Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Old meter switch-off is pushed back
Hundreds of thousands of households who may have been left without hot water and heating at the end of June will not immediately have their old meters switched off, the government has said.
There will instead be a "cautious and targeted phase out" of Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters, it said.
The switch-off will begin on a smaller scale, and affected homes and businesses will be contacted by suppliers "well ahead of time", the energy department said.
The full article is available on the BBC site.
OpenAI boss: Meta offering $100m plus to poach my staff
The boss of OpenAI, Sam Altman, says members of his team have been getting "giant offers" from rival tech firm Meta, including $100m (£74.3m) "signing bonuses."
Meta - which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - is attempting to boost the artificial intelligence (AI) side of its business, including recently spending $14bn (£10.4bn) to buy 49% of the startup, Scale AI.
However Mr Altman said "at least so far" none of his "best people" had been persuaded to jump ship.
Read the full story on the BBC website.
Scottish farmers worried over imported trade deal meat
Scotland's meat industry says it is becoming concerned about the "creepage" of imports from countries which have signed trade deals with the UK.
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) says imports from countries like New Zealand, Australia and Brazil risk destabilising the Scottish food sector.
On the opening day of the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh, farming unions insist trade deals are opening up new markets for many in the sector.
Read the full article on the BBC.
SNP breaks pledge to hand all pensioners £100 winter fuel payment
Scottish pensioners with incomes over £35,000 have been stripped of a £100 winter fuel payment less than two weeks after John Swinney “guaranteed” they would get it.
The SNP has ditched a “universal” scheme for heating payments which it had pledged to implement from this winter and instead said it would replicate changes being introduced by the UK government after a U-turn by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
It means that tens of thousands of better-off pensioners in Scotland who had been told they would receive £100 of help with their heating bills will now effectively get nothing, with the entirety of larger payments to be clawed back through the tax system.
The full story is on The Times website.
Space chiefs set out vision for living in mammoth ‘space oases’ in 2040
Humans are living in “plentiful habitats” in orbit around the Earth and on the surface of the Moon and Mars, with these settlements now known as “space oases”.
We have built “mammoth constructions” assembled in space for humans to live and work in. Artificially intelligent robots have been sent out to conduct their own expeditions on distant worlds, deciding for themselves whether they should dive down into alien oceans or explore the murky depths of Martian craters.
The internet now spreads far beyond Earth and communications systems span the entire solar system as humans become an “interplanetary species”. Mines have been dug on comets and asteroids to access the scientific secrets and mineral resources within.
Read the full story on The Times website.
Bank of England expected to hold interest rates at 4.25%
The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold when its policymakers announce their next decision later.
The Bank cut the rate to 4.25% in early May, when its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also hinted at more reductions to come.
But analysts think those cuts will not arrive until later in the year, as the rate of price rises remains above target.
Get the full story on the BBC site.
Sale of Lilo and Stitch toymaker makes founders multimillionaires
The three co-founders of Wow! Stuff, a toy innovation company based in Wolverhampton, are set to become multimillionaires after selling the business to Troy Companies, a Dutch conglomerate which sells arts and crafts and other consumer products.
Richard North, a serial entrepreneur, launched Wow! Stuff in 2006 with two former scientists, Kenny McAndrew and Graeme Taylor. It is best known for its “puppetronics”, which are a cross between a plush toy and a puppet, with hand-controlled actions and sounds that capture the character’s personality traits.
Its Stitch toy, based on the character from the Disney film franchise Lilo & Stitch, has sold “hundreds of thousands of units,” according to North.
Read the full exclusive on The Times website.