Business

The UK’s average two-year mortgage rate has dipped below 6% for the first time in nearly six months. The rate now sits at 5.99%, falling from 6.01% the day before, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk. The last time the rate was below 6% was on 16 June 2023, when it dropped to 5.98%. The highest it has

Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 are facing a “£3bn-plus” class action claim that alleges they used their market dominance to overcharge on up to 28.2 million UK mobile phone contracts. The four largest network operators are accused of penalising loyal customers – meaning they paid more than new customers for the same services. Many contracts

Cash usage has grown for the first time in a decade as households look to balance their budgets amid the cost-of-living squeeze. Across the UK, coins and banknotes accounted for nearly a fifth (19%) of transactions in 2022, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) annual Payments Survey. Its report said: “This year’s Payments Survey

New family visa rules could leave British citizens with a foreign partner facing greater restrictions on who they can live with than migrant workers, according to leading immigration researchers. Under new rules announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly, the minimum income for British citizens who want to live with family members in the UK is

“The last thing I do before going to sleep at night is check the trains to see whether they’re running on time and then the first thing I do in the morning, before I reach for a cup of tea, is pick my phone up and check again. And then you can still get to

The European Union has bowed to demands from carmakers across Europe and the British government for a delay to the introduction of 10% export tariffs on electric vehicles. Brexit commissioner Maroš Šefčovič had initially refused calls to extend a trade deal deadline that, from January, 60% of a battery’s total value had to be sourced

One of Britain’s biggest tenpin bowling venue operators will this week disclose that it has become the latest London-listed companies to recommend a private equity-backed takeover. Sky News has learnt that Ten Entertainment, which trades from about 50 venues across the UK, is to recommend an offer from Trive Capital, a US-based buyout firm. A

The cost of a traditional Christmas dinner will rise on last year, according to a closely-watched report that is also forecasting record sales for supermarkets over the festive season. Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks sales and prices at supermarket chains, said its annual measure for the cost of the typical main meal stood at £31.71 for

Israeli authorities are investigating claims some investors may have known in advance about the Hamas plan to attack Israel on 7 October and used that information to make hundreds of millions of pounds. Research by US law professors Robert Jackson Jr and Joshua Mitts, from New York University and Columbia University respectively, found significant short-selling

The chief executive of Ofcom will remain recused from a probe into the takeover of The Daily Telegraph even after Lloyds Banking Group – which employs her husband – is repaid a £1.16bn loan by the newspaper’s owners. Sky News has learnt that Dame Melanie Dawes, who has run the media regulator since 2020, will

The CBI faces a deadline next September to refinance millions of pounds of funding put in place to avert its collapse during the autumn. Sky News has learnt that a seven-figure facility put in place with banks will expire at the end of the third quarter next year. While the size of the facility is

An Abu Dhabi state-backed vehicle has moved closer to taking full control of The Daily Telegraph just hours after the launch of a regulatory probe that prevents it from removing key journalists from their posts. Sky News has learnt that RedBird IMI has given the newspaper’s board and the government notice of its intention to

The CBI is urging members to swallow a further rise in fees even as the lobby group battles to regain its former standing among political and business leaders. Sky News understands that CBI members will be asked at its annual meeting next week to approve a 5% rise in their subscription costs. It comes less

The government is to prohibit the removal or transfer of key Daily Telegraph journalists during a public interest probe into the newspaper’s prospective takeover by a state-backed Abu Dhabi investor. Sky News has learnt that Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, is preparing to make an interim enforcement order (IEO) that will impose a set of

House prices recorded a second month of growth in November, according to a closely-watched report. The Nationwide House Price Index showed average values were 0.2% higher, building on the 0.9% increase it measured in October. It meant, the mortgage lender said, that prices were 2% down on an annual basis – outperforming the expectations of

Even before Northern Rock collapsed and the financial crisis exploded, Alistair Darling was already wrangling with an unenviable inheritance as chancellor of the exchequer. Not only was he having to follow in the footsteps of the longest-serving chancellor of modern times – a man who presided over an almost unprecedentedly long period of stability and

Metro Bank has revealed plans to cut 20% of its workforce and slash its business hours commitments as part of efforts to save it from collapse. The struggling challenger lender, which announced a £30m cost-cutting plan last month, said it was going further amid wider efforts to shore up its balance sheet. The bank has

Nottingham City Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt after issuing a section 114 notice. The Labour-run local authority confirmed the announcement on Wednesday, saying its chief financial officer had decided it “isn’t able to deliver a balanced budget for this year, which is a legal requirement”. As a result of the section 114 notice, all

ASLEF’s train drivers are to stage a number of strikes and overtime bans next month in their long-running dispute over pay. Union members at 16 train operating companies in England will walk out on different days between 2 and 8 December. Additionally, all members will refuse to work any overtime from 1 December to 9

Suppliers of branded goods including baked beans and pet food have “pushed up prices by more than their costs”, according to the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been examining 10 product categories in a bid to see if shoppers, already struggling amid the continuing cost of living crisis, are being ripped