Business

The Empire Cinemas chain has entered administration, leading to the loss of 150 jobs and the closure of six cinemas. Eight of the 14 cinemas in the group – under the Empire Cinemas and Tivoli brands – will remain open. But the locations that have been closed with immediate effect are: • Bishop’s Stortford• Catterick

Money markets have begun to price in a Bank of England interest rate of 6.5%. The interest rate on ten year government bonds (the gilt yield as it’s sometimes called) exceeded the peak it hit after the mini-budget of September last year – that one which provoked a crisis in many parts of the bond

UK housebuilding has fallen at the steepest rate in more than a decade – outside of the pandemic years – as high borrowing costs impact demand, according to a closely watched survey. The June downturn in housebuilding was “steep and accelerated”, according to the S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Residential construction decreased at

Higher wages are the “biggest driver of price rises” for two-thirds of businesses, according to the findings of a report which will do nothing to ease worries at the Bank of England that inflation is coming under control. The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) economic survey of its members, covering April to June, showed that

The UK is now the only country in the G7 group of rich nations still dealing with rising inflation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said. The Paris-based OECD – a club of 38 rich countries – said inflation in the UK rose to 7.9% in May, up from 7.8% in April,

The water industry regulator has admitted investors in crisis-hit Thames Water have become “more concerned about the turnaround of the company”, as it seeks £1bn to help shore up its immediate financial future. Ofwat chief executive David Black told a Lords committee that while talks were continuing, new shareholders may have to be sought if

The bosses of the country’s four main lenders are facing pressure to raise “measly” easy access savings rates. The Treasury Committee of MPs said it had written to the chief executives of NatWest, Lloyds, HSBC UK and Barclays to demand that savers are fairly rewarded. Lenders have been accused of being quick to reflect Bank

Drivers have been paying more for fuel since 2019 due to weakening competition between retailers, a regulator has said. They said that increased supermarket fuel margins led to drivers paying an extra 6p per litre. Asda has also been fined £60,000 for a failure to provide information when required, the regulator added. It comes in

The average mortgage rate for a five-year fixed deal has risen to 6.01%, according to a financial information company. Meanwhile, the average two-year fixed rate mortgage has increased to 6.47%, Moneyfacts said. The previous average for a five-year rate was 5.97% on Monday, while the two-year deal was 6.42%. A five-year fixed deal is at

A manufacturer of sustainable packaging backed by Diageo, the global spirits giant, will this week unveil a new round of funding to enable the delivery of a commercially scalable production line. Sky News has learnt that Pulpex, which produced the first Johnnie Walker whisky bottle made entirely from paper-based products in 2021, will announce on

One of Britain’s most senior boardroom figures is to replace John Allan at the helm of Tesco. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Gerry Murphy, the chairman of Burberry and Tate & Lyle, has been chosen to replace Mr Allan, whose recent departure was hastened by a series of personal misconduct allegations. Sources said Dr

Households will pay less for their gas and electricity from today but bills will still be almost double what they were before the energy crisis. The average household energy bill will fall by £426 a year from 1 July after Ofgem dropped its price cap following tumbling wholesale prices. People had been advised to submit

Apple has entered the history books as the first public company to be valued at $3trn. The 47-year-old technology juggernaut, co-founded by Silicon Valley legend, the late Steve Jobs in 1966, officially closed up 2.3% at $193.97 per share at the end of trading on Friday. This brought its market value to $3.04trn – equivalent

A firm in Iceland is pioneering cutting-edge technology that turns CO2 into stone – promising a boost to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences. Carbfix takes the greenhouse emissions from industrial plants and dissolves them in water, which is then injected deep underground into porous rock formations such as volcanic basalt,

Rising mortgage rates have yet to hit the housing market but threaten to be a “significant drag” in the short-term, Nationwide has said. However, the high street lender said “a relatively soft landing is still possible” against a backdrop of income growth and modest falls in property prices. The building society also said while typical

An estimated 15.7 million people in the UK experienced postal delays last month, according to new research commissioned by the charity, Citizens Advice. Many of those who experienced delays said they had suffered knock-on impacts, such as missing health appointments, fines or bills. One woman said at least four of her hospital appointment letters were

UK households withdrew a record amount from their savings last month and were more cautious with credit card spending, according to Bank of England data highlighting the extent of the squeeze on consumers. The smallest net increase in monthly unsecured lending this year, at £1.1bn, was recorded by the bank in May. A figure closer

The governor of the Bank of England, which has raised interest rates to a 15-year high, has said the UK labour market and not Brexit is to blame for stubbornly high inflation. Andrew Bailey said the tight jobs market – with near-record low unemployment, more than a million jobs vacancies and wage growth of 7.2%

The National Grid Electricity Systems Operator (ESO) has confirmed it will have no coal-fired power as back-up this winter, if needed, to help keep the lights on. There were five contingency units to call on last winter as the energy market reeled from the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine. They were warmed up several

The government has begun drawing up contingency plans for the collapse of Thames Water amid growing doubts in Whitehall about the ability of Britain’s biggest water company to service its £14bn debt-pile. Sky News has learnt that ministers and Ofwat, the industry regulator, have started to hold discussions about the possibility of placing Thames Water

Executives from the country’s biggest supermarket chains have defended their grocery prices but backed the idea of greater fuel transparency over claims customers are paying over the odds for both. The business and trade committee of MPs heard representatives of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons deny any suggestion of food profiteering on their part as

The chancellor has told banks “in no uncertain terms” they must pass on higher interest rates to savers. Jeremy Hunt faced pressure from both Labour and his own Conservative backbenchers on the matter during a statement about support to mortgage holders agreed on Friday. Labour’s Dame Angela Eagle – a Treasury minister under Gordon Brown

The chancellor is urging a focus on rip-off charges ahead of a meeting with UK regulators this week, as stubborn inflation threatens the government’s target of halving inflation this year. Jeremy Hunt is to meet bodies with oversight of key industries such as food and energy in the week after the shock Bank of England

A Treasury minister has refused to commit to public sector pay rises, arguing it would be “irresponsible” not to take into account the impact on persistently high inflation. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, John Glen signalled the government could reject recommendations by the independent review bodies in the face of concerns

Braemar, the London-listed shipbroker, faces being plunged into crisis as a delay to the publication of its full-year accounts threatens to trigger the suspension of its shares. Sky News has learnt that Braemar, which has a market capitalisation of approximately £92m, is likely to tell investors within days that it will be unable to meet

A logistics technology business run by a 29-year-old entrepreneur has swooped on parts of Tuffnells Parcel Express, the prominent delivery company which collapsed this month with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs. Sky News has learnt that Shift, which was founded by Jacob Corlett, has struck a deal with administrators at Interpath Advisory to

Security staff at Heathrow Airport have called off all strikes having voted in favour of a pay deal. Members of the Unite union had been due to walk out nearly every weekend from mid-June until the end of August but paused their planned action on Saturday and Sunday to vote on a new proposal from

Mortgage lenders and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have agreed that people should be given a 12-month break before repossession proceedings start amid soaring interest rates. After the rise of the base rate to 5%, Mr Hunt met with leaders of financial institutions including Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays and Virgin Money. They agreed that the repossession break should

Average fixed mortgage rates are largely unchanged following the Bank of England’s shock announcement of a 5% base interest rate, according to a financial information company. There has been no change to the average mortgage rate for a two-year fixed deal, Moneyfacts data showed. The rate has remained at 6.19%, the same as the day

A rail union has revealed three fresh strike dates in July as part of a continuing fight for better pay. The RMT said its 20,000 members working across 14 train operating companies would walk out on 20, 22 and 29 July. The Open Championship is taking place at Royal Liverpool from 16-23 July, while fans

Blimey. The Bank of England was always going to increase its Bank rate this month. But every economist had expected only a quarter percentage point increase. There was good reason for this. Although inflation data had been higher than expected this week, the bank had been slowing down the rate at which it was lifting

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is selling its stake in McLaren, the supercar maker and Formula One team-owner, in a deal that will reinforce Bahrain’s status as the company’s biggest shareholder. Sky News has learnt that Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s state investment fund, will announce on Thursday that it is buying the preference shares in McLaren Group