Business

The chancellor has offered an olive branch to the CBI, the stricken business lobbying group, by agreeing to meet its boss for the first time since a sexual misconduct scandal erupted in the spring. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt has agreed to hold in-person talks with Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI director-general, in the

A former governor of the Bank of England has launched a scathing attack on Liz Truss – accusing her government of turning Britain into “Argentina on the Channel”. Mark Carney also said Brexiteers such as the former Conservative leader – who became the shortest-serving prime minister in history when she resigned last year – had

The owner of Waterstones is among a pack of bidders circling The Body Shop after its Brazilian owner hoisted a for sale sign above the cosmetics retailer. Sky News has learnt that Elliott Advisors, the investment firm best-known for its activist campaigns against the boards of some of the world’s biggest companies, tabled an indicative

Mike Ashley, the high street billionaire, is in talks to sell the online clothing label Missguided to Shein, the giant Chinese online fashion player. Sky News has learnt that the two sides are in detailed negotiations about a deal, which would represent Shein’s first acquisition of a British fashion brand. City sources said that Shein

At the main roundabout outside Port Talbot steelworks, union reps and those on their lunch break gathered holding a banner: “British Steel – Back It or Lose It!” Some 4,000 are employed by Tata Steel here, more than 12% of the town’s entire population. One of them is Greg Coggins, who has worked for Tata

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch has had a busy week. It started on Monday with a £75m cheque to BMW to secure 4,000 jobs tied to future production of electric Minis at its Oxford plant. It ends with a £500m subsidy to sweeten the decarbonisation, by Indian industrial giant Tata, of its Port Talbot steel plant

Thousands of jobs are expected to be lost at Britain’s largest steelworks despite a £500m rescue package. The government will make the offer to assist Tata Steel employees who may face redundancy at its site in Port Talbot, as it moves from blast furnaces to greener steel production. Tata is expected to contribute £700m towards

The European Central Bank’s main interest rate has hit its highest level since the creation of the euro in 1999 amid the continuing battle against inflation. The Bank’s deposit rate was raised by 0.25 percentage points to 4% at the latest meeting of the governing council, which manages monetary policy for the 20 countries that

Shares in UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings have soared after the firm made its Nasdaq debut on Thursday. The firm’s stock opened at $56.1 (£45.2) per share – 10% above the initial public offering (IPO) price of $51 (£41). Arm, which is still 90.6% owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, had earlier secured a valuation of

Deloitte is planning to cut more than 800 jobs in the UK, sources say. The company, one of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms, is considering the move as part of a cost-cutting restructuring. In a statement to Sky News, Deloitte confirmed some roles were potentially at risk of redundancy, but did not go into specifics.

Following the shock resignation of BP chief executive Bernard Looney, Ian King speaks with the firm’s former head of strategy, Nick Butler to find out what it will mean for the business. The UK economy shrank by 0.5% in July according to official figures. Ian discusses the reasons why with the head of Saxo UK,

Four people have been charged in connection with the collapse of Patisserie Valerie – a bakery chain that once had almost 200 stores. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it related to an investigation that began in October 2018 – just two days after the company abruptly suspended trading, with more than 900 jobs and

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