Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
‘Unusual’ global handbell-ringing event brings 800 visitors to pack Aberdeen hotels, bars and restaurants
If you’ve seen tourists snapping photos in Aberdeen city centre this week, there’s a good chance they haven’t just hopped off a coach trip or come ashore from a cruise ship.
It could well be that they are among the hundreds of musicians gathering for an international but “unusual” bonanza at P&J Live.
Since Monday, 800 handbell ringers have been celebrating their love of the pastime thought to date back to the 16th century.
Read more in The Press and Journal.
EasyJet agrees £5.7bn takeover by US private equity firm
Budget airline easyJet is set to be taken private following more than a quarter of a century on the stock exchange after its founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou backed a £5.7 billion buyout.
The carrier’s board announced on Thursday that it had agreed to a 715p-a-share takeover of easyJet by Apollo Capital Management, the American private equity firm that has been in talks about a deal at that price for a month.
Haji-Ioannou, whose family still owns 15.3 per cent of the airline, making them its biggest shareholder and a crucial player in a sale, has helped to pave the way for a takeover by coming out in favour of Apollo’s terms.
Read more in The Times.
Firms affected by Cairngorms wildfire offered support from £3m fund
The Scottish government has set up a £3m fund to help businesses affected by the Cairngorms wildfire that has been burning for more than three weeks.
The blaze in the Cairngorms National Park near Aviemore broke out on 15 July and has burned thousands of acres of moor and woodland.
Some businesses have been forced to close for safety reasons due to the firefighting operation, which has involved hundreds of firefighters and volunteers and water bombing by helicopters.
Read the full story on the BBC site.
Diageo boss plans $1bn cost cuts to revive ailing drinks group
Sir Dave Lewis secured backing from the City on Thursday as Diageo’s $1 billion cost-cutting programme restored investors’ hopes that the struggling drinks group can return to growth.
Shares in the FTSE 100 company closed up 91½p, or 5.6 per cent, at £17.33, their highest level since February, after the company revealed plans to generate about $850 million in savings over the next three years as it continues to restructure, plus a further $150 million of savings through supply chain initiatives.
Restructuring costs will total about $1.2 billion, the Johnnie Walker whisky maker said, and will be made by overhauling the group’s operating model, including the loss of thousands of jobs.
Get the full story in The Times.
Owner of bike maker Raleigh files for insolvency
The company that owns iconic Nottingham bike manufacturer Raleigh has begun insolvency proceedings.
Accell, based in the Netherlands, bought Raleigh for $100m in 2012 but said on Wednesday it had "exhausted all the available options" and was "no longer able to meet its financial obligations".
It comes after a difficult period for Raleigh, which saw redundancies in 2024 and losses of £30m in accounts released the following year.
Read more on the BBC website.
Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant
A US judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay another $567m (£421m) for its failure to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children, marking the largest ruling against the company over child safety.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the social media giant is a "public nuisance" akin to air pollution and that it must put the money in a fund aimed at reducing future harms.
Thursday's ruling is in addition to $375m in fines Meta was already ordered to pay in the case, for a total of $942m.
Read more on the BBC website.
Trump denies US weapons shortage and says information 'leakers' being 'hunted down'
President Donald Trump has denied reports that the US is suffering a munitions shortage and vowed in a social media post to seek "long term jail sentences" for those suspected of leaking information.
"The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions,' especially of certain types," Trump posted on Thursday morning. "Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed."
Trump and the Pentagon face mounting questions about the state of the military's arsenal, with the war now in its sixth month and a peace deal remaining elusive.
Find out more from the BBC.