen on show in ‘reality’ TV
THERE ARE A COUPLE of business oriented ‘reality’ TV programmes on BBC TV these days and my view of them could not be more different. One...
Which way now for our historic newspapers?
WHEN THE OWNER of The Herald and Sunday Herald issued redundancy notices to its 230 journalists late last year, and then invited them to...
The practicalities of how we can fuel our nation’s future
THE SNP-LED Scottish Government has pulled a few populist stunts in its first period of office – such as free bridge tolls and free...
25 years on from the birth of the Apple Macintosh
THE YEAR WHICH saw the brand new Insider magazine emerge, blinking, into the sunlight was indeed a dramatic year, and not just in the...
Casting valuable experience aside is a risky business
OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, from time to time, I would meet an acquaintance that I had known as an experienced banker, usually a former...
Time to ditch the outmoded Barnett Formula
WE ALL KNOW that the link between representation and taxation is a key one. After all, “no taxation without representation” was the...
Scots economy must regenerate in changed landscape
IT'S A NEW YEAR, time for New Year resolutions; and maybe it’s a good time for a completely new approach. In fact, I’d go as far as...
Time for Scotland to follow Israel's high-tech example
AS THIS turbulent year draws to a close we can only look back wistfully on the wreckage of many of the former giants of the Scottish...
What a mockery of political coverage
ISN'T IT GREAT that we have such superb, expert, political, journalism these days? It’s just as well, or we might have been completely...
Crunch could slow flow of cash into start-ups to a stop
THOSE OF US WHO have been in business for some time have seen economic cycles come and go. When I first raised investment for a start-up...
New generation of digital audio isn't music to my ears
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, hi-fi was all the rage. There were many specialised magazines aimed at the dedicated hi-fi enthusiast, exclusive shops...
Ungrateful airlines shouldn't vent their frustrations at us
I WONDER what it is we have collectively done to the airline industry to deserve the treatment we get back from them? Obviously times are...
Don't moan about rising fuel prices - oil is a bargain
A FEW MONTHS AGO I was speaking to a senior Scottish businessman who had been, for a time, the chairman of a whisky distillery business....