Here are the stories making the business headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Nicola Sturgeon’s ex-adviser will help Labour woo business
Sir Keir Starmer’s team has hired a former banker who acted as a prominent SNP adviser to spearhead a campaign aimed at wooing businesses for Labour.
The recruitment of Benny Higgins, previously the chief executive of Tesco Bank, will be seen as a significant boost for the Labour Party, which is hoping to supplant the SNP as the dominant force in Scottish politics.
The 62-year-old will report to Starmer, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow secretary of state for business and trade, as well as other frontbenchers.
Higgins has previously been fêted by the Nationalists and once confessed to being a “big fan” of Nicola Sturgeon before criticising her government’s fixation on social justice and Covid restrictions at the expense of business.
Germany to subsidise industrial energy costs
Germany has announced a multibillion-euro package to cut electricity costs for its manufacturers for the next five years through a mixture of tax cuts and direct subsidies.
Industrial companies are expected to receive an additional €12 billion in relief on their bills next year, including a 95 per cent cut in the tax rate large and medium-sized firms pay for power.
This measure, initially worth about €2.8 billion, will reduce the levy on each megawatt-hour of electricity from €15.37 to €0.50, the lowest level permitted by the EU.
A further €5.5 billion will go towards subsidising companies’ network charges, the fees they pay to the power grid operators.
Vehicle breakdowns due to potholes hit record level in 2023, says RAC
Vehicle breakdowns caused by Britain’s pothole-ridden roads reached record levels this year, according to the RAC.
The motoring organisation said it received almost 6,000 calls for pothole-related incidents from July to September – its highest total for the relatively benign summer period since it started collecting data in 2006.
With the incidence usually increasing sharply after the wet and cold winter months, the RAC said that the lack of road maintenance was "causing a world of pain for drivers", as well as a danger for cyclists.
Running into a pothole can damage a car’s shock absorbers, suspension or wheels, including causing a puncture, and drivers are paying an average of £440 at a garage for any related repairs beyond a replacement tyre, according to RAC analysis.
Thai owner of Miss Universe files for bankruptcy
The Thai owner of the Miss Universe pageant, which was once part of former US president Donald Trump's business empire, has filed for bankruptcy a year after buying it for $20m (£16.4m).
JKN Global Group has said it would try to resolve a "liquidity problem".
Its chief executive officer, Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, is a transgender woman whose purchase came as the pageant became more inclusive.
But the firm has loaded up on debt which it seeks to restructure.
"The company can continue its operation while being under the rehabilitation plan," JKN said.