CHANCELLOR George Osborne has been among those to claim that inward investment in Scotland has been under threat as a result of uncertainty ahead of next year's vote on independence.
In such matters, hard numbers are more reliable than talk.
And the latest annual attractiveness survey from accountancy firm Ernst & Young, published today, does nothing to lend credibility to the argument that international investors are taking fright when it comes to contemplating the establishment or expansion of operations in Scotland.
In fact, the report shows a 49% leap in the number of foreign direct investments in Scotland announced in 2012, to the highest since 1997.
While the number of jobs which these projects are expected to create is 18% lower than the corresponding figure for 2011, it is the second-highest in 12 years.
Scotland attracted the second-greatest number of foreign direct investment projects last year among the nations and regions of the UK, with only London winning more.
Ernst & Young acknowledges the pro-active approach of the Scottish Government and taxpayer-backed Scottish Development International in attracting foreign investors.
It also highlights the inevitable conclusion from its latest survey: "There's certainly no sign of investors being deterred from coming to Scotland; if anything, the reverse appears to be true."
Given the whirlwind of claim and counter-claim over independence, it is unlikely that the Better Together camp will resist raising the spectre of a threat to inward investment again.
However, all the signs so far are that foreign investors are taking the issue of Scotland's constitutional future in their stride.
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