Business

The chancellor spent most of her first six months issuing dire warnings about the calamitous state of the public finances she inherited. But now, in a dramatic change of tone, Rachel Reeves is celebrating the UK’s economic possibilities. Inspired by Donald Trump’s economic boosterism, and despite the UK’s flatlining growth figures, she told Trevor Phillips

The chancellor has said the goverment is “absolutely happy” to look at joining a pan-European customs area after the EU said it is open to British membership. Earlier this week, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Brussels “could consider” allowing the UK into the Pan Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) as part of a “reset” in

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has indicated she will overrule environmental objections to a third runway at Heathrow in order to prioritise economic growth, a position likely to bring her into conflict with colleagues including energy secretary Ed Miliband. Speaking as she began a 48-hour pitch to international investors at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ms

There’s a chart that’s been doing the rounds in recent weeks – American businessman Marc Andreessen tweeted it, and then it was reposted by Donald Trump himself. The chart is pretty simple: it shows the proportion of American federal government revenues coming from tariffs, going all the way back to the early days of American

It is no surprise to see a government that claims to be committed to making economic growth a priority giving the green light to expansion of Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport. Nor, for that matter, would it be a surprise for a third runway at Heathrow Airport to be given the go-ahead by Sir Keir

There has been a surge in the pace of wage growth but a rise in the unemployment rate, according to the latest official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that both basic pay excluding bonuses, and average weekly earnings, rose at an annual rate of 5.6% in the three months to November. That

One of the things that made President Donald Trump’s inauguration distinctive was the prominence of Silicon Valley elite. Easily identifiable were the world’s three richest men – Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. And that’s not to mention some of the billionaires not placed directly in view of the cameras. When the riches of

Rachel Reeves will hold talks with some of Wall Street’s leading financiers in Davos this week, less than hours after Donald Trump’s second US presidency gets underway. Sky News understands that the chancellor will attend a breakfast hosted by JP Morgan on Wednesday amid speculation about the threat of US tariffs being imposed on the

TikTok has begun restoring service to the app in the US after Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order pausing its ban. A law signed by President Joe Biden last April required ByteDance, TikTok‘s China-based parent company, to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner by Sunday or face a ban. Some users

The private equity owner of Asda has struck a deal to buy a controlling stake in a group which specialises in backing British SMEs. Sky News has learnt that TDR Capital has agreed to acquire a majority interest in CorpAcq, less than six months after the so-called ‘corporate compounder’ aborted a deal to list in

The owner of Poundland, one of Britain’s biggest discount retailers, has drafted in City advisers to explore radical options for arresting the growing crisis at the chain. Sky News has learnt that Pepco Group, which has owned Poundland since 2016, has hired consultants from AlixPartners to address a sales slump which has raised questions over

TikTok has said it could go dark on Sunday after the Supreme Court ruled against its bid to avoid a ban that could shut the app down. The looming ban is the end result of 2024 legislation passed on national security concerns that called for TikTok parent ByteDance to sell the popular short-video app or

The UK’s benchmark stock index has reached another record high. The FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,505.69, breaking the record set last May. It had already broken its intraday high earlier on Friday, meaning it reached a high not seen before during trading hours. The weakened

Fears have been raised over the robustness of Britain’s trade sanctions against Russia after the main government department enforcing the rules admitted it has no idea how many cases it is investigating. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which monitors and polices flows of goods in and out of the country, says it had no central

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against the prospects of a renewed US-led trade war, just days before Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term in the White House. The world’s lender of last resort used the latest update to its World Economic Outlook (WEO) to lay out a series of consequences for

The UK economy just about returned to growth in November after two months of contraction, the latest official figures show. Gross domestic product (GDP), the standard measure of an economy’s value and everything it produces, grew by 0.1%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. It was expected to grow by 0.2%. Money

Forget this week’s minor decrease in the UK inflation number.  The most important European data release was the confirmation from Germany that, during 2024, its economy contracted for the second consecutive year. Europe’s largest economy shrank by 0.2% during 2024 – on top of a 0.3% contraction in 2023. Now it must be stressed that

There’s been a surprise fall in inflation to 2.5% after two months of rises, official figures show. It means prices are still rising but at a slower pace than before, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data for December. Economists had expected the figure to remain at 2.6%, the level recorded in November. Inflation

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been accused of refusing to “face up to her own failures” by “jetting off to Beijing” during a week of market turmoil. Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused the chancellor of ducking difficult questions as the “government was losing control of the economy” while Ms Reeves visited China over the past week

A key port connecting Wales and Ireland has partially re-opened a month after it was closed due to storm damage. Holyhead port off the coast of Anglesey in North Wales was closed after one of its ferry berths suffered damage during Storm Darragh on 6 and 7 December. Part of the structure of the terminal