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


Date for independence referendum

The Scottish Govenment plans to hold a second independence referendum in October next year, it was confirmed yesterday.

Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said MSPs would be given a route map to the referendum in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government has just published a paper setting out a "fresh" case for independence.

Mr Robertson told the BBC that the timescale was realistic, despite the Scottish Government having not yet passed the legislation that would be needed.

It has also not yet formally asked the UK Government to grant consent through what is known as a Section 30 order, or set out what it will do if that request is refused.

But a former advisor to both Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor as First Minister, Alex Salmond, has cast doubt on whether it would be possible to hold a referendum in the timescale put forward by Mr Robertson.

Campbell Gunn said: "We're now 15, 16 months from when the referendum is likely to be held, we don't have a Section 30 order, it will probably end up in the courts. I just don't see the timescale working for the SNP."


TotalEnergies warned over Gryphon Alpha failures

The Health and Safety Executive has warned TotalEnergies over a series of failures in its maintenance processes on the Gryphon Alpha, leading to risks of "fire and explosion".

According to an improvement notice from the watchdog, the company "failed to take appropriate measures with a view to preventing fire and explosion" during gas compressor maintenance on the floating production vessel, 200 miles off Aberdeen.

Energy Voice says the main charge was that TotalEnergies had "not ensured the safe isolation of plant prior to the breaking of containment on hydrocarbon systems" following an inspection on April 19-21.

A spokesperson for the firm said: "Safety is our core value and the safety of our people and our assets is our priority. The issues raised by the HSE during their planned inspection were regrettable and disappointing for the team.

"We carried out our own internal investigation and are implementing the recommendations that resulted, which we are confident will address all aspects of the notice. This will include sharing the learnings with our offshore teams and the wider industry, part of the continuous drive to improve safety in the North Sea."

Brewing giant says north estate will lose 'significant' cash

BrewDog co-founder James Watt says the purchase of a north estate for tree-planting and carbon capture had nothing to do with making money.

Kinrara, south of Aviemore, was bought by the Ellon-based brewing giant in 2020 for £8.8 million.

BrewDog is transforming the former sporting estate by planting more than a million native trees and restoring degraded peatland.

In doing so, it will help absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

It's part of the brewery's efforts to be a carbon-negative company that locks away more greenhouse gases than it emits.

The Press and Journal says the purchase of Kinrara comes amid a surge in wealthy organisations and individuals buying up chunks of Scotland's rural landscapes in order to offset damaging emissions.

Some of these new kind of landowners have been dubbed the pejorative term "green lairds".

It has been argued they've been inflating the market, cutting rural jobs and leaving local communities behind in their rush to get trees planted and take advantage of government grants.

But Mr Watt says BrewDog's Lost Forest estate project will be different - and run responsibly with neighbours, visitors and local residents in mind.

He added: "The Lost Forest has nothing at all to do with making money. It's going to lose a significant amount of money for us."

Biggest interest-rate hike in US for nearly 30 years

The US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years as it ramps up its fight to rein in soaring consumer prices.

The Federal Reserve said it would increase its key interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

The rise, the third since March, comes after inflation in the US surged unexpectedly last month.

The BBC says more hikes are expected, adding to the uncertainty facing the economy.

Forecasts released after the meeting showed officials expect the rate the Fed charges banks to borrow could reach 3.4% by the end of the year, the moves rippling out to the public in the form of higher borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and other loans.

As central banks around the world take similar steps, it marks a massive change for the global economy, where businesses and households have enjoyed years of low borrowing costs.

Cost of food expected to jump by 15%

Food prices will rise quickly this summer due to soaring costs, grocery analysts have predicted.

Prices will increasing at a rate of 15% as households pay more for staples such as bread, meat, dairy and fruit and vegetables, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) said.

More vulnerable people will skip meals, it warned.

The BBC says the IGD also predicted that prices would rise faster for longer than Bank of England estimates.

The institute, which provides analysis to major grocers, said the UK was facing the highest cost-of-living pressures since the 1970s, mainly down to the Ukraine war.

Russian gas group criticised for slowing supplies to West

Germany has accused Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom of attempting to push up energy prices by sharply reducing supplies.

Gazprom said it was limiting the amount of gas to Germany to under 70million cubic metres per day - well under half the current rate.

The reason it gave was to service equipment in the Nord Stream pipeline.

But German economy minister Robert Habeck said it was "a political decision" and not a technical one.

"It is obviously a strategy to unsettle and drive up prices."

Gazprom said initially on Tuesday it was cutting the Nord Stream 1 gas flow from 167m cubic metres a day to 100m, but then on Wednesday announced it would be cut further to 67m cubic metres.

Gazprom also reduced its gas supply to Italy by around 15% on Wednesday.

The BBC says that Italy, like Germany, is heavily reliant on Russian gas, which accounts for 40% of its imports.

The Russian company's move came two weeks after European Union leaders agreed to block most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.

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