Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Move to oust North Sea firm’s entire board
A minor shareholder in North Sea firm Reabold Resources is trying to oust the company’s entire board of directors.
Pershing Nominees, which owns about 6.93% of London-listed Reabold’s issued share capital, has written a letter calling for a general meeting.
Energy Voice says it wants to remove the firm’s entire board and replace them with four new directors of their own choosing.
Pershing is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation and has its main UK office in Liverpool.
Hiring crisis is hindering growth ambitions
Companies are struggling to hire enough staff to meet their growth ambitions, The Times reports, raising fresh concerns that the UK does not have the workforce to improve its lagging productivity.
According to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), 62% of businesses are looking to hire new staff. The figure is largely unchanged from the spring, before spiralling borrowing costs and political uncertainty rattled confidence among consumers and businesses.
Of those firms actively trying to recruit, 76% are having problems finding staff. More than half of all the companies surveyed said they were having to operate below full capacity because of labour shortages.
Concern as bird flu confirmed in Scotland
Bird flu has been confirmed in domestic flocks in Orkney and Lewis, the BBC says.
The Scottish Government said the small flocks of fowl at Tankerness in Orkney and Great Bernera, Lewis, had been isolated.
Exclusion zones have been put in place in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, which is fatal for birds.
The UK Government has announced all bird keepers in England, Scotland and Wales must implement strict biosecurity measures to stop bird flu spreading.
State pension triple lock under threat
The state pension triple lock is once again under threat after new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt refused to rule out breaking the manifesto promise that protects millions of retirees from inflation.
When asked in the House of Commons to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the state pension triple lock, Mr Hunt said while was aware of how many vulnerable retirees there are, he would not make “any commitments to individual policies”.
He added: “Every decision we make will be made through the prism of what matters to the most vulnerable.”
Taiwan better investment than UK, says Morgan Stanley
Taiwan and Brazil have been touted as better investment destinations than Britain after Morgan Stanley warned of the “daunting” task faced by new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Andrew Sheets, a strategist at the lender, told The Telegraph that “better opportunity is in emerging market equities” and pointed to Korea, Taiwan and Brazil as possible alternatives.
Hours after his note was published, Chinese president Xi Jinping delivered a bellicose speech in which he refused to rule out the use of force in Beijing’s quest to wrest control of Taiwan.
Train workers vote on further six months of walkouts
Rail workers in the RMT union are voting on whether to continue strike action for a further six months.
The ballot closes on 15 November and is part of an ongoing dispute over pay, job security and working conditions.
RMT members at 15 train companies and Network Rail have taken part in eight nationwide strike days since June. No more are currently scheduled.
The BBC says Network Rail is preparing to make a revised offer to unions.
Greta Thunberg: I don't want to go into politics
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has said she will not pursue a career in politics - because it is too "toxic".
The Swedish teenager became a household name in 2018, after she skipped school and inspired an international movement to fight climate change.
Now 19, she told the BBC that the necessary changes "will only come if there's enough public pressure from the outside - and that is something that we create".
And she said she never intended to become the face of a global movement.
"It's too much responsibility," Ms Thunberg said.
"Sometimes I can snap. I say, 'If you think that all the hope in the world rests on burned-out teenagers' shoulders, I mean, that's not very good."
Greggs wins £150m Covid insurance case
Greggs has won a landmark ruling in its legal battle over a £150million pound insurance claim triggered by the coronavirus crisis.
A High Court judge yesterday backed the majority of the FTSE 250 company’s claim for business interruptions caused by the pandemic, in a move that could cost Zurich Insurance tens of millions more than it argued was its liability, according to The Times.
Lawyers for Greggs, which employs about 25,000 people across more than 2,200 shops in the UK, said that each outlet suffered some interruption or interference with trading as a result of government lockdowns imposed to combat Covid-19.