Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.
Sturgeon accused of being 'far too gung ho' with extra Covid restrictions
Scottish Ministers were too "gung ho" in bringing in additional coronavirus restrictions to try to stem the spread of the Omicron variant, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives has claimed.
The Times reports that Douglas Ross said the additional rules had proven unnecessary because the new strain appeared to be less severe than other forms of the virus.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon backed her "cautious" approach towards the pandemic and said it helped to keep Scotland's case rate lower than that of England.
She told MSPs last week that the projection of 50,000 new coronavirus infections a day by mid-January had not been met, with spread limited to 30,000 a day after restrictions on hospitality and large events were put in place in December.
Mr Ross said: "The First Minister has tried to build a reputation for caution during this pandemic, but she was far too gung ho in proposing extra restrictions last month. Will she now accept that her Government went too far?"
The UK Government's "plan B" for dealing with Omicron largely mirrored the Scottish Government's initial rules of wearing face coverings in indoor public settings and working from home where possible. SNP ministers went further and suggested that people met in groups of no more than three households, and imposed laws that shut nightclubs and cancelled many indoor events and large outdoor events.
Some of these additional restrictions have been lifted and the remainder will be revoked on Monday.
"We're taking a sensible approach through this, which is why infection levels - though dropping now thankfully in all parts of the UK - are lower in Scotland than they are in England right now," Ms Sturgeon said.
Click here to read more.
Abrdn helping power up UK electric-vehicle battery factory
Scottish financial services giant Abrdn is helping bankroll the creation of a pioneering electric-vehicle battery factory, with the "historic" investment accelerating the UK's energy transition on the road to zero.
The Government has announced its support for electric-vehicle battery specialist Britishvolt, and an in-principle offer of funding has been made through the Automotive Transformation Fund.
The Scotsman says this has enabled a long-term partnership with UK and European logistics property investor Tritax and Edinburgh-headquartered Abrdn that will deliver about £1.7billion to £2billion in private funding.
Britishvolt said its "transformational" plans for its first full-scale Gigaplant are powering ahead, and the facility in in Northumberland will create about 3,000 high-value jobs directly and build enough cells each year for more than 300,000 electric-vehicle battery packs.
Tritax and Abrdn are becoming Britishvolt's partner to fund the build of the project, shell and core, and to develop the associated supplier park.
Abrdn said in November that it had pledged to cut the "carbon intensity" of assets it manages by 50% by the end of the decade. It came into being following the 2017 merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life to form Standard Life Aberdeen.
Telecoms giant announces big jump in bills
BT has said most customers will see bills rise by more than 9% from the end of March as households are squeezed by cost-of-living pressures.
The BBC reports that the telecoms giant's broadband and phone bills will jump by 9.3% following a "dramatic increase" in data usage over the last few years.
Affected customers will pay an extra £3.50 a month on average from March 31.
But households on certain packages, as well as those claiming benefits, will be exempt.
Around two years ago, BT changed how it raised bills, saying it would make one increase a year at the end of March of 3.9% plus inflation as measured by the consumer price index to reflect "rising costs to the business".
Inflation is running at a 30 year-high of 5.4%.
Flats plan in Aberdeen rejected
Plans to build flats in the partly demolished shell of a former Aberdeen oil headquarters have fallen at the first hurdle.
Faro Properties' proposals for Quattro House were likened to a "fortress" in Wellington Circle, such was the need for acoustic barriers to protect would-be residents from nearby noisy depots.
The Press and Journal says councillors voted unanimously to refuse outline planning permission, which would have changed the use of the former Petrofac headquarters from business to residential use.
Royal Mail had objected to the plans, fearing they could spell trouble for the existing 24-hour operations of its noisy, floodlit base if residents were ever to complain.
Despite those concerns, and early objections from Nigg Community Council, Town House planners had recommended the scheme be approved in principle.
However, planning convener Marie Boulton stepped in - asking her colleagues to back her calls to reject proposals with "no redeeming qualities".
"This location is absolutely not the right place to put residential properties," she told them.