Business

Grant Shapps, the new business secretary, will hold crunch talks next week with the owners of Britain’s second-biggest steel producer, amid dwindling hopes that a government aid package will prevent thousands of job losses. Sky News has learnt that Mr Shapps will speak to Jingye Group executives on Monday in an attempt to persuade the

Elon Musk has defended sacking half of Twitter’s 8,000 workers, saying “unfortunately, there is no choice”. Mr Musk insisted that the platform’s commitment to moderation remained “absolutely unchanged”. He tweeted: “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4m a day. “Everyone exited was offered three months

Hundreds of workers at Heathrow will walk out in the run-up to the World Cup finals this month over demands for better pay. Unite said 700 staff, who are involved in ground-handling, airside transport and cargo and are employed by dnata and Menzies at Heathrow, will strike for three days starting from 18 November. The

The regional newspaper group founded by David Montgomery, the former Daily Mirror boss, has struck a deal to invest in an industry start-up founded by another of Britain’s most prominent journalists. Sky News understands that National World Publishing has agreed to invest £1m into The News Movement (TNM), a social media-focused news platform. The investment

Let’s start with what we do know. The economy is now almost certainly in recession. It will not be pleasant. This is a recession which will be felt in most households’ pockets – both through the rise in energy prices and shop prices and the rise in the cost of borrowing. And when it comes

BT Group is expected to increase a multibillion-pound cost-savings target on Thursday as it seeks to counter the inflationary headwinds buffeting the UK economy. Sky News has learnt that Philip Jansen, BT chief executive, is poised to use the telecom giant’s half-results announcement to outline plans to find a further £500m of savings by the

The boss of Britishvolt, the start-up building a battery gigafactory in Northumberland, has told Sky News that staff have agreed a “substantial” temporary pay cut as it continues work to shore up its financial future. Chief executive Graham Hoare refused to tell Ian King Live about the figures involved, but added that the executive team

Food inflation surged to a record 11.6% in October – with staple items including tea bags, milk and sugar all seeing significant price rises. Overall, shops increased prices by 6.6% in the 12 months to October – the highest level since records began in 2005. But fresh food has been most vulnerable to surging costs,

Boris Johnson is in talks with one of Hollywood’s most prominent talent agencies about a lucrative speaking deal following his aborted run for a second stint as Britain’s prime minister. Sky News has learned that Mr Johnson has been holding detailed talks with Endeavor, the group founded by American businessman Ari Emanuel. Sources said that

BP has credited strong natural gas trading for strong quarterly profits of £7.1bn, which have fanned the flames around demands for stiffer windfall taxes. The oil and gas giant revealed third quarter profits of $8.2bn compared to $3.3bn in the same period a year earlier – boosted by high prices resulting from the impact of

Instagram has said it is looking into why thousands of users have suddenly had their accounts suspended. Users around the world have posted on other social media platforms to ask why they have been locked out of their profiles, having received a message saying: “We suspended your account on October 31, 2022.” “We’re aware that

Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has denied a report he plans to lay off employees before the start of next month to avoid having to make special payouts as part of their compensation deal. In a response to a Twitter user asking about the redundancies reported in the New York Times, Musk tweeted simply: “This

The next operator of the National Lottery is in talks to buy the incumbent, Camelot, in a £100m deal that would pave the way for the removal of the latter’s final legal challenge against the industry regulator. Sky News has learnt that Allwyn Entertainment is in advanced discussions with Camelot’s Canadian owner about a takeover

Octopus Energy has sealed its deal to buy Bulb, a collapsed energy rival that has been funded by billions of pounds in government support for nearly a year. Octopus said it is taking on Bulb’s 1.5 million customers “bringing an end to taxpayer losses and uncertainty for Bulb customers and employees”. It added: “Octopus is

A veteran investment banker is being lined up to chair one of Britain’s biggest car parts manufacturers as it prepares for a newly independent life as a standalone listed company. Sky News has learnt that Simon Mackenzie-Smith, a prominent City figure during a long career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is close to being

At first glance, there is nothing altogether unusual about the train. Sitting on the platform at Spandau station in the suburbs of Berlin, it looks much the same as every other one. But do not be fooled, for this train, manufactured by French group Alstom, is very special indeed. It runs not on electricity or

The head of NatWest, which is part state-owned, has defended the amount of tax big banks pay. Alison Rose, the chief executive, said banks were taxed more than “any other sector” and more than the financial service sectors in other countries. Speaking on Ian King Live, Ms Rose said: “On taxes, the banking sector already

English football’s top flight is lining up a £30m-a-year deal to sell digital tokens to fans after talks with a rival provider collapsed. Sky News has learnt that the Premier League will hold talks with its 20 clubs to discuss a proposed multi-year contract with Sorare, a Paris-based start-up. The deal, which is understood to

Shell has reported operating profits of $9.5bn for the third quarter of this year, lower than that of the three months before but still more than double the same period in 2021. The London-listed energy giant reported two consecutive quarters of record profit in the first half of the year amid soaring oil and gas

Online furniture retailer Made.com has stopped taking customer orders after rescue talks failed. The British company said on Tuesday that talks with potential buyers had ended, warning that if funding could not be raised before it ran out of cash, it would take “appropriate steps to preserve value for creditors”. On Wednesday, the business said