Business

Older people are having to fill out a 243-question form to access pension credit and winter fuel payments – a task that will be “daunting” for some, charities have said. The government has launched a campaign urging eligible people to apply for pension credit after Rachel Reeves announced last month that the winter payments would

The government will not defend the legal challenges brought against plans to develop the UK’s largest untapped oil and gas field and a second North Sea site. Rosebank, 80 miles west of Shetland, contains around 300 million barrels of oil and is the UK’s last major undeveloped oil site. It is twice the size of

US tech stocks are falling despite Nvidia, the chipmaker driving the artificial intelligence (AI) led stock market boom, reporting stronger than expected earnings. The company, which has been the darling of US markets with shares up 150% this year alone, reported second quarter revenue of just over $30bn – more than double the sum achieved

The owner of Ted Baker will on Wednesday announce that it has struck a deal with an American group to re-establish an online presence in the UK, days after its remaining retail stores were shut for good. Sky News has learnt that Authentic, which has owned Ted Baker since 2022, has struck a deal with

One in two LGBT+ employees are facing “shockingly high levels” of bullying and harassment at work, a survey has found.  A survey of 1,000 LGBT+ people by the TUC suggested one in five lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people had been exposed to verbal abuse at work in the last five years. More than a

Shop prices have come down for the first time in nearly two years, according to industry data. Goods in UK shops cost 0.3% less in August than a year ago, figures from industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed. The price fall is due to discounts on summer clothing and other seasonal household goods.

The leading contender to buy Everton Football Club is preparing to launch within days a plan to take his sports and technology holding company public at a valuation of over $2bn. Sky News has learnt that John Textor, an American businessman, is to file documents with US regulators that will see Eagle Football Holdings become

Unilever, the FTSE-100 consumer goods behemoth behind Marmite and Lynx, is trying to slim its portfolio of personal care brands by putting two of them up for sale. Sky News has learnt that Unilever is working with advisers on the disposal of Kate Somerville, an upscale skincare brand it acquired in 2015. City sources said

A court-appointed armed guard tasked with ensuring Mike Lynch did not flee while facing fraud charges has paid tribute to the tech tycoon and his daughter, who both died after the Bayesian superyacht they were holidaying on sunk. The 59-year-old Briton was confirmed dead by local authorities on Thursday after the superyacht he was holidaying

A British fraud detection company backed by Mike Lynch, the technology entrepreneur who died this week, is in talks about a sale to Visa, the American payments giant, worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Sky News has learnt that Featurespace, which was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Cambridge, is in advanced negotiations about

The pound has hit its highest level against the US dollar since March 2022 after the chair of the Federal Reserve declared that “the time has come” for an interest rate cut. Jay Powell’s remarks to the US central bank’s annual economic conference at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, did not specify when rate cuts would begin

The energy price cap will rise in October to an annual average of £1,717. Industry regulator Ofgem said the 10% rise was largely due to higher wholesale gas prices and urged bill-payers to “shop around” for fixed-rate deals. Money latest:Warning £2,500 will be added to stamp duty ‘overnight’ But the latest increase – which means

Some of London’s leading universities are plotting to create a £500m fund to back start-ups created by their academics, even as the wider higher education sector confronts a growing financial crisis. Sky News has learnt that University College London (UCL), Kings College London and Queen Mary University are in talks to establish a jointly owned

The energy price cap will rise to an average annual £1,717 from October, the industry regulator has confirmed as the clock ticks down to the loss of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. The new figure represents a 10% a year – or £12 per month – leap in the typical sum households face

One of Mike Lynch’s neighbours has described him as “generous, humble and full of integrity”, telling Sky News he will “leave a hole that cannot be filled” after his death was confirmed on Thursday. Mr Lynch, 59, was confirmed dead by local authorities on Thursday after the Bayesian superyacht he was on with his wife

You remember that “dire economic inheritance” the new government keeps talking about? Earlier in the summer Rachel Reeves produced a document suggesting the state of Britain’s economy and public finances was so dismal – so much worse than expected – that she would be forced into introducing significant measures (which read: lots more tax rises)

Brazil has awarded special protected status to Scotch whisky – with the UK’s trade secretary toasting the decision by visiting a distillery in Scotland. Brazil legally recognised Scotch whisky during the UK’s pre-election period in June and the move is expected to give distillers better access to South America’s largest economy. The Department for Business

Government borrowing rose to the highest amount since the pandemic in July, official figures show. Not since 2021 has there been a July with such high borrowing, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It means that there was a £3.1bn difference between what the government took in from things like taxes

A pilot scheme scrapping peak-time ScotRail fares will end next month following a “limited degree of success”. Transport Scotland said the trial – subsidised by the Scottish government – cost £40m but “did not achieve its aims” of encouraging more people to swap their cars for rail travel. The scheme began in October last year

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Italy. One person has been confirmed dead – believed to be the vessel’s cook – while four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, according to