Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.

1. Scotland’s economy is expected to grow more slowly this year than previously thought, according to research.

Scotland’s economy is expected to pick up in 2025

DOMINIC LIPINSKI/PA:

The EY Item Club forecast that gross value added (GVA), a measure of economic output, would increase by 0.4 per cent across 2024. That is down from the 0.7 per cent it had pencilled in previously.

However, growth should pick up in 2025 with 1.7 per cent, compared with a 1.4 per cent expectation in the Item Club’s prior publication.

Scottish employment is predicted to rise steadily by an average of 0.8 per cent through to 2027.

GVA growth and employment in Scotland are both expected to be below the overall