Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Aberdeenshire council tax to go up by 10%
Aberdeenshire residents will have to stump up an extra 10% on council tax, but bosses plan to spend extra cash on repairing roads left riddled with potholes following the extreme wintry weather.
Councillors met at their Aberdeen headquarters earlier today to agree a number of cuts and savings needed to plug a funding gap of over £30million.
Council co-leader Stewart Adams told the chamber that the local authority’s resources were “stretched thinner than ever” with rising costs and increased demand for essential services.
Pagazzi closes at Aberdeen’s Beach Boulevard Retail Park
Pagazzi Lighting at the Beach Boulevard Retail Park in Aberdeen has closed.
The store which offered a large range of lighting fixtures was located next to Dunelm in one of the city’s busiest retail parks.
It was one of two Pagazzi locations in Aberdeen with the other being at the Sterling furniture store in Bridge of Don.
World Economic Forum chief quits after Epstein investigation
The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Borge Brende, has resigned after a review into his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The forum ordered an independent review into Brende over his ties to the disgraced financier following the release of Epstein files by the US Department of Justice.
Brende has acknowledged he dined with Epstein three times between 2018 and 2019 and communicated with him by email and text, but said he was "completely unaware" of his past criminal activity.
Royal Mail bosses to be called to Parliament over letter delivery failures
Royal Mail executives will be called to Parliament to answer questions about issues with the firm's letter delivery service, the BBC has learned.
The Business and Trade Committee had given Royal Mail two weeks to respond to allegations, reported by the BBC, that parcels were being prioritised over letters, resulting in delays to important, time-sensitive mail.
While that deadline technically ends on Monday, the BBC understands committee chair Liam Byrne has decided the service is so poor that bosses need to provide answers to MPs.
Nearly a million 16-24 year-olds not working or in education
The number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) has risen, edging closer to one million.
Official estimates are that 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were Neet in October to December 2025, or 12.8% of that age group.
The UK is experiencing a weak jobs market, with young people particularly affected by cuts in hospitality and graduate schemes.
Lloyds stops opening bank accounts for customers at branches
Britain’s biggest bank is to stop opening accounts for customers at its branches and instead force them to go online.
Lloyds Bank’s staff will no longer open joint, premium or student accounts in branches or switch customers from another lender – a move that critics warned signalled “the death of branch banking”.
Instead, staff will direct customers to use its app and website, according to internal documents seen by The Telegraph.