Business

Why energy shares didn’t suffer in response to windfall tax expansion Ian King Business presenter @iankingsky During recent days there have been suggestions in the stock market that investors were being too pessimistic about the windfall taxes likely to be lumped on electricity generators. Happily, for shareholders of those companies, that has proved to be

Millions more Britons will pay more tax as Jeremy Hunt cut the top-rate of tax threshold and announced freezes on several other taxes in his autumn statement. The total amount of savings from the autumn statement has been costed at £55bn, through tax rises and cutting government spending. However, in real-term costs, UK households’ disposable

A Chinese-owned tech company has been told to sell the majority of its stake in a UK silicon chip factory due to security concerns. The government has said Nexperia must reduce its stake in Newport Wafer Fab by 86%, back to its previous holding of just 14% when it took over the firm in 2021,

The cost of milk, cheese and eggs has risen at the fastest rate in 45 years, helping drive overall inflation to its highest level in four decades. Earlier today it was announced there has been a higher-than-expected leap in the rate of inflation, taking it to 11.1% last month. Increases across a range of items

The Chinese owner of Thomas Cook is exploring the sale of a stake in the famous British holiday brand three years after its ignominious collapse. Sky News has learned that Fosun Tourism Group is examining options including raising capital from an outside investor in the coming months. Industry sources said on Tuesday that Fosun was

Wage growth picked up by more than expected over the three months to September, according to official figures also showing a rise in the jobless rate. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average weekly earnings, excluding bonus payments, rose at an annual rate of 5.7% during the three months to September as more workers

The Bank of England Governor has denied having any part in the downfall of Liz Truss. In an interview with Sky News, Andrew Bailey said that he “vehemently disagrees” with allegations that the Bank‘s actions precipitated the departure of the former prime minister. It followed claims from Narayana Kocherlakota, the former president of America’s Federal

The parent firm of fashion retailer Joules and The Garden Trading Company is on the brink of collapse after a failure to secure new investment, it has been announced. Joules Group, which has around 1,600 staff, revealed it was to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators and had requested the suspension of trading

The high street empire founded by Mike Ashley is close to agreeing a deal to buy the stricken Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. Sky News understands that Frasers Group is in advanced talks to buy the brand, which was put up for sale earlier this year after its Hong Kong-based owner collapsed into liquidation.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned there will be no rabbits in the upcoming budget, describing himself as “Scrooge who is going to do things that make sure Christmas is never cancelled”. Mr Hunt spoke to The Sunday Times ahead of Thursday’s autumn statement, which is likely to see a number of tough measures taken to

Byron, one of the UK’s best-known burger restaurant chains, is to be flipped to a new owner two-and-a-half years after a brush with insolvency. Sky News has learned that the company, which was one of numerous hospitality sector victims of the COVID pandemic, is working with advisers on a potential transaction. Sources said that the

FTX, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, is commencing bankruptcy proceedings in the US. Sam Bankman-Fried, its 30-year-old chief executive who once graced the cover of Forbes, is also resigning, days after its bigger rival Binance walked away from a proposed acquisition. His replacement, John J Ray III, said: “The FTX Group has valuable

Train drivers across England have declared a fresh strike in their long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Members of the Aslef union will walk out on Saturday 26 November, causing more disruption for passengers after months of walkouts by various groups. The 12 companies involved are Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway;

A union representing more than 100,000 civil servants has voted to strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), one of the largest unions in the UK, said the legal threshold for industrial action had been reached in 126 separate areas, covering workers including driving test examiners,

Britain is in the grip of a mental health crisis that is causing workers to drop out of the labour market and fuelling staff shortages. The number of people neither working nor seeking work has ballooned since the pandemic to almost nine million. Figures analysed by Sky News show that this is being driven by

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has become the latest big tech player to wield the axe in the tougher global economy, laying off 13% of its workforce. The firm announced on Wednesday it will cut its global headcount by more than 11,000 employees as part of a wider shake-up of the business that

Elon Musk has sold Tesla stock worth almost $4bn (£3.46bn) after completing his takeover of Twitter. The founder and chief executive of the electric vehicle maker unloaded 19.5 million shares between Friday and Tuesday, according to filings published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The purpose of the sale was not disclosed but leave

The cost of the average annual grocery shop has risen by almost £40 in just one month, according to an industry report which is warning it is too early to say when food price inflation will peak. Kantar Worldpanel reported a fresh record grocery inflation figure of 14.7% for the four weeks to 30 October,

Britain will struggle to fill the jobs of the future if computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) are not made part of the school curriculum, research has warned. Demand for jobs that require such skills is estimated to rise by 40% over the next five years – but with only 15% of UK businesses having

The owners of Liverpool FC have said they are open to offers, raising the prospect of the club being sold. The Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which also owns the Boston Red Sox, bought the club in 2010, with it going on to win the Premier League in 2019-20 and the Champions League in 2019. In