Business

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

A fast-growing British semiconductor manufacturer is lining up a £200m funding injection from blue-chip backers including the asset management giant M&G. Sky News has learnt that Pragmatic Semiconductor, which produces low-cost microchips for use in products such as packaging and clothing, is close to finalising a substantial fundraising backed by Saudi Arabian money. City sources

Owning a classic car is a sensory experience. Purists say it’s the feel of the leather, the smell of the fuel, the growl of the engine that brings a classic car to life. But on an industrial estate in Newtown, mid-Wales, that growl is silenced. Three Ferrari Testa Rossas, a Maserati Ghibli and a Land

One of Britain’s biggest chains of car repair shops is gearing up for a sale that could value it at about £400m. Sky News has learnt that Steer Automotive Group has appointed City advisers to sound out prospective buyers. Sources said on Friday that a formal process was not yet underway although initial discussions were

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned of a crackdown on “public sector waste” and focus on tackling debt after official figures showed weaker than expected borrowing last month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing stood at £14.3bn last month, £1.6bn less than a year earlier. The figure was well down on

The cost of UK state borrowing is close to a 15-year high – levels seen only twice since the global financial crash. The amount the UK government has to pay – the yield – to borrow money for 10 years via its benchmark 10-year bonds – known as gilts – rose to more than 4.7%

A closely-watched barometer of consumer confidence is warning of “concern” for retailers ahead of Christmas, as official figures for September show a steep fall in sales. GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Index suggested that the willingness of shoppers to spend, particularly on big-ticket items, had plunged since the end of the summer. The authors reported that

Nokia has revealed plans to shed up to 14,000 jobs following a slump in sales. The Finland-based telecoms technology firm, which has 86,000 staff worldwide, said it was launching a cost-saving drive across the business in a bid to boost its margins. Nokia reported a 20% fall in sales during its third quarter. Comparable net

High levels of national debt will hurt the UK’s ability to fund public services and respond to economic crises, a think tank has said. Not in the last 300 years has there been as large a peace time increase in the amount of government borrowing, the Resolution Foundation said. In the last 15 years alone

The upmarket shoe retailer Kurt Geiger is being groomed for a £400m sale by its private equity backers. Sky News has learnt that Cinven is working with advisers at Bank of America on a prospective auction of the brand. City sources said on Tuesday that a sale process was expected to begin in the coming

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced it is investigating leading boiler manufacturer Worcester Bosch over whether it has been misleading consumers by marketing a range of gas boilers as “hydrogen-blend ready”. The regulator – which is responsible for enforcing consumer protection law – said its focus will be on whether “claims made about

The rate of inflation failed to nudge downwards as expected last month, remaining at an annual rate of 6.7% according to official figures. The headline consumer prices index (CPI) measure had been predicted to slow to 6.6% in September by a Reuters poll of economists. The higher than expected number – largely a consequence of