Business

The Treasury has blocked a proposal to expand the energy scheme to upgrade household insulation and energy efficiency, Sky News understands. It had been reported that Number 10 and business ministers were calling for an expansion of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme – which uses money raised from a levy on energy bills to

Elon Musk has topped Forbes’ list of world billionaires, relegating Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to second place for the first time in four years. Musk was worth an estimated $219bn (£166bn) as of 11 March – when the list’s authors locked in net worths – after adding $68bn (£51bn) to his fortune over the past

A rise in demand for leisure and entertainment activities last month helped the UK economy grow more than had been expected, according to a closely watched survey, as fears intensify that soaring inflation will apply the brakes. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Services PMI, which measures the sector accounting for 80% of the country’s economy bar

The government is considering whether it can go ahead with a landmark global LGBT conference this summer after more than 100 groups pulled out over changes to plans to ban conversion therapy. Organisations including Stonewall said they would no longer support the Safe To Be Me event due to take place on London following the

Shares in social media giant Twitter have surged by a quarter after it was revealed that Tesla billionaire Elon Musk had bought a 9.2% stake. A regulatory filing showed the tycoon had snapped up 73,486,938 Twitter shares. The stake is worth $2.89bn (£2.2bn), based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday. Musk is a frequent user

The government is preparing to nationalise Gazprom’s British supply arm within days amid a stand-off between the Russian state-controlled energy firm and a Wall Street banking giant. Sky News has learnt that ministers are drawing up plans to take Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail (GM&T) into public hands if it fails to reassure financial counterparties

The owners of the American basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers have joined forces with one of the four remaining bidders for Chelsea Football Club as the auction of last season’s Champions League-winners enters its final stages. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Rock Entertainment Group (REG), which owns a string of US sports teams, has

NatWest Group is contemplating an audacious takeover bid for one of Britain’s biggest wealth managers in a move that would represent its biggest corporate acquisition since it was rescued by taxpayers nearly 15 years ago. Sky News has learnt that NatWest is in the early stages of considering an offer for Tilney Smith & Williamson,

The government’s business misconduct watchdog has launched criminal and civil probes into P&O Ferries, adding to pressure on the embattled company. The move comes two weeks after P&O Ferries sacked nearly 800 workers and replaced them with lower-paid crew, a decision that the government called illegal. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng confirmed on Friday afternoon that

A London-listed gold mining group which was prevented from making a loan repayment this week after its Russian lender was sanctioned is lining up advisers to help restructure its borrowings. Sky News has learnt that Petropavlovsk, which has seen its shares plummet in the last year, is preparing to bring in AlixPartners to advise it

Never before has there been an economic experience quite like this. Never before have households around the country faced as severe an increase in their bills as they will this year. The sharp rise in energy bills which kicks in on Friday is perhaps the most obvious of all these price increases. But this is

Community volunteers have shared their concern about the cost of living crisis and its impact on children. One mother told Sky News her two sons had gone hungry in the past. Another group – offering free hot meals – estimated more than half of the children they are feeding are malnourished. And Sky News has

The UK economy grew at a rate of 1.3% in the last three months of 2021, a faster pace than first thought and bringing GDP to just below pre-pandemic levels. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had previously estimated GDP grew by 1.0% between October and December last year. “GDP grew a little stronger than we

The government’s lead non-executive director has quit with more than a year of his term to run, paving the way for a prominent businessman to inherit one of the most powerful roles in Whitehall. Sky News has learnt that Lord Nash, who was appointed by the prime minister in July 2020, has stepped down from

Germany has declared an “early warning” of a gas supply emergency, in one of the starkest signs yet that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is spilling over into European energy markets. The country said that its warning was intended to prepare for the risk of disruption to, or even the end of, natural gas flows

The boss of P&O Ferries has flatly rejected the government’s final plea to halt the process of making nearly 800 of its workers redundant. In a letter to transport minister Grant Shapps on Tuesday, the company said the process was in its final stages with most workers already accepting severance offers, and changing course now

Babcock International Group, the FTSE-250 government contractor, is in talks to offload the bulk of its emergency aviation services division, which counts Britain’s Air Ambulance fleet among its operations. Sky News has learnt that Babcock is in advanced negotiations with Ancala Partners, a London-based infrastructure investor, about acquiring a substantial chunk of the business it

We are, the Bank of England governor said on Monday, facing a historic shock to our incomes. In fact, he added, “the shock from energy prices this year will be larger than any single year in the 1970s.” The claim from Andrew Bailey, made at a think tank event in Brussels, is especially striking given

Ministers and the Premier League will be presented with a preferred bid for Chelsea Football Club in three weeks’ time, paving the way for a change of ownership to take place by the end of next month. Sky News has learnt that a letter sent to the four remaining contenders to buy the Blues over

Sycamore Partners, the US- based private equity group, has tabled a £250m offer for the London-listed fashion chain Ted Baker. Sky News has learnt that a proposal valuing Ted Baker at 130p-a-share was submitted in writing in the last few days. It was unclear this weekend whether it had been formally rejected, although City sources