Business

The chancellor has warned the British public he is preparing “for the worst” as he draws up his autumn statement. Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) official economic forecasts would be considerably worse than at the budget – a signal there may be spending cuts or possibly even tax rises

Microsoft’s bid for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard has been given UK approval, removing a last hurdle to the biggest-ever gaming deal. The UK’s regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), said it gave the go-ahead to after the restructured deal substantially addressed its earlier concerns. Microsoft, who make the Xbox, announced the biggest

The former CEO of Barclays has been fined £1.8m after misleading regulators and the bank’s board about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Jes Staley has also been banned from holding senior management positions in the financial services industry. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, he “recklessly approved” a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA

The UK economy grew by 0.2% in August – in line with expectations. This was mostly driven by 0.4% growth in the services sector – with a 0.7% contraction in production output and a 0.5% fall in the construction sector. The Office for National Statistics has also revised July’s gross domestic product (GDP) downwards. While

Football clubs should be banned from selling crypto-based “fan tokens” as part of engagement with supporters by the sport’s incoming regulator, according to a cross-party committee of MPs. In its report, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS) warns about the volatility of prices and the risk of financial harm to supporters who are convinced

Worse financial pain is to come, as many people have not yet felt the full impact of the increased cost of borrowing, the Bank of England has said in one of its latest health checks of the UK’s financial system. Higher interest rates, currently at 5.25% after a run of 14 hikes, have not yet

There are a few ways one could report the latest economic growth forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The first way is to declare that Britain’s economy is heading for the buffers. Its economy will grow next year at the slowest rate in the G7 group of leading industrialised economies (0.6%). This is considerably

The rate of grocery inflation eased considerably over the past month, part-aided by a “jump in the amount of money spent on offers”, according to a closely-watched study. Kantar Worldpanel, which records supermarket sales and price data, said the annual rate of grocery inflation fell back to 11% over the four weeks to 1 October.

Santander UK has been approached to revive its financial crisis-era role as a white knight for failing British lenders as regulators seek to secure a quickfire private sector deal to shore up Metro Bank. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank, NatWest Group and Lloyds Banking Group are among those approached by banking regulators

Wilko will shut the doors on its last remaining high street stores for the final time after the chain’s collapse. The 93-year-old retailer has been closing each of its 400 UK stores over the past month after collapsing into administration in August. Forty-one stores now remain but will close on Sunday. The shelves have already

The board of Metro Bank rejected a secret takeover approach last month from a rival British lender, just days before its share price crashed when it emerged that it was seeking hundreds of millions of pounds to shore up its finances. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shawbrook has tabled several bid proposals to Metro

The UK is on course for the biggest tax rise in at least 50 years because of the freeze on personal thresholds and soaring inflation, according to new analysis. The Resolution Foundation said taxpayers are set to hand over about £40bn a year by 2028 – up from a forecast of £30bn at the time

One thing that quite often puzzles people who do not work in financial markets is their tendency to treat seemingly good news as bad. We got a classic example on Friday with news that US employers added 336,000 jobs in September. That was up from 227,000 in August (a figure itself revised higher from the

JD Wetherspoon has credited a surge in sales and reduction in costs for its first annual profit since the COVID pandemic. The value pub and hotel chain, which trades from 826 sites across the UK and Ireland, reported profit before tax for the year to the end of July of £42.6m. That compared to a

Metro Bank has kicked off talks about the sale of a £3bn chunk of its mortgage book as part of an increasingly urgent attempt to shore up its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that advisers to Metro Bank – which saw its shares plunge on Thursday after acknowledging that it was seeking to

The competition regulator is to investigate the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the UK’s cloud market. It follows a study by the telecoms watchdog Ofcom which “identified features that make it more difficult for UK businesses to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers”. Ofcom added: “We are particularly concerned about the position of the

Metro Bank, the high street lender, is drawing up plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital in weeks in a bid to strengthen its troubled balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank – the first new lender to open on Britain’s high streets in over 100 years when it

Fuel retailers have dismissed claims that drivers are being overcharged following a surge in pump prices. Data released by the RAC on Wednesday showed an 8p per litre surge in the cost of diesel last month to a new average of 163.1p. Petrol prices rose by nearly 5p per litre to 157p. The motoring group

Superdry, the struggling London-listed fashion retailer, is close to striking a partnership with India’s biggest retailer that will release tens of millions of pounds to bolster its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Superdry is in advanced talks with Reliance Brands, part of the vast Mumbai-headquartered conglomerate, about a new licensing joint venture.

Food prices have dropped for the first month in more than two years, according to an industry lobby group that says food inflation is now in single digits. The British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index found food inflation eased to an annual rate of 9.9% in September, which is down from 11.5% in August.