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Monday, 26 March 2012 23:10

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By Andrew Barr

The UK Government has held discussions over selling part of an 82 per cent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland.  The stake, which is currently held by UK taxpayers, could be sold to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund at a loss.

£45.5bn of taxpayers’ money was invested by the UK Government in 2008-9 in order to prevent the bank from collapsing.  At the time the UK Government bought RBS shares at an average of 50p, almost double that of the current price.

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Monday, 26 March 2012 14:15

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By a Newsnet reporter

The SNP has welcomed news that Scottish cities are punching above their weight in relation to what businesses contribute to the UK economy per head of population.

Edinburgh tops the list – with £34,950 of Gross Value Added per head (GVA) in 2009 – of English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish cities.  The findings show that Edinburgh contributes even more to the UK economy per head of population than London, the city which is traditionally considered the powerhouse of the UK economy.

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Friday, 23 March 2012 16:54

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By a Newsnet reporter

Commenting as the average price of petrol broke through the 140p a litre barrier today (Friday), with diesel at a new record of 146.72p, SNP Westminster Transport spokesperson Angus MacNeil MP warned that soaring fuel prices were hindering economic recovery and called for Chancellor George Osborne to honour his pre-election promise to introduce a Fuel Duty Stabiliser to deliver a permanent stabilisation measure which would bring prices under control.