Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
UK economy fails to grow during wet April
The UK economy failed to grow in April after particularly wet weather affected spending.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded no growth for the month, which was in line with economists' expectations.
The sluggishness comes after the UK economy recorded its fastest growth in two years from January to March, exiting the recession it fell into in the final half of last year.
The economy is a key battleground for the main political parties in the run-up to the general election on 4 July.
Aberdeen’s Anchor Centre expected to open this winter after years of delays
A new state-of-the-art oncology and haematology centre in Aberdeen is expected to finally open at the end of 2024 – four years later than planned.
Provisional dates for the opening of the Anchor Centre will be shared with the NHS Grampian board on Wednesday.
Board papers state the centre project should be completed by this winter following a number of delays.
This means the first staff could be moving into the new centre by the beginning of 2025.
Tunnock’s vows: we won’t shrink our teacakes (or anything else)
The biscuit maker Tunnock’s has vowed it will not follow the lead of rival brands by reducing the size of its iconic products.
Several brands, including Galaxy and Cadbury, have shrunk the size of some products in recent times while their price has remained the same or gone up — an effect known as shrinkflation.
The companies behind the products have blamed the rising cost of materials for the growth of shrinkflation in the confectionery industry.
However, Tunnock’s has said it will not compromise on the quality or size of its world-famous range, which includes teacakes, snowballs and caramel wafers.
Hopes for interest rate cut suffer further blow
The prospect of a pre-election interest rate cut by the Bank of England has been damaged by official figures showing no progress in bringing down the pace of wage growth.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed basic pay rising at an annual rate of 6% in the three months to April.
That was flat on the figure reported by the ONS for the past two months. Upwards pressure came from the government's 9.8% rise in the National Living Wage, which took effect in April.
When the impact of inflation was taken into account, the wage rate stood at its highest level since July 2021 at 2.9%.