Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Britain faces ‘huge social and economic scars’ under net zero
Britain’s switch to green energy will spark a jobs catastrophe if it is built on imports from China, one of Labour’s biggest union backers has warned.
Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, said the UK’s progress in cutting carbon emissions so far was largely based on the “decimation” of manufacturing industries such as steelmaking, creating “huge social and economic scars”.
He accused successive governments of failing to deliver tens of thousands of jobs that were promised from the expansion of wind and solar. He argued that goods needed to support new green industries should not be purchased cheaply from China.
In a stark wake-up call for Labour, Mr Smith also warned that Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, risked making the situation worse with a crackdown on North Sea oil and his plans to decarbonise UK power by 2030.
Click here to read the full interview.
Four new vessels steers profits for Macduff Shipyards
New builds and a “healthy order book” have helped boatbuilder Macduff Shipyards celebrate a profitable year.
The business notched up an increase in pre-tax profits to £2.66 million, up from £2.59m during the 12 months to February 29 2024.
Turnover also increased slightly in the latest period to £29.1m from £28.9m for the Aberdeenshire boatbuilder.
Click here to read more in the Press & Journal.
ScotRail drivers accept deal to end long-running pay dispute
A long-running dispute at ScotRail has come to an end after train drivers accepted a pay offer.
Drivers' union Aslef said 75% of members voted for the deal, which will provide staff with a 4.5% rise backdated to April.
ScotRail has been running a reduced timetable since July after many drivers made themselves unvailable for overtime or Sunday working.
The TSSA union, representing managerial and technical staff, also accepted the package but said a separate dispute over "on-call working" would continue.
Click here to read more.
UK economic growth 'robust' in 2024, think tank says
The UK has risen in the rankings of a group of wealthy nations to have the joint-second highest economic growth for this year, a think tank has predicted.
The economy is now expected to grow by 1.1%, the same rate as Canada and France, but behind the US.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) previous growth estimate in May had put UK growth at 0.4% for this year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed the faster growth figures, which will help reinforce the more upbeat tone she sought to strike in her speech to the Labour Conference.
Click here to read more.