Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Two arrested after defence firm office vandalised following break-in
Two men have been arrested after protesters broke into and vandalised the offices of a defence technology firm in Aberdeenshire.
Police Scotland were called to to the Ultra I&C site on Prospect Road, Westhill, at around 09:40 on Sunday.
Footage posted on social media by activists appeared to show damage and Palestine flags hanging at windows in the building.
Read the full BBC story here.
Lidl axes new Lang Stracht shop plan as council launches fresh talks to sell land
Mystery remains over the future of the flattened site of the former Aberdeen Journals HQ — after closed-door council talks on a new buyer.
The Press and Journal can reveal Lidl has withdrawn from a deal to buy the razed site on the Lang Stracht.
Earlier this week Aberdeen councillors met in private to consider a new bid for the land, accepting an offer from an as-yet unknown suitor.
Hiring for full-time jobs stabilises for first time since Liz Truss
“Rays of light” are beginning to show in the labour market with full-time hiring stabilising for the first time since Liz Truss’s short-lived 2022 premiership, according to a closely-watched survey released on Monday.
The findings suggest a prolonged downturn in the UK’s jobs market may be coming to an end after businesses withstood a £25 billion payroll tax raid, steep increases to the minimum wage and numerous external economic shocks.
An index of permanent hiring produced by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG hit 50 points in July, the first time it has not been below that mark — which indicates a contraction in staff placements — in nearly four years.
Read more in The Times.
Hargreaves Lansdown tells staff to get back to the office
Staff at Hargreaves Lansdown are being told to return to the office in the latest crackdown on hybrid working.
The retail investment broker, which is set to open offices in Bristol, has told employees that from next year they must come into the office at least three days a week. The plans were first reported by the Financial Times.
Hargreaves told the newspaper there was still “flexibility” for staff as they move into the new Bristol office to “spend more time together”.
Find the full story in The Times.
Sturgeon has not spoken to Murrell since he was jailed for embezzling SNP funds
Nicola Sturgeon said she has not spoken to her estranged husband since he was jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP while serving as its chief executive.
The former first minister also told a podcast she would not visit Peter Murrell, 61, in prison and she felt like a "mug" for continuing to care about him.
Sturgeon has denied any knowledge of his crimes, which included using party funds to purchase a motorhome and dozens of luxury goods.
Read the BBC story here.