Business news: Air Canada | Lloyd’s | Aker

THE only non-stop flight between Edinburgh and Canada was launched yesterday.

Air Canada “rouge”, the new leisure carrier created by the country’s largest airline, will fly a Boeing 767-300ER three times a week in high season between Edinburgh and its hub at Toronto Pearson.

Canadian visitors already generate £83 million a year for the Scottish economy, according to VisitScotland.

Transport minister Keith Brown said: “We are determined to build on international air connections with countries such as Canada, which is such an important market for Scotland.”

Ward to step down at Lloyd’s of London

The chief executive of the world’s oldest insurance market yesterday announced he will leave after eight years in the job.

Richard Ward, 56, will leave Lloyd’s of London in December, the insurance syndicate said.

Ward said: “This has not been an easy decision to make but, as Lloyd’s longest-serving CEO, I believe it is now right to hand over the reins to someone else to take Lloyd’s into its next chapter.”

The Council of Lloyd’s said it will “conduct a process with a view to the appointment of a successor” before the end of the year.

Fraud cases double in first half of year

CORPORATE fraud in Scotland more than doubled in the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period last year, a report by KPMG has found.

The 61 per cent rise includes a former solicitor in Arbroath accused of embezzling £570,000 from clients between 2001 and 2006 and a bank worker alleged to have defrauded customers of £415,000 in Dunfermline.

KPMG’s Fraud Barometer found Scottish courts dealt with five cases involving more than £100,000, the same number as in 2012. But the total value of fraud cases was £1.9 million against £1.2m a year earlier.

Aker seals Mariner deal with Daewoo

NORWEGIAN energy services firm Aker yesterday won a contract from Daewoo to work on the construction of an oil rig for the Mariner oil field in the UK sector of the North Sea.

The contract, for an undisclosed sum, will be completed in 2015 and will involve work at Aker’s yards in Germany and Norway, as well as Daewoo’s base in South Korea.

Aker said that the deal could lead to a contract for an identical rig for the nearby Bressay field. Both Mariner and Bressay lie to the east of Shetland and are operated by Norwegian oil giant Statoil.