Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.
British banks mortgage rates 'far too high'
Homeowners are paying thousands of pounds extra on their mortgages, according to analysis that suggests some of Britain's biggest lenders are charging rates that are "far too high".
Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC are offering fixed rate deals that are around 50% more expensive than three months ago on mortgages reviewed by the Telegraph.
This comes even though wholesale borrowing costs have fallen dramatically since the highs triggered by the market chaos following the mini-Budget.
NatWest currently offers first time buyers with a 40% deposit a two-year fixed rate of 6.12% with no arrangement fee, compared with 3.69% at the start of September, according to Moneyfacts.
Lloyds, which owns Halifax, the UK's biggest provider, is offering a 60% loan-to-value mortgage that has jumped from 3.91% to 6.39% for first-time buyers fixing for two years.
Row over spending on independence
Senior mandarins in Scotland and Whitehall are being asked to rule whether Nicola Sturgeon can continue to spend taxpayers' money on independence after the Supreme Court said she does not have the power to stage another referendum.
Around £1.5million has so far been spent on renewing Ms Sturgeon's independence prospectus, according to Tory calculations, with Scottish Government civil servants permitted to help SNP ministers advance their political objectives.
But the Telegraph understands that Whitehall advice has been sought by UK ministers on whether officials and public money can continue to be allocated to a policy area the court unanimously ruled was reserved to Westminster.
In addition, the Tories will this week write to John-Paul Marks, the Scottish Government's permanent secretary, demanding "urgent clarification" on whether the spending is lawful.
Fears that Union Terrace Gardens won't reopen this year
Aberdeen council chiefs have admitted being left with only "hope" that Union Terrace Gardens will be reopened before Christmas.
Public access to the sunken Victorian park was said to be "a matter of weeks" away in early October.
But the Press And Journal has revealed ongoing delays in the £30million work will likely mean reopening will be at least two months from when that promise was made.
The multi-million-pound refurbishment of Union Terrace Gardens was first planned for completion in summer 2021.
However, the P&J says there is a possibility the over-budget project - begun in 2019 - could continue into 2023.
Public exhibitions for city hydrogen scheme
Members of the public have been invited to have their say on the first phase of plans for a £215milion hydrogen scheme planned by BP and Aberdeen City Council.
The project aims to deliver Scotland's first scalable facility able to produce green hydrogen, with phase one of the three-phase aimed to be up and running from 2024.
A 12-week public consultation has been launched on the phase one proposals, which include a green hydrogen production and vehicle refuelling facility, powered by a solar farm.
Two public exhibitions are planned, with the first to be held on Saturday, December 10, from 10am-4pm at Torry's St Fittick's Parish Church. It will feature site plans and information about the project, with team members on hand to answer questions.
The second event will take place in January, with progressed designs incorporating feedback from the December event.
BP said the proposed production facility and solar farm will be on separate sites, but connected by an underground solar-grid location.
Energy Voice says land at Hareness Road at Altens Industrial Park has been earmarked for the hydrogen production facility, while the proposed solar farm will be on the former Ness landfill site.
Production lower than expected at North Sea field
Production from Cnooc's Golden Eagle field in the North Sea is lower than expected - the result of "higher than-anticipated rates of decline".
Energy Voice reports that EnQuest - which farmed into the find in 2021 - said in an operational update that it is working with the Chinese oil firm to "identify and implement mitigations".
Bigger losses at Plexus
Aberdeen-headquartered Plexus plans a return to return to a market it left four years ago after another set of losses in its half-year results.
Energy Voice says the firm lost £5.5million in the first six months of 2022 - larger than the £4.3million reported previously.
Plexus, a specialist in wellhead engineering, said it aims to return to the jack-up rental market, after it sold that business to engineering giant TechnipFMC for £42.5million in 2018.
The Aberdeen company chose to leave the market as a result of the oil downturn in a move described, at the time, as bringing a debt-free balance sheet, allowing the company to focus on the Pos-Grip wellhead technology roll-out.
Shell could sell some North Sea stakes
Shell has launched a sale of stakes in some fields in the UK North Sea, according to Energy Voice.
The assets are said to include minority stakes in two fields operated by BP and an interest in a discovery field also operated by BP. All the sites are connected to the Eastern Trough Area Project.
A spokesperson for Shell declined to comment..
Four new stores for Primark
Budget fashion chain Primark has said it will open four new stores in the UK and create 850 jobs.
The retailer is planning to open stores in Bury St Edmunds, Salisbury, Teesside Park and Craigavon.
Under a £140million investment plan, which Primark said showed its "commitment to UK retail", some existing stores will also be refurbished.
The retail sector has been struggling recently, with shoppers' budgets squeezed by the soaring cost of living.
However, Primark chief executive Paul Marchant told the BBC his firm's investment demonstrated it was "playing a part in ensuring that UK retail continues to grow and thrive and give people another reason to visit their local high street"
Unexpected bounce back for Black Friday sales
Black Friday sales bounced back this year as shoppers looked out for good deals, despite predictions the higher cost of living would dampen the event.
Barclaycard Payments, which processes £1 in every £3 spent on UK cards, said transactions rose 3.2% on last year.
An all-time Black Friday record was made for the number of transactions per second between midday and 1pm.
The BBC says experts had previously predicted overall sales and profits would be lower than last year, due to customers tightening their purse strings as prices rise at the fastest rate for 41 years.
However, Marc Pettican, head of Barclaycard Payments, said that, despite the economic challenges, sales continued to rise during the day, "confirming that Black Friday is still an important milestone in the retail calendar".
Computer-chip issues for Jaguar Land Rover
Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is reducing output at its factories in Solihull and Halewood, due to ongoing problems obtaining enough computer chips for new vehicles.
The action is expected to affect the output of models such as the Jaguar F-Pace and Land Rover Discovery Sport.
The BBC says the move is understood to be temporary.
Talks on Grangemouth getting mini-nuclear power station
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's chemicals empire is in talks with Rolls-Royce to build a mini-nuclear power station to power his Grangemouth chemicals refinery in a major boost to British industry.
The billionaire's company Ineos is in early stage discussions with Rolls over an agreement that could help transform both of their fortunes and become a blueprint for the future of power in British heavy industry.
Industrial giants such as Ineos, one of Britain's largest private companies, are under huge pressure from soaring energy and carbon costs.
The Telegraph says Rolls-Royce is leading a consortium to develop a fleet of 470-megawatt "modular" nuclear reactors as it attempts to diversify from aero-engines.