Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Martha Lane Fox to co-chair government technology panel
Martha Lane Fox - who spoke at the last UMF event in Aberdeen - is to co-chair a new government panel of technology experts who will advise on public sector reform.
The panel of 13 industry professionals and academics has been asked to help the government make better use of technology across the public sector.
Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, the co-founder of Lastminute.com, will be joined by Paul Willmott, chairman of the government’s central digital and data office and chief digital adviser to Lego, along with Poppy Gustafsson, the co-founder of Darktrace, the cybersecurity business.
The group will help the government to plan changes to “how technology is used across public services in a new attempt to cut backlogs, improve service outcomes and make government services more accessible”, the government said.
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Healthy gas storage reserves and LNG supplies to cut energy bills
High levels of gas storage and healthy liquefied natural gas supplies will lead to lower energy bills for most households in Britain at the start of next year.
The energy price cap is forecast to fall to £1,697 a year in January, according to Cornwall Insights, the energy consultancy, below the £1,717 due to take effect from Tuesday.
The regulator Ofgem raised the latest price cap by 10 per cent, or £149, for the first time since January last year in response to a rebound in wholesale gas prices amid mounting global political turmoil and extreme weather events.
Cornwall had forecast another £45 increase in the price cap to £1,762 from January. However, improved confidence over gas and electricity imports before the peak winter months and healthy storage levels have caused wholesale gas prices to fall.
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Deltic hit by £18m impairment from Pensacola withdrawal
Deltic Energy has been hit with an £18 million impairment in the first half of the year over its withdrawal from the Pensacola licence.
According to the group’s interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2024, Deltic saw its loses widen in the first half of the year, coming in at £1.3million, compared with a loss of £1.2million in the equivalent period of 2023.
Deltic previously said it would withdraw from the licence due to ongoing political uncertainty around the UK election.
Click here to read more on Energy Voice.
UK economy grew less than thought in spring
The UK's economy grew by less than previously estimated between April and June, according to official figures.
It expanded by 0.5%, down from an initial reading of 0.6%, after output in the manufacturing and construction sectors fell by more than first thought.
The data has emerged as the Labour government, which has made economic growth one of its key policies, prepares to announce its first Budget in four weeks' time.
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US ports shut down as dockworkers strike
Tens of thousands of dockworkers have gone on strike indefinitely at ports across much of the US, threatening significant trade and economic disruption ahead of the presidential election and the busy holiday shopping season.
Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.
The action marks the first such shutdown in almost 50 years.
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