Business

The government and Tata Steel are on the brink of an agreement that will secure the future of the country’s biggest steelworks but pave the way for thousands of long-term job losses. Sky News has learnt that Whitehall officials are in preliminary talks about a financial support package to assist Tata Steel employees who may

Household energy suppliers are facing tougher restrictions on the forced installation of prepayment meters following criticism that curbs failed to help many of the most vulnerable. Industry regulator Ofgem said it was tightening the no-install rules from 8 November to include people aged over 75 with no support in their house and homes with children

The owner of discount retailer Poundland will take over the lease of 71 of Wilko’s 400 stores after the chain’s collapse. The Pepco Group will rebrand the branches under the Poundland name. Around 12,500 jobs at the discount homeware retailer are at risk after the company announced attempts to rescue the chain had failed. Wilko

Economic forecasting is, like predicting the weather, an inexact science. You take the best available data, compare it to historical and more recent trends, perhaps chew your pencil, then make your best informed prediction. In recent months however charting the UK’s economic course has been as tricky as second-guessing the British summer. As heat waves

The UK economy contracted by 0.5% in July – with early official figures suggesting that strikes and the summer washout had an impact. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the decline – which was worse than many economists had expected – followed an unrevised 0.5% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) over the previous

The head of BP has suddenly resigned following allegations over “personal relationships with colleagues”. Bernard Looney’s departure as chief executive of the British energy giant comes less than four years after he was appointed to the role. The 53-year-old, who was paid more than £10m in wages, bonuses and other benefits last year, is said

A man who famously made a fortune by predicting the collapse of the US housing market in 2008 now appears to be suggesting that two major stock markets will tumble in value. Michael Burry, the hedge fund boss featured in The Big Short, in which he was played by Christian Bale, held negative options on

Any rise in rail fares in England next year will be below the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation, the government has promised. The RPI figure – which is a measure for inflation – for July is due to be released on Wednesday and usually helps determine the cost of train tickets for the

Grocery price inflation has eased for the fifth month in a row – as the cost of some staples come down. Closely watched data from Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks supermarket sales and bills, found that while the expense of a food shop is still higher than last year, the pace of price rises has been

Bidders for the ailing retailer Wilko have been given until Wednesday to table offers for the company after its collapse into insolvency last week. Sky News has learnt that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which was appointed as administrator on Thursday, is seeking offers by the middle of this week as Wilko faces running out of cash. A

Mark Zuckerberg has accused Elon Musk of not being serious about the pair having a cage fight – and says it is time to “move on” from the saga. The Facebook co-founder said his tech billionaire counterpart did not appear to want to go through with the highly-anticipated clash after failing to even agree on

Pubs in England and Wales will be allowed to continue serving takeaway pints after the government decided to keep COVID licensing rules. Pubs were given permission to serve customers through hatches when they were forced to close during lockdown restrictions in 2020. Those rules were due to expire at the end of next month, but

The owner of the Daily Mail is in talks with prospective backers of a bid for The Daily Telegraph  - a deal that would underline its proprietor’s status among the most powerful figures in British media. Sky News has learned that Lord Rothermere, chairman of both DMGT and its consumer division dmg media, is courting

A British-based company which boasted that it would be a global pioneer in electric vehicle manufacturing is working with advisers to prepare for possible insolvency. Sky News has learnt that Arrival, which is listed on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange, has drafted in Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to advise it as it tries to salvage

The Premier League is targeting a financial agreement with its lower league counterparts within weeks as English football seeks to head off political criticism over the distribution of money through the sport. Sky News has learnt that the Premier League told its 20 ‘shareholders’ on Thursday that it now hoped to reach a swift conclusion

GDP exceeded modest expectations in June and for the second quarter as a whole, but perhaps the best that can be said of the economy at the halfway point in the year is that things could be worse. That was certainly the chancellor’s response to monthly growth of 0.5% and a three-month figure of 0.2%.

The UK economy grew slightly in the three months to June, according to official estimates. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.2% in the second quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. In June alone it rose 0.5%. It comes after a rate of 0.1% was recorded in the first quarter,

Wilko has gone into administration – putting 12,000 jobs at risk. It comes after Sky News revealed earlier on Thursday the retail chain was only hours away from insolvency. In a statement, CEO Mark Jackson said: “We’ve all fought hard to keep this incredible business intact but must concede that time has run out and

Rents will continue to rise as more people enter the rental market with fewer properties to choose from, the professional body for surveyors has said. Demand for rental properties rose “firmly” over the three months to July, according to research from property professionals, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), marking the strongest quarterly pick