Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
£100 contactless card limit to be lifted
Millions of people will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits or even have no limit at all, a regulator has confirmed.
Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum - or unlimited - single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN.
But they are also being encouraged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to allow cardholders to set their own individual limits, or switch off contactless entirely. Some banks already offer this function.
Trump Media to merge with fusion energy firm in $6bn deal
The firm behind President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is merging with a Google-backed energy company in a deal valued at more than $6billion (£4.4bn).
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and TAE Technologies announced the plans on Thursday in a joint statement, which said the move would "create one of the world's first publicly traded fusion companies".
Fusion power is a method of generating energy from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions. It could release vast amounts of energy with little associated radioactivity.
Ash Regan faces Holyrood ban over gender social media post
One of the most outspoken MSPs faces a two-day ban from Holyrood for publishing her complaint against a Green politician who launched an incendiary attack on the Supreme Court.
Ash Regan, who rose to prominence after she left the SNP government to vote against Nicola Sturgeon’s gender reforms, posted a letter on social media in which she reported Maggie Chapman for outspoken criticism of the ruling on gender in April.
Under Holyrood rules, MSPs should not “disclose, communicate or discuss any complaint or intention to make a complaint” against another member prior to doing so or while it is being considered.
Third of Britons using AI for ‘emotional support’
Millions of Britons are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) for emotional support after a report found one in three talk to chatbots about their problems.
The AI Security Institute (AISI), a government-backed research unit, said that 33% of people surveyed had turned to AI tools such as ChatGPT for “emotional purposes” in the past year.
Most were turning to apps such as ChatGPT for social and emotional interactions, although about 5% used bots specifically designed as AI friends or romantic partners, the survey of 2,000 people found.