Business

HSBC customers have been left without online and mobile banking services on Black Friday. Shortly before nine o’clock on Friday the bank said it is investigating the issue “as a matter of urgency” and apologised to customers. It’s working to restore mobile and online banking service, HSBC said, including authorising online card purchases via the

Nissan has announced plans to build new electric versions of its popular Juke and Qashqai models at its Sunderland plant. All models made at the site will be entirely electric cars and a battery making plant, a so-called gigafactory, will also be built as part of an overall £3bn investment in the transition away from

In Birmingham’s famous Balti triangle, skilled chefs from Pakistan prepare curry at Al Faisals restaurant. The manager, Qasim Khan, says without foreign workers he’d struggle to staff the restaurant as British workers don’t apply when they advertise work. “It is very, very difficult to get people to work in the hospitality sector,” he says. “We’re

The energy price cap is to rise to an average annual £1,928 from January, the sector’s regulator has announced. Ofgem said a typical household paying by direct debit for gas and electricity faces forking out 5% more when compared to the annual cap figure covering September to December, which equates to £94 more over the

Nissan is to commit to manufacturing electric versions of two of its bestselling models at its Sunderland plant after months of talks with the government. Sky News can reveal that the giant Japanese car manufacturer will announce on Friday that it will build the electric Qashqai and Juke at the site – a decision that

Jeremy Hunt will claim the economy is “back on track” in an autumn statement that is expected to prioritise tax cuts and economic growth. The chancellor is expected to say the government’s plan for the economy is “working” but “the work is not done” as he unveils measures to boost business investment by £20bn a

The national living wage will rise to £11.44 per hour from April. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced he is accepting the recommendation from the Low Pay Commission – an increase of £1.02 from the current rate of £10.42. The national living wage is the minimum people aged 21 and over must be paid for their

The annual shopping event that many retailers, and us bargain-hunters, look forward to is almost upon us but a consumer group has warned that deals should be “taken with a pinch of salt”. According to research by the consumer group Which?, just 2% of discounted Black Friday offers were at their cheapest price on the

Ed Richards, the former boss of media regulator Ofcom, is acting as a secret lobbyist for RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed media vehicle which is in advanced talks to take control of The Daily Telegraph. Sky News has learnt that Flint Global, the public affairs firm founded by Mr Richards, is advising RedBird IMI on

Jeremy Hunt will this week pledge to review the rules governing payment authentication in what he will describe as a post-Brexit crackdown on fraud. Sky News understands that the chancellor will signal in Wednesday’s autumn statement that the government will seek to repeal EU legislation and replace it with new rules overseen by the City

Strong winds and staff shortages have led to temporary flight restrictions at the UK’s busiest airport causing passenger delays. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it was working to minimise disruption at Heathrow caused by weather conditions and short notice absences in the tower. Passengers have been encouraged to check with their airline for information

There will be a lot of positive talk from the chancellor when he delivers his autumn statement on Wednesday, but this will be a fiscal event full of illusory gains. The government is on track to borrow less than previously forecast, which will give rise to a fantasy that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has more space

A court hearing to liquidate a Barclay family holding companies in order to smooth a sale of The Daily Telegraph is poised to be adjourned after a last-gasp offer to repay more than £1bn to Lloyds Banking Group. Sky News understands that a hearing scheduled to take place in the British Virgin Islands on Monday

Jeremy Hunt has said there is the chance to lower taxes in the autumn statement next week, arguing the economy had “turned a corner”. Ahead of Wednesday’s financial announcement, the chancellor said that as inflation had halved over the year, “this is the moment” to focus on growth. But he argued that there is a

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family are on the brink of finalising a $33-a-share deal that will see the petrochemicals tycoon acquiring a 25% stake in Manchester United Football Club. Sky News can reveal that months of talks between the Ineos billionaire and the Red Devils’ controlling investors for the last 18 years have

Retail sales took an unexpected fall last month, according to official figures suggesting a slump to COVID lockdown levels with only online operators seeing growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 0.3% decline overall in October 2023, following a fall of 1.1% in September. A rise in volumes of 0.3% had been expected

The government has announced plans to remove benefits and step up monitoring of welfare recipients in an effort to bring more people into work. Job seekers will have benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid removed if they’re judged not to be looking for work under the chancellor’s Back to Work Plan which aims

Hotel Chocolat has agreed to a £534m takeover offer from Mars, the maker of goods from Snickers bars to Pedigree dog food. The UK specialist chocolatier retailer said the offer represented a 170% premium to its London share price of 139p and the deal would allow its brand to expand internationally This breaking news story

Manchester United has confirmed its chief executive of two years, Richard Arnold, “has decided to step down” as part of a “management transition”. The development was revealed shortly after Sky News reported that Mr Arnold would be replaced by the club’s general counsel, Patrick Stewart, on an interim basis. The change is taking place as

There has been a sharp decline in the rate of inflation to 4.6%, driven by a big easing in energy costs. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the annual rate slowed last month, from the 6.7% figure reported in September, mainly due to the lower energy price cap imposed on households at the start

Roughly 500 jobs are to go at pharma giant Pfizer’s Kent site. The roles are to be cut as Pfizer is discontinuing its pharmaceutical sciences small molecule (PSSM) operations at Sandwich in Kent, the company confirmed to Sky News. It’s part of a company-wide cost-cutting program, Pfizer said. Affected staff were notified on Tuesday morning

The pace of wage growth has eased back from a record level, according to official figures that also showed no change in the UK’s jobless rate despite the tough economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that average wages excluding bonuses were 7.7% higher than a year earlier in the three months to September.

Royal Mail has been fined £5.6m by the industry regulator for missing targets covering both first and second-class deliveries. Ofcom said that for the 2022-23 financial year – a time when it was hit by 18 days of strikes by frontline workers – Royal Mail’s reported performance results showed that it had only delivered 73.7%

An infrastructure investor owned by Schroders, the fund management behemoth, is in pole position to buy a solar farms operator that received hundreds of millions of pounds from a scandal-hit local authority. Sky News understands that Schroders Greencoat has become the leading contender to acquire Toucan Energy, which collapsed into administration exactly a year ago.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants government action over escalating baby formula prices that are “exploiting” UK families. In an interview with Sky News, WHO called out the “profit-driven” multinational manufacturers for “manipulating the price” of their baby formulas. The most recent research shows prices in the UK have risen 24% over the past two

Nigel Farage will next week begin a formal legal fight with NatWest Group and its former boss as he seeks millions of pounds in damages over the debanking scandal which escalated into a crisis for the state-backed lender. Sky News has learnt that Mr Farage, the former UKIP leader, has instructed London-based Grosvenor Law to

£7.6m is a lot of money to leave on the table by anyone’s standards. NatWest Group, the taxpayer-backed bank, hopes that headline-grabbing number will persuade stakeholders that it has taken a tough line on the severance package handed to Dame Alison Rose, its former chief executive. Indeed, Dame Alison herself might claim that she herself

Families “should feel optimistic” that the worst of the cost-of-living crisis is over, the chancellor has told Sky News. Acknowledging households have “suffered enormously” from energy, food and fuel inflation in the last 18 months, Jeremy Hunt said they should now feel some relief despite the UK economy slowing to a halt in the third

Former NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose is to lose £7.6m of her payout as the bank group seeks to draw a line under the debanking row sparked by the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts accounts. However, she will still receive around £1.7m. Dame Alison stepped down in late July after admitting she discussed the former

NatWest Group is to scrap the bulk of a possible £10m-plus payout to Dame Alison Rose, its former chief executive, as it tries to draw a line under the debanking row sparked by the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts accounts. Sky News has learnt that the board of NatWest, which is just under 40% owned

A regulator has outlined concerns about the “intensity of competition” between fuel retailers. In its first monitoring update since finding that drivers were overcharged by supermarkets last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was yet to receive crucial data on fuel margins covering September and October. It said that while margins –

US actors union Sag-Aftra has agreed a “tentative deal” with Hollywood studio bosses to end a historic 118-day strike. In an announcement on Wednesday, the union said the longest walkout in its history will end at 12.01am US Pacific time on Thursday following a “unanimous vote”. The union, which represents around 160,000 members of the

The Barclay family has renewed its efforts to persuade Britain’s biggest high street lender to regain control of the Telegraph newspapers after restating an offer to repay the bulk of the debt it owes to the bank. Sky News understands that the newspapers’ former owners wrote to Lloyds Banking Group again last week to repeat