"In Insider yesterday: ‘Buoyant demand saw Scotland’s office property sector deliver bumper returns for investors last year, according to new figures. The total return from capital and rental growth saw the sector achieve an 8.2% return compared with 5.9% in 2017 and outperform the wider UK. Scotland’s offices, retail and alternatives market – which includes property such as student housing and petrol stations – all significantly outperformed the UK. Industrials also had a strong end to the year, achieving the highest return of the three main sectors at 8.6%. Retail returned 4.7% compared to the UK’s -1.1%, and alternatives, which has continued to be the best performing sector in Scotland and the only one to achieve double-digit returns in 2018, achieved 10.6% compared to the UK’s 7.5%.’"
https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com

"In Insider today: Scottish tourist attractions have welcomed an increase in the number of visitors for the fifth year running. Figures for 2018 were up 0.1% on last year which saw a 9.7% rise on 2016 and a 6% increase previously. The top 20 list made up for 59% of all visits with 10 of those based in Edinburgh. Sport and activity attractions saw a 7.7% increase across the country with castles and heritage sites up 4.2% and distilleries enjoying a 2.3% rise. Attractions across Dundee and Angus also recorded an increase in visitors, largely down to the V&A’s arrival in September. Discovery Point saw a 42% rise in visitors from 2017 with positive figures for Arbroath Abbey (up 18%) and Barry Mill (up 14%).'"
https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com

"Employers across Scotland are having to compete more to find the workers they need for what is, presumably, a robust economy, and having to pay more to recruit them.....  A well-paid workforce in secure employment, is more productive, has less mental health problems and pays more tax for the public services which they and all of us benefit from."
https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com

"Any period using sterling would be deeply damaging to a newly independent Scotland, meaning it could not create its own economic, monetary and fiscal policies, in turn meaning that it might well have less real power than Holyrood now because the reality would be that all power would lie in London. What is more, under EU rules it has to have its own currency to apply for membership. So it would fail there too. If the SNP is serious about independence there is only one option available to it, and that is its own currency from day one. Otherwise it will be trapped in dependency forever, which is the exact opposite of what it says it wants."
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk