Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
More than £700m to be cut from Scottish Budget next year
More than £700m is to be cut from the Scottish government's Budget next year, the country's official forecaster has said.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) said the reduction - to correct the difference between forecast and actual income tax revenues - would lead to a drop in funding for services.
In its annual report, external, the body found that Holyrood ministers had an extra £831m to spend in the current financial year compared with earlier forecasts, largely thanks to a one-off boost from education spending south of the border.
Read the BBC story here.
UK energy price cap to rise 4% for winter
Energy bills for households in Britain are set to rise to the highest level in three years from October, putting millions under further pressure, as colder weather prompts households to increase their energy consumption by switching on their heating more regularly.
The price cap has been increased by Ofgem by 4 per cent, or £73, to £1,935 a year, under previous calculations for the usage of the average household.
Based on the regulator’s updated definition of a typical consumer, which came into effect in July to reflect falling household energy use, the average household will be facing an annual bill of £1,723, up from £1,663.
Read more in The Times.
Civil servants face clampdown on working from home and job cuts
Scottish civil servants face a crackdown on working from home and are set to be offered payoffs to leave their jobs, it has emerged.
In a newly published five-year plan, Joe Griffin, John Swinney’s most senior bureaucrat, warned workers that headcounts would become “smaller” and some areas of work would “stop or be consolidated”.
For the first time, he admitted this might entail a “voluntary exit scheme” whereby civil servants would be offered a taxpayer-funded financial package to depart, similar to a redundancy scheme.
Read the full piece in The TImes.
Musk's SpaceX to build $100bn launch facility in Louisiana
Multi-billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has announced that it will build its largest launch site yet in the southern US state of Louisiana.
Construction of the $100bn (£73bn) project - named Starbase, Louisiana - is due to start next year, with the 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) site expanding on the company's operations beyond its current Texas headquarters and locations in Florida.
It will be used to "support thousands of Starship flights a year with missions launching to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond," SpaceX said on Tuesday.
Read the full BBC article here.
Aberdeen accountancy firm boss on record year and plans to add jobs
Aberdeen accountancy firm Hall Morrice is targeting further growth after a record year as it prepares to launch a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) service.
The independent business, which is based in Queen’s Terrace, has seen its turnover reach £6.2 million, as it celebrates 50 years.
The firm has also seen a significant increase in its statutory audit work, alongside rising demand for advisory services.
Read more in The Press and Journal.
Target apologises for 'offensive' children Halloween costume after backlash
American retail giant Target has withdrawn a Halloween costume from sale after critics on social media said it resembled a racist caricature.
Describing the costume as "offensive", the store said in a statement that it was "hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners", without providing further details.
Images circulating online show a costume sold as the "Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume", and customers and others on social media say it evokes blackface and minstrel shows.
Read the full BBC article.
BBC Radio wake-up call as breakfast show listeners turn off in droves
BBC Radio Scotland’s flagship morning show has lost almost 40 per cent of its listeners since it replaced its long-established predecessor, amid allegations of “dumbing down”.
Launched on Hogmanay in 1973, Good Morning Scotland became the longest-running and most listened to show on the station.
However, the programme, which ran from 6am to 9am on weekdays, was dropped permanently in November last year, with station managers conceding that “audience habits change”.
Read more in The Times.