Almost three quarters of Scottish businesses are confident about their prospects next year, a survey has suggested. 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.” We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.Maryland sues maker of Gore-Tex over pollution from toxic 'forever chemicals'
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As the year draws to a close, Waikato Herald is taking stock of 2024. What moved readers most? As part of a 12-day series, Waikato Herald reporter Danielle Zollickhofer looks at the top stories each month. Welcome to day 9: September. September 2024 was another busy month. Kīngi Tūheitia’s tangi was being held at Tūrangawaewae Marae and his daughter Ngā Wai hono i te pō was named as his successor . Members of the New Zealand Defence Force helped to form the honour guard that guided the late Kīngi Tūheitia on his final journey at the banks of the Waikato River, while behind the scenes hundreds of marae staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to make sure food was never in short supply. Meanwhile, the Philip Polkinghorne trial came to an end as the retired eye surgeon was acquitted of the death of his wife Pauline Hanna.Trelleborg plans new production facility in India
PASADENA, Calif. — The Rose Bowl is the next stop on No. 1 Oregon's national championship quest. And Ohio State or Tennessee will be the Ducks' opponent in the 111th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All. Oregon (13-0) received the top seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, sending the Ducks to celebrate the new year in Pasadena for the ninth time in school history as they continue to fight for their first national championship. But first, the eighth-seeded Buckeyes (10-2) and the ninth-seeded Volunteers (10-2) will meet in Columbus on Saturday, Dec. 21, to determine Oregon's opponent in the Rose Bowl Game, which is also a playoff quarterfinal. The first-round matchup pits a pair of college football powerhouses with little history together. The Volunteers beat the Buckeyes 20-14 in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 1996, in the schools' only previous meeting. Ohio State got home-field advantage despite missing out on a Big Ten title game date with Oregon after a humiliating 13-10 loss at home to Michigan last month. The Buckeyes also lost a 32-31 thriller to the Ducks in Eugene in October, but they might still get that rematch in California. Oregon is clearly the class of this jumbled college football season, finishing as the only undefeated team in the FBS and the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 after holding off Penn State 45-37 to win its first Big Ten championship. The Ducks' road to a title looks fairly daunting with two elite opponents vying for their quarterfinal shot, and social media filled up Sunday with fans and commentators bemoaning the relative difficulty of Oregon's path. The rough road doesn't bother Oregon coach Dan Lanning, however. "What an opportunity, right?" Lanning said on ESPN. "We focus on the things that you can control, and winning a national championship isn't supposed to be easy. If our path is a little bit tougher, kudos to us if we go through it and take care of business." For decades, the Rose Bowl cherished its position as a near-annual meeting of teams from the Big Ten and the West Coast conference most recently known as the Pac-12. The breakup of the Pac-12 and the permanent change in the Rose Bowl's postseason position happened simultaneously over the past year, throwing the bowl's future into flux. But Oregon's familiar presence in Pasadena next month will smooth that change significantly — and if the Ducks' opponent is Ohio State, the traditionalists will still get exactly what they crave out of this game anyway. Oregon and Ohio State met in the Rose Bowl in 1958 and again on Jan. 1, 2010, with Terrelle Pryor leading the Buckeyes to a 26-17 victory. Oregon is 4-4 in its previous trips to the Rose Bowl, and the modern Ducks have spent their holiday in Pasadena four times since 2010. They've won in their past three appearances in the Granddaddy, most recently beating Wisconsin 28-27 in Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert's final game for his hometown school in 2020. Ohio State has made 16 previous appearances in the Rose Bowl, third-most in the game's history behind USC (34) and Michigan (21). The Buckeyes have won their last four games in Pasadena, most recently beating Washington in 2019 and Utah in 2022. A trip to Pasadena would be a treat for Tennessee's vast fan base. The Vols made two trips to the Rose Bowl during the 1940s, but they haven't been back there since 1945. Oregon and Tennessee have faced each other twice, with the Ducks winning both matchups in 2010 and in 2013. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Trump Says Bill Gates Asked To Meet With Him In Bizarre Truth Social Post
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Farmers around the world have long used chemical treatments to safeguard their seeds from pests and disease . However, a new chemical-free alternative is gaining popularity in Sweden, Norway, and elsewhere. ThermoSeed , developed by former researcher Kenneth Alness , treats seeds with steam rather than chemicals, making it an environmentally safe and effective alternative to conventional treatments. This unique strategy is already making waves in Scandinavian agriculture, and Alness, 67, has set his sights on taking the idea globally, especially in Asia. Steam treatment: a safer and cleaner approach ThermoSeed’s technique, which uses intense bursts of steam to kill pests while protecting seeds, has received accolades for its environmental benefits and improved working conditions. Farmer Gustaf Silén, who embraced the practice, highlighted how it lowers the dust associated with chemical treatments. “The bags with the seed, when you open them, can be quite dusty, and you get this all over you. That is not the case with ThermoSeed—it’s much easier to handle,” Silén said. One notable advantage is the possibility of reusing unused seeds. Steam-treated seeds, unlike chemically treated seeds, can be safely fed to livestock or sold, cutting down on waste disposal expenses. “You don’t have to throw them away; they become valuable again,” Silén added. Inspiration from the past, technology for the future A 1950s farming book Alness discovered in his father-in-law’s bookshelf sparked the concept for ThermoSeed. The book recounted how farmers used to treat seeds with hot water before the introduction of artificial pesticides . Although organic farmers have kept this process alive, it is inefficient due to the expensive cost of drying the seeds afterward. “I saw that it had potential and it should be good for nature, good for the climate,” Alness stated. “And I thought it was worth testing my wild ideas—that’s where it started.” After years of refinement, ThermoSeed now produces yields comparable to chemically treated seeds while eliminating the downsides of previous hot water treatments. Beyond organic farming Initially, ThermoSeed was only used by organic farmers, but Alness eventually recognized its larger potential. “I think it took five, six, seven years before I realized its potential for conventional farming, not only organic,” Alness said. His enthusiasm rose as he realized how ThermoSeed may replace chemical treatments in conventional agriculture, greatly lowering chemical consumption and environmental impact. The Swedish agricultural co-op Lantmännen, which handles roughly half of Sweden’s seed supply, adopted the method in 2008. Since then, an estimated 3,000 cubic meters of chemicals have been dodged. In 2011, Norwegian agricultural co-op Felleskjøpet , which manages over half of Norway’s certified cereal seeds, introduced ThermoSeed following six years of intensive testing. Overcoming farmers’ skepticism Despite ThermoSeed’s obvious environmental benefits, not all farmers are eager to adopt non-chemical practices. According to Bjørn Stabbetorp, CEO of Felleskjøpet’s Agricultural Division, farmers tend to be wary about non-chemical solutions. He recognized that chemical treatments have been effective for many years, making it difficult to persuade farmers to try alternatives. “Non-chemical solutions have to really prove that they are competitive before the farmers are convinced,” she said. Fortunately, following a focused introduction, ThermoSeed has proven to be an effective and practical alternative. Looking ahead: scaling for global impact As Alness looks ahead, he sees new hurdles, such as the high cost of ThermoSeed equipment and the need to scale the technology for smaller markets. To make the approach more accessible globally, particularly in Asia, Alness is developing a scaled-down version of the machine. Despite recently selling the ThermoSeed license to Lantmännen BioAgri, Alness has no intentions to retire. His focus remains on expanding this chemical-free , sustainable technology to farmers all across the world, assuring that they, too, can minimize their dependency on pesticides without sacrificing their crops. In this installment of our “Best Of” series, we focus on the top Business solutions of 2024. These stories celebrate creativity, resilience, and the pursuit of sustainable success in an ever-evolving economic landscape.President Carter, America’s 39th President, passed away at the age of 100. Ms Hanna said President Carter was the first US President to seriously engage with issues in Northern Ireland. The South Belfast and Mid Down MP said: “Throughout his life Jimmy Carter was an advocate for human rights, peace, humanitarianism and doing what’s right, no matter how difficult. Alongside his late wife Rosalynn, his legacy stretches far beyond his term as President and his achievements through the Carter Centre and with Habitat for Humanity are arguably just as meaningful as anything he achieved while in office. “At a time when violence was raging across Northern Ireland, Jimmy Carter ignored advice not to intervene and stuck his head above the parapet calling for the US to become directly involved in trying to secure peace here and promising investment after it was established. He was persuaded to get involved by Tip O’Neill, Ted Kennedy and others who updated him with the latest happenings here, though their own engagement with John Hume. “Carter’s intervention was a significant one, he was serious about his commitment to advancing the cause of peace around the world and shared Hume’s vision that the only solution to the conflict here could be a peaceful one. His statement sent a clear message to the then-British government that they could no longer act with impunity when it came to Northern Ireland. “Jimmy Carter leaves a lasting imprint not only on Northern Ireland, but around the world. He has left the world a better place as a result of his contribution throughout a lifetime of service and I can think of no greater legacy than that.” Carter, who was the longest-living former American president, died on Sunday, December 29, his son announced. An immediate cause was not given. He served as president for one term from 1977 to 1981, but is just as well-known for his humanitarian service after leaving Washington, DC, working for Habitat for Humanity and negotiating peace deals. In 2018, it was revealed by official files that he had been previously suggested for a Northern Ireland peace process role. Speculation was mounting in January 1993 that president-elect Bill Clinton would appoint a special envoy. British Foreign Office official Jonathan Powell mentioned Mr Carter in a note disclosed in an archived British government file released by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast. Mr Powell described how former congressman Bruce Morrison, then head of the Irish Americans for Clinton lobby group, envisaged the envoy. Mr Powell wrote: “He (Morrison) did not envisage an Irish American filling the role. “An Irish American like (Bill) Flynn would have too much baggage. “He envisaged instead someone completely independent, like Jimmy Carter, or someone in the same mould but of lower profile.” Mr Carter only served one term in office but became a diplomat and mediator around the world. He worked on the Middle East peace process and tried to encourage talks between North and South Korea. In 1993 a statement from the Friends of Ireland in the US said: “On this St Patrick’s Day, the Friends of Ireland in the US Congress join with Irish Americans... in calling for renewed efforts to achieve peace, reconciliation and justice in Northern Ireland.” In the event, former Democratic senator George Mitchell was appointed as envoy in 1995, securing a commitment to non-violence from the gunmen and ultimately becoming the architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.