Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Dismal weather takes toll on retail sales
Cold, wet weather and continued cost of living pressures put a dampener on British retail sales last month, with fewer purchases in clothing and DIY stores.
Total retail sales fell by 0.2% in June, compared with growth of 4.9% in June 2023, according to the latest retail sales monitor published by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG. Like-for-like sales declined by 0.5%.
“Retail sales performed poorly in June as the cooler weather during the first half of the month dulled consumer spending,” Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the consortium, said.
She added: "Sales of weather-sensitive categories such as clothing and footwear, as well as DIY and gardening, were hit particularly hard, especially compared with the surge in spending during last June’s heatwave."
BBC misled viewers over importance of Scottish votes
The BBC’s national news programme for Scotland has been warned over a news item that claimed Scottish votes were crucial to the result of UK general elections.
The broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) opened an investigation after concerns were raised about a report on the effect voters north of the border had on who took power at Westminster.
In an edition of Reporting Scotland broadcast on January 4, a correspondent said: “In most UK elections, Scottish votes have been crucial to deciding who takes power.”
Two viewers complained that this had not been true of most general elections since 1945. The BBC has now upheld the complaints after admitting that the claim rested on “hypotheticals” and breached its standards on accuracy.
‘The quintessential Scottish getaway’: Kildrummy Inn wins Scottish Inn of the Year award after £575,000 revamp by millionaire American owners
he 200-year-old Kildrummy Inn has been named the AA Inn of the Year for Scotland after a major refurbishment.
Nestled off the A97 in rural Donside, a few miles from Alford, the inn dates back to 1828.
After developing quite a reputation among north-east foodies for the last decade, the charming country pub was given an elegant makeover about a year ago.
Visiting after the revamp, our reviewer raved: “This isn’t your usual pub grub. This is so much more.”
Read the full story here.
Dyson to cut nearly one third of UK workforce
Consumer goods giant Dyson plans to cut up to a third of its UK workforce as part of a global shake-up.
The company, best known for the invention of the bag-less vacuum cleaner, said the proposals would ensure it was “prepared for the future” amid what it called “increasingly fierce and competitive global markets”.
But the move comes after staunch, long-running criticism from its founder Sir James Dyson of the UK economy policies, and the business moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2019.
Dyson currently has 3,500 UK employees, with offices in Wiltshire, Bristol and London.