Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.
New shops for Banchory
Banchory will no longer be “left behind” - with plans for a new Lidl, M&S Food shop and Starbucks drive-thru in the town now approved.
Developers have been given the go-ahead to start work on the site at Hill of Banchory, behind the Tesco supermarket.
Councillors yesterday heard that the major names are all poised to put pen to paper, with deals dependent on planning permission being granted.
An as-yet unnamed garden centre and a Home Bargains would also feature in the scheme.
The Press & Journal says the development was unanimously backed during a meeting of the Marr area committee.
Banchory and Mid-Deeside councillor Eilieen Durno said: “When I was younger, we shopped locally at shops like Spar and Mace in Banchory and then went to places like Fine Fare in Aberdeen for bigger shops.
“There’s a perception that we have always been left behind, and people travel to Westhill or even Inverurie to use stores like these. This is natural progression for a growing community.”
Get-together back on at BrewDog
BrewDog is to hold an extraordinary general meeting in Ellon this summer.
CEO James Watt said previously the annual get-together for shareholders would be run in individual bars around the globe, but he has now decided to hold a large-scale event after all.
The Press & Journal says it will take place on July 29 at the BrewDog HQ.
A spokesman said: “We wanted to do things a little different this year, to give more of our brilliant shareholders the opportunity to participate in our AGM by making it more local with events held in our bars.
“However, we’ve listened to the feedback and its clear our shareholders love getting together, to enjoy great company and great beer.”
BoE alert
The Bank of England is on "heightened" alert for further turmoil in the banking sector, its governor has said.
However, Andrew Bailey told MPs the recent problems facing lenders had not caused stress in the UK banking system.
Officials have tried to calm investors since the US failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, sparking concerns about the stability of other lenders.
In Europe, worries over the strength of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse led to a rushed takeover by rival UBS.
The BBC says nerves among investors have sparked sharp falls in banking shares around the world.
Slump in homes available to rent
The number of homes available to rent in the UK has fallen by a third over the past 18 months.
The sharp drop in the number of listings has helped drive up rents for new tenants by 11%.
Lettings agencies typically have 10 rentals compared to more than 16 before September 2021, figures shared with the BBC by property website Zoopla show.
Fears for Royal Mail
Royal Mail has given its trade union 48 hours to accept a below-inflation pay deal amid claims that the company's UK operation is at risk of going bust.
Company negotiators have told the 115,000-strong Communication Workers Union (CWU) that it has just days to back revised proposals submitted on Friday, following fears that administrators could otherwise be called in.
Royal Mail warned the CWU that further strikes risk tipping its British operation over the edge – a move that the Telegraph says would throw letter deliveries across the country into doubt.
Robin Barr to depart after six decades
Robin Barr is to step down from the board of Scottish soft-drinks giant AG Barr after six decades with the firm.
Mr Barr, who is the great-grandson of company founder Robert Barr, has announced he will not seek re-election at the annual general meeting.
The 85-year-old held the post of chairman for 31 years before standing down in 2009. He has remained a non-executive director of the Cumbernauld-based firm until now.
Mr Barr's great-grandfather founded the business in 1875, producing and selling "aerated waters", as soft drinks were then called.
The BBC says AG Barr's portfolio of products now includes Irn-Bru, Rubicon, Funkin and Boost.
But the Barr family's links to the company is expcted to continue after Mr Barr's departure. His daughter Julie, who is AG Barr's company secretary, will stand for election as a non-executive director at the AGM.
Next buy
Retailer Next has bought floral fashion brand Cath Kidston from the administrator in a deal worth £8.5million.
Next has taken on the name and intellectual property, but not Cath Kidston's four shops.
Administrator PwC said the shops would stay open while "operations are wound down", but added there would be redundancies.
The BBC says Next has been snapping up struggling retailers, buying Made.com and fashion chain Joules late last year.
AI to replace many jobs
Artificial intelligence (AI) could replace the equivalent of 300million full-time jobs, a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says.
It could do a quarter of work tasks in the US and Europe, but may also mean new jobs and a productivity boom.
And the BBC says AI could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7%.
Generative AI, able to create content indistinguishable from human work, is "a major advancement", according to the report.
Bankman-Fried accused of Chinese bribe
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of failed crypto firm FTX, has been accused of bribing at least one Chinese official.
In new charges unveiled in the US, officials accuse the entrepreneur of authorising a bribe of "at least $40million" (£32.5million) to try to gain access to trading accounts frozen by Chinese authorities.
The allegations add to the fraud case filed last year after FTX's collapse.
Mr Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to those claims earlier this year.
The BBC says he is currently under house arrest at his parents' home in California while awaiting trial.
The updated indictment says Mr Bankman-Fried authorised the bribe after Chinese authorities froze accounts holding roughly £811million worth of cryptocurrency that belonged to his trading firm, Alameda Research.
The accounts were released after the transfer, which went to a private cryptocurrency wallet, according to the filing.
Gove approves massive solar farm
Michael Gove has approved a solar farm the size of 75 football pitches in Shropshire despite opposition from locals who claim the project will spoil the area’s natural beauty.
The Housing Secretary has approved the scheme, which will include large banks of solar panels and six battery storage containers.
Developers say the project will provide enough electricity to power 8,657 houses and save some 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by providing greener energy.
However, the Telegraph says locals have opposed the scheme - by arguing it will put off visitors to the area, which is on the borders of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.