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The Bank of Scotland’s business barometer poll showed 73% of Scottish businesses expect to see turnover increase in 2025, up from 60% polled in 2023. Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses expect to see their revenue rise by between six and 10% over the next 12 months, with just over a fifth (21%) expecting it to grow by even more. The poll found that 70% of businesses were confident they would become more profitable in 2025, a two per cent increase when compared with the previous year. Revenue and profitability growth was firms’ top priority at 52%, though 40% said they will be targeting improved productivity, and the same proportion said they will be aiming to enhance their technology – such as automation or AI – or upskill their staff (both 29%). More than one in five (22%) want to improve their environmental sustainability. Other areas businesses are hoping to build upon AI-assisted technology (19%), and 24% will be investing in expanding into new UK markets and 23% plan to invest in staff training. The business barometer has surveyed 1,200 businesses every month since 2002, providing early signals about UK economic trends. Martyn Kendrick, Scotland director at Bank of Scotland commercial banking, said: “Scottish businesses are looking ahead to 2025 with stronger growth expectations, and setting out clear plans to drive this expansion through investments in new technology, new markets and their own teams. “As we enter the new year, we’ll continue to by their side to help them pursue their ambitions and seize all opportunities that lie ahead.”Stock Funds Rallied 7.5% in November
Amazon director Jonathan Rubinstein sells $1 million in stockQUÉBEC — Quebec Premier François Legault says he's looking at ways to end prayer in public places, including parks, as his government promises to table new legislation to strengthen secularism in schools. Legault made the comments during a press conference in Quebec City on Friday to mark the end of the fall legislative session. He said he wants to send a "very clear message to Islamists" that Quebec will fight against any disrespect of its fundamental values, including secularism. The premier said that recent reports of teachers allowing prayers in classrooms and preventing girls from playing sports, which have triggered an outcry in Quebec, are "totally unacceptable." "There are teachers who are bringing Islamist religious concepts into Quebec schools," he said. "I will definitely not tolerate that. We don't want that in Quebec." Legault then went a step further when asked by a reporter if he was also bothered by prayer in public places. "Seeing people on their knees in the streets, praying, I think we have to ask ourselves the question. I don't think it's something we should see," he said, adding that his government is considering whether it can legislate on the issue. He went on to say he doesn't want to see people praying "in public parks or public streets." When questioned about the constitutionality of banning public prayer, he said the government is "looking at all possibilities, including the use of the notwithstanding clause," which allows governments to override certain sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Images of Muslims praying in Montreal have sparked controversy in recent months, including when a group gathered in a city park to celebrate Eid al-Adha last June, prompting the borough mayor to muse about banning all religious events in public parks. In a statement, the Canadian Muslim Forum said Legault's comments suggest that some politicians view Muslims as second-class citizens. "These remarks add to a pattern of political rhetoric that unfairly targets Quebecers, especially those of Muslim faith, based solely on their backgrounds," the statement reads. Legault's comments come as the province grapples with a series of reports about Muslim religious practices appearing in some of the province's public schools. On Friday, Education Minister Bernard Drainville declared the government will introduce a new bill aimed at reinforcing secularism in Quebec schools. The announcement followed a Friday report in La Presse that documented students at a high school in Laval, north of Montreal, praying in classrooms and hallways and disrupting a play focused on sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy prevention. Drainville told reporters in Quebec City that the behaviour does not represent "our Quebec" and is "completely intolerable and unacceptable." "These acts of a religious nature clearly contravene secularism obligations," he said in a social media statement. "One can easily imagine the psychological impact that some of these behaviours may have had on students." The news story is the latest in a growing number of incidents reported at Quebec schools involving Muslim teachers and students. The wave of allegations was sparked by a government investigation, made public in October, that found a toxic climate at a Montreal elementary school. The report found that a group of teachers at Bedford school, mostly of North African descent, yelled at and humiliated students. Some teachers didn’t believe in learning disabilities and attributed students’ difficulties to laziness. Subjects like science and sex education were either ignored or barely taught, and girls were prevented from playing soccer. Eleven teachers have since been suspended from the school. The government is now looking into 17 schools it believes may have breached the province's secularism law. The report on those schools is expected in January, but Drainville says he can already confirm that the government is going to act. Quebec used the notwithstanding clause to shield the province's controversial secularism law, Bill 21, from constitutional challenges. That law prevents certain public sector workers, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols on the job. The government also invoked the clause to protect its contentious language law, Bill 96. On Friday, Legault said the protection of Quebec's identity has been one of his top priorities over the last year and repeated his claims that temporary immigration is threatening the French language in Montreal. He also reiterated that he's "open" to the idea of a Quebec constitution, following a recent recommendation from a committee tasked with coming up with ways to boost Quebec's autonomy. He said a constitution could enshrine Quebec's values, including secularism and equality between men and women. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024. — By Maura Forrest in Montreal The Canadian Press
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NoneSmith also added eight rebounds and four steals for the Paladins (9-1). Garrett Hien scored 10 points while going 5 of 10 and 0 of 4 from the free-throw line and added seven rebounds. Nick Anderson shot 3 for 9 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points. The Tigers (7-4) were led by Xaivian Lee, who posted 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Princeton also got 13 points and four assists from Dalen Davis. Caden Pierce also had 11 points and four steals. NEXT UP Up next for Furman is a Saturday matchup with South Carolina State at home, and Princeton hosts Monmouth on Tuesday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love almost got tricked into paying a massive tab for a total stranger at a barThe Chinese regime sanctioned 13 U.S. defense companies and six executives on Dec. 5 in response to the U.S. government’s latest arms sale to Taiwan. In announcing the sanctions, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the planned arms sale “interferes in China’s internal affairs, and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The companies targeted include drone makers such as BRINC Drones Inc. and Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc.Others include Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., Rapid Flight LLC, Red Six Solutions, Shield AI Inc., SYNEXXUS Inc., Firestorm Labs Inc., HavocAI, Neros Technologies, Cyberlux Corporation, Domo Tactical Communications, and Group W. The regime also sanctioned six senior executives from Raytheon, BAE Systems, Alliant Techsystems Operations, Data Link Solutions, and BRINC Drones. The sanctioned individuals are banned from entering China. All entities’ assets in China will be frozen, and all individuals and companies in China are banned from doing business with the sanctioned entities. The Epoch Times has reached out to the targeted companies and individuals for comments, and did not receive any response by press time. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never ruled Taiwan, although it claims sovereignty over the self-governed island and hasn’t ruled out taking the island by force. In recent years, the CCP has stepped up its military preparations to invade the island nation, and has conducted military drills encircling Taiwan. Although the United States does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, it maintains ties with Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act and the U.S. “Six Assurances” to Taiwan, which recognize Taiwan’s right to self-determination and allow Washington to sell military equipment to Taiwan for the its self-defense. In 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, committing to “regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan” to help the island meet “the existing and likely future threats from the People’s Republic of China.” The recent $385 million arms sale plan was the 18th arms sale under the Biden administration. President Joe Biden has also approved arms donations using presidential drawdown. On Nov. 30, Taiwan’s Presidential Office thanked the United States, calling the Taiwan–U.S. security partnership “a critical cornerstone for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.” Researchers at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), told The Epoch Times that Beijing’s largely “symbolic” sanctions will not stop U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Chung Chih-tung, assistant research fellow at INDSR’s Division of National Security Research, said the United States has continued to sell arms to Taiwan despite Beijing’s protests since 1979 because strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities via arms sales is “an integral part of the U.S. policy to deter China” from invading Taiwan. Moreover, amid the increasingly tense U.S.–China relations, “Taiwan has an irreplaceable importance in the U.S. geostrategy of containing China,” he said. Wang Shiow-wen, assistant research fellow at INDSR’s Division of Chinese Politics, Military and Warfighting Concepts, said increased U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan will likely continue because of Beijing’s expansion of its military capabilities. “The military capabilities on the two sides of the [Taiwan] Strait is very imbalanced. The United States not only won’t stop arms sales to Taiwan, it will more likely sell more and better weapons to Taiwan, particularly when the United States is transitioning to a new administration,” she said. “It has little to do with the trade war and more to do with the balance of military power in East Asia,” she said, adding that the United States cannot allow Beijing to compromise U.S. defense in the first island chain via Taiwan, or absorb the chip-making powerhouse and use it as leverage against the world. It’s Lai’s first stopover on U.S. soil as president during a state visit to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau. Beijing later criticized the United States for allowing him to transit through Hawaii.