Business

The poorest half of UK families will have to wait until the end of 2026 for their real incomes to return to pre-COVID levels, according to independent analysis. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said low to middle income households face seven years of falling living standards due to the fallout from

After six months of falls house prices across the country are on the rise again, according to analysis from part of the UK’s biggest mortgage lender. Last month, for the first time since March, the cost of buying a house increased as the number of properties on the market shrunk, according to the Halifax house

The government will introduce a new law to parliament on Tuesday, which they say will ensure 40% of trains will still run on strike days. The new minimum service level regulations will also make sure “certain priority routes can remain open” – though it is not yet clear which journeys will be covered. Other rules

The UK information regulator has apologised to the former NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose, who resigned after discussing the banking affairs of Nigel Farage with a journalist. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said its comments last month – in which the regulator said a NatWest employee shared information when they should not have done,

More than 16 million people have missed payments on key household bills this year – two million of them for the first time. The government-backed Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) says 30% of British adults have fallen behind on at least one payment in 2023. Credit card repayments were the most common bill that went

The England footballer Ollie Watkins is among a group of investors ploughing new funds into a fast-growing British online sneaker and streetwear marketplace. Sky News understands that Mr Watkins, who played for Aston Villa on Sunday in the 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, is backing The Edit LDN, which has operated concessions in department stores

Seafood allegedly produced using the forced labour of Uyghur people in China may have been sold at Iceland – and could be on sale now at other British supermarkets, according to an investigation. Iceland told Sky News it no longer had a relationship with the Chinese supplier in question. Since 2018, the Chinese government is

Klarna, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) finance giant, is setting up a new British holding company as it clears the path to a stock market flotation that could value it at more than $15bn (£12.1bn). Sky News has learnt that the Stockholm-based consumer credit provider has informed investors it has kicked off preparatory work

Ian King talks to Sky News’s city editor Mark Kleinman about the future of Manchester United. He also speaks to the founder and chief executive of Venrai, Jason Tucker-Feltham, about Sam Bankman-Fried – who’s been found guilty of crypto fraud. Mary Aiken, Professor of Cyberpsychology at Capitol Technology University in Washington, is also interviewed on

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is to commit $300m (£245m) from his multibillion pound fortune to Manchester United Football Club’s ageing infrastructure as part of a deal to acquire a 25% stake that will be unveiled this month. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Sir Jim, founder of the Ineos petrochemicals empire, will pledge the investment alongside

It took just four hours for a jury to find fallen “crypto king” Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of fraud. The 31-year-old has been convicted of stealing billions of dollars from customers of FTX, which was the world’s second-largest crypto exchange before its dramatic collapse last year. To this day, FTX users – at least 80,000 of

The British economy is going to be flatlining for the foreseeable future, with next to no economic growth all the way through til early 2025, according to a bleak set of forecasts from the Bank of England. The forecasts, published alongside the Bank’s latest decision to hold interest rates steady at 5.25%, imply that the

Elon Musk will head to Downing Street for talks with Rishi Sunak today following the prime minister’s AI safety summit. The billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla jetted in for the event at Bletchley Park, which began on Wednesday with attending countries backing an agreement on the need to manage risks posed by the technology.

Elon Musk has told Sky News that AI is a “risk”, as the billionaire joins world leaders and tech bosses at a UK safety summit. The SpaceX and Tesla owner has long been outspoken about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence, and earlier this year warned it could even lead to “civilisation destruction”. Asked by

A stake of up to 10% in the Premier League football club West Ham United has been put up for sale, providing the latest test of international investors’ appetite for a slice of one of England’s top-flight clubs. Sky News has learnt that Vanessa Gold, daughter of the late businessman David Gold and a joint-chair

There has been a “significant increase” in the number of people using Buy Now Pay Later options to purchase items, with those frequently using the service more likely to be in financial difficulty, the finance regulator has said. Roughly 14 million people, 27% of UK adults, used Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) to purchase something

Around 680 staff have been made redundant at window and door manufacturer and seller Safestyle. The business had gone into administration and the GMB union had expected up to 600 job losses. But on Monday, administrators Interpath Advisory were appointed and said the number was around 680 workers. Staff were unexpectedly texted to “down tools”

Rishi Sunak has been warned not to ignore the “here and now” threats to people’s jobs posed by artificial intelligence, as Elon Musk and the creator of ChatGPT jet in for a landmark UK summit. Bletchley Park is set to welcome more than 100 figures from politics and business from today, including the likes of

The private equity investor that owns Footasylum is in pole position to buy The Body Shop, the ethical cosmetics chain founded by Dame Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly 50 years ago. Sky News has learnt that Aurelius Group is in exclusive negotiations to buy the British-based chain, which was put up for sale

A backbench Conservative MP is demanding a government probe into the Barclay family’s use of Middle East-based financing to regain control of The Daily Telegraph. Sky News has learnt that Danny Kruger, the MP for Devizes, urged the culture secretary Lucy Frazer to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) into the funding behind the

ASOS, the London-listed online fashion retailer, is exploring a sale of the TopShop brand it bought from the wreckage of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed retail empire less than three years ago. Sky News has learnt that ASOS, which will publish its delayed full-year results next week, is at the early stages of a process that

Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has admitted he made “mistakes” in how he ran his collapsed FTX exchange – but told a court he did not steal from its customers. The 31-year-old also acknowledged a “lot of people got hurt” when the company went bankrupt as he testified in open court in his fraud case

The high street empire founded by Mike Ashley is weighing an offer for Wiggle, the online bikes retailer which collapsed into administration this week. Sky News has learnt that London-listed Frasers Group, which is best known for its Sports Direct chain, is among the suitors circling WiggleCRC. The collapsed company, which includes Wiggle, Chain Reaction

An independent review into the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account and the discussion of his banking with a journalist by the head of the bank has found “a number of shortcomings” in the closure process. But law firm Travers Smith, which was commissioned by the board of NatWest to conduct the review, said the

Monzo is in talks about a £300m-plus fundraising that would underpin its status as the most highly valued digital bank in Britain. Sky News has learnt that Monzo, which was founded in 2015 and now boasts 8.5m customers, is in detailed talks with a pack of blue-chip investment funds about a share sale expected to

Air fares are set to increase further as the UK aviation authority has upped the costs airline pay to fund air traffic control. Each plane will have to pay an additional £17 a journey after the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) increased the contribution from £47 to £64 per aircraft. It follows hundreds of flight

UK carmakers have recorded their best September since 2020 – but warned growth is “under threat” from new Brexit export rules due to come into force within months. More than 88,200 vehicles rolled off factory lines in September, an increase of over 25,100 – almost 40% – compared to the same time last year, figures

Brazen shoplifters looking for a brand of gin warned Waitrose staff they would return when it was back in stock. The supermarket’s boss, Dame Sharon Lewis, says organised gangs are stealing high-value items to order – and described the trend as “profoundly shocking”. Dame Sharon – chair of the John Lewis Partnership – has previously

The cap on bankers’ bonuses is to be abolished, the financial services regulatory body has announced.  From 31 October, EU rules that limit bonus payments to twice a banker’s salary will be removed, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) said. The policy change was initially announced by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous September mini-budget

Both Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, have both reported higher than expected revenue in their latest quarterly results. Microsoft recorded revenue in the three months to the end of September of $56.5bn (£46.4bn), a 13% rise on the same period last year and better than the $54.5bn (£44.8bn) predicted by analysts. It credited the

The voluntary real living wage – paid by more than 14,000 companies in the UK – is to rise by 10% as low-paid workers continue to struggle with the cost of living. The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the rate, announced it would increase to £12 across the UK, except for in London where it

Except on rare occasions – last year’s post-Liz Truss mini-budget episode being one of them – the bond market rarely garners as much attention as other financial sectors. Yet these markets, where companies and governments come to borrow, are the foundations for the global economy. In particular, the value of government bonds – and hence

Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, has turned down an invitation to address the CBI’s annual conference, dealing a blow to the business lobbying group’s efforts to rebuild its reputation. Sky News understands that Ms Badenoch’s officials have informed the CBI that diary clashes in the run-up to next month’s autumn statement will prevent her from