Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.


City-centre gardens to reopen

Union Terrace Gardens will reopen to the public tonight under the cover of darkness, the Press and Journal understands.

Aberdeen City Council is expected to, without ceremony, remove the barriers which have blocked entry to the Victorian park since 2019.

City bosses set themselves a deadline of having the gardens open before Christmas.

And the P&J now believes that goal will be met.

While the gates will open, the sunken green space will remain without a main lawn until at least late February due to fears new grass wouldn't last the winter.

Shoppers this evening could be among the first to descend the new grand staircase.

It will bring an end to a delay-laden project.

Aberdonians have had to wait more than 450 days longer than they were initially promised.

High cost of Indyref2 court case

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of "frittered away" more than £250,000 of public money on getting the Supreme Court to rule she could not stage an independence referendum next year.

The Scottish Government said that its latest bill to the taxpayer for referring the case to the UK's highest court was £251,728.69. The vast bulk of the cost, totalling nearly £223,000, was paid to external lawyers for their counsel.

In addition, Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, disclosed last month that Westminster had spent roughly £71,800 on legal fees.

This would bring the total cost to the taxpayer to more than £320,000.

Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories' shadow constitution secretary, told the Telegraph: "Taxpayers will be appalled that this significant sum of their money has been frittered away by the SNP.

"The fact legal experts said they were destined to lose makes it all the worse. It is a disgraceful waste of public money at a time when Scots are grappling with the cost-of-living crisis and our NHS is totally overwhelmed."

Scottish nurses reject latest pay offer

Nurses in Scotland are set to strike after voting down the latest pay offer for NHS workers.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland members rejected an average increase of 7.5%.

The union said it was planning for industrial action and would announce dates early next year.

Royal College of Midwives members also rejected the pay deal.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he was disappointed, but would continue negotiations with unions.

The BBC says that, in the RCN ballot which closed on Monday, 82% voted against the offer.

The union, which has more than 30,000 NHS members in Scotland, had asked for an increase of at least 5% above inflation.

Moray boy a trained dump truck driver at just 13

A 13-year-old boy from Moray has become one of the youngest trained dump truck drivers in the UK.

Jay Currie, from Cullen, is following in the footsteps of his brother, Jamie, who became a trained operator at the same age.

The BBC says dad James Currie is the director of a local forestry, plant hire and haulage company.

Bad news on the economy

The UK economy shrank by more than first thought in the three months to September, revised figures out this morning show.

Output fell by 0.3%, compared to a previous estimate of 0.2%, as business investment performed worse than first thought, the Office for National Statistics said.

Its growth figures for the first half of 2022 have also been revised down.

The BBC says Britain is forecast to fall into recession in the final three months of the year as soaring prices hit growth.

UK scheme for EU citizens ruled 'unlawful'

The UK scheme to settle millions of EU citizens risks creating illegal migrants overnight and is unlawful, the High Court has ruled.

In a highly-critical judgment, the court said the scheme breached the UK's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

The watchdog for EU citizens' rights argued the scheme could strip people of rights if they don't register in time.

The Home Office said EU citizens are friends with clear protections and it will challenge the ruling.

Since 2018, the Home Office has run a two-stage process for EU citizens who wanted to remain in the UK.

This scheme was set up because the EU's freedom-of-movement principle had meant many people from within the block had never needed permission to be in the UK under immigration laws that apply to other parts of the world.

Under the scheme, at least 2.2million people currently have "pre-settled status".

This is a limited right to live and work in the UK and it expires if they don't re-apply for full settled status after five years.

The BBC says some 200,000 people who were part of the scheme's pilot in 2018 must register for full-settled status by August 2023 - or they could lose their legal rights.

Property location trend is fading

A trend of Britons moving to rural and coastal areas is said to be fading.

Afordable towns are becoming more of a draw, according to property website Zoopla.

Demand for larger, more-remote homes surged during the pandemic as people looked to live and work out of town.

But the BBC says the property portal suggested that trend had run out of steam.

Higher mortgage rates were leaving potential buyers with an affordability challenge, it said, which would push down house prices in general.

Mortgage lenders the Halifax and the Nationwide are predicting UK house prices will fall next year - by 8% and 5% respectively.

Ex-boss of FTX back in US

Sam Bankman-Fried, former boss of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrived back in the US this morning from the Bahamas to face fraud charges.

The 30-year-old was extradited on suspicion of committing "one of the biggest financial frauds in US history", US authorities have said.

The BBC says Mr Bankman-Fried, who denies the allegations, may appear in court later today.

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