Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.
Windfall tax hits Serica Energy shares
Serica Energy has pressed the importance of stable fiscal policy after news of the UK Government's windfall tax knocked around 20% off the company's share price.
The firm said yesterday it had witnessed a "significant fall" in its share price in the run up to and following the government's announcement of an energy profits levy.
Measures announced last month increase the current headline rate of tax on oil and gas producers from 40% to 65%, though also provide sizable incentives for those investing in UK projects.
Energy Voice reports that Serica said fiscal instability was "unwelcome in an industry with long lead times for capital expenditure", but stressed that the investment incentives were designed to encourage companies like Serica to continue to reinvest their profits.
Ashtead Technology lifts profits expectations
Westhill-based Ashtead Technology has lifted its profit expectations for the year as demand - and prices - of its rental equipment has grown in both the offshore wind and oil & gas sectors.
The firm unveiled a sunny outlook in its maiden full year results since it floated on the London Stock Exchange in November.
The subsea specialist said it was enjoying "strong market growth drivers" across the energy sector which has allowed it to benefit from "positive utilisation and pricing trends".
It said utilisation rates of its equipment in the first four months of 2022 was "strong" and has supported "increased pricing".
Ashtead said it would continue to look at opportunities to buy rival companies as it said it now has the "largest independent fleet" of rental equipment in the industry.
Energy Voice also said the number of employees has risen from 172 to 204.
Contract for Moray West wind farm goes to China
China's Dajin Heavy Industry has signed a contract to manufacture and supply monopiles for the Moray West offshore wind farm.
The award - the value of which was not specified - will see Dajin build and deliver 48 monopile foundations using steel sourced from Chinese mills, the first of which is already in production.
However, the move to send the work was decried by local union organisers, who labelled it "another chapter in the sorry story of Scotland and renewables jobs."
The 860 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth is being developed by the Ocean Winds consortium, a 50/50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie.
Up to 85 turbines have been consented, subject to an award under the latest contracts for difference round.
The site lies near the 100-turbine, 950MW Moray East development, currently Scotland's largest offshore wind farm.
The foundations will reportedly weigh about 2,000 tonnes each, says Energy Voice.
Musk could drop Twitter deal
Elon Musk has threatened to walk away from his £35billion takeover of Twitter, accusing the social media company of "thwarting" his requests to learn more about its user base.
In a letter filed with regulators, the world's richest person said he was entitled to do his own measurement of spam accounts.
The BBC says the letter formalises a dispute that has simmered for weeks after Mr Musk declared the deal "on hold" pending further information.
Twitter has defended its estimates. But Mr Musk has said he believes spam and fake accounts represent a far greater share than the less than 5% of daily users that Twitter reports publicly.
"As Twitter's prospective owner, Mr Musk is clearly entitled to the requested data to enable him to prepare for transitioning Twitter's business to his ownership and to facilitate his transaction financing. To do both, he must have a complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter's business model - its active user base," lawyer Mike Ringler wrote in the letter.
Rising cost of living hits retail sales
British shoppers are spending less than they were a year ago, as the rising cost of living squeezes incomes, according to the body representing retailers.
Sales, in-store and online, fell for the second month in a row in May, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
Sales rose sharply last year after pandemic restrictions eased, but that "spending bubble" has now burst, the BRC's Helen Dickinson said.
The BBC says total retail sales in May declined by 1.1% compared to May 2021.
That was a sharper slowdown than in April, when BRC figures showed a fall of 0.3% compared to April 2021.