Business

The RMT union has announced it is working with train operators “towards a revised offer” following more talks to end strike action. After today’s negotiations with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the RMT said: “We have had detailed discussions and we are working jointly towards a revised offer. “Both parties have agreed to continue discussions

Three million people across Britain ran out of credit on their prepayment energy meter last year, the equivalent of one every 10 seconds, Citizens Advice has said. The service said it has seen more people unable to afford to top up their energy accounts in 2022 than in the entire last 10 years combined. This

The Transport Select Committee heard from two sides in the national rail dispute, but the most important voice – the third rail – was not even in the room. Mick Whelan, of drivers’ unions Aslef, put the chances of resolution at zero (on a scale of one to 10) while Mick Lynch, of the RMT,

Up to 3,200 jobs are to go at Goldman Sachs as part of the biggest restructuring efforts at the company since the global financial crash. The US-based multinational financial services company and investment bank is embarking on a series of cost-saving measures after the deal making and market boom of the COVID-19 pandemic dried up

Amazon has revealed plans to shut three UK warehouses, a decision that will affect 1,200 jobs, but open two new major fulfilment centres. Sites in Hemel Hempstead, Doncaster and Gourock, in the west of Scotland, have been proposed for closure. A spokesman said all the workers would be offered roles at other existing Amazon locations.

Businesses are set to secure £5.5bn in scaled back government support to help them with their energy bills from the start of April, after the current scheme ends. The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will reduce rather than cap energy costs for businesses and will last for 12 months. The latest measure replaces the Energy

More than 1.4 million fixed rate mortgage customers are facing the prospect of significant hikes to their monthly payments when their deals end this year, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said 57% of those coming up for renewal in 2023 were fixed at interest rates below 2%. It added that

A leisure entrepreneur whose dealmaking prowess earned her the nickname ‘the pub superwoman’ is in talks to join the board of Whitbread, the FTSE-100 hospitality group. Sky News has learnt that Dame Karen Jones, who has been a prominent industry figure for decades, is in advanced negotiations about becoming a non-executive director of the company

Richard Branson has revealed a bizarre story about finding Elon Musk in the kitchen of his New Mexico house in the middle of the night before his first space flight. In an interview this weekend, Mr Branson said the Twitter and Tesla owner was completely barefoot, holding his fast-asleep baby X Æ A-12, and had

The UK’s flag carrier airline has rolled out its first uniform change in 20 years, offering its 30,000 workers a choice of jumpsuits, hijabs, three-piece suits, and tunics. From spring this year, engineers and ground handling agents will be dressed in the designs of fashion designer, Ozwald Boateng, with cabin crew, pilots and check-in agents

Rail minister Huw Merriman will meet union leaders including Mick Lynch of the RMT on Monday after three weeks of unseasonal disruption left the two sides apparently as far apart as ever. While both say they are ready to talk, unions remain committed to further strikes if required and the government is legislating to limit

Windfall tax payments are to hit Shell by around $2bn (£1.7bn), the oil and gas company has estimated. The cost of the UK’s energy profits levy and the EU’s recently announced solidarity contribution will reach $2bn (£1.7bn) in tax liabilities in the final three months of its financial year, the firm said in a fourth

House prices have dropped for the fourth month in a row as cost of living pressures and higher borrowing costs dampen demand. The average house price fell to £281,272 in December, according to data from Halifax. It was a 1.5% decrease from November prices, which had already fallen more than 2%, representing the fastest decrease

Hauliers exporting goods to the European Union have faced fresh disruption since the turn of the year as a glitch in the UK’s digital customs system and new demands from French authorities threaten delays. Drivers heading to ports in the first few days of January found they were unable to enter details of shipments in

The government is bringing forward new strike laws to “maintain a basic function and deliver minimum safety levels” in the public sector during industrial action, the business department has confirmed. In a statement, it said the government would “always protect the ability to strike”, but added: “It must be balanced with the public’s right to

Amazon has announced that it is cutting 18,000 jobs – the biggest round of layoffs in the company’s history. In a note to employees, chief executive Andy Jassy confirmed that the e-commerce giant’s brick-and-mortar stores – including Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go – will be especially impacted by the cuts. Those working in human resources

Mortgage approvals were at the lowest since the early months of the pandemic and credit card debt was up more than £1bn in November, according to data from the Bank of England. The number of mortgages approved fell by more than 10,000, down from 57,900 in October to 46,100 in November. It’s a further drop

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars of customer money in his first court appearance since he was released on a record $250m pretrial bail. Bankman-Fried, 30, entered his plea before US district judge Lewis Kaplan at a court in Manhattan, after spending the Christmas period under house

Crisis-hit Cineworld has denied claims by the owner of rival Odeon that they have held talks over the sale of cinemas, saying it intends to sell the group as a whole and is yet to begin the process. AMC Entertainment said last month that it had backed out of negotiations with Cineworld on the purchase

Close to 50 shops shut down every day in 2022, more than at any other point for at least five years. In a bruising year for retail, 17,145 shops closed last year – up by nearly 50% on 2021, when 11,449 shops shut. Analysis by the Centre for Retail Research found about 47 sites shut up

A group of financial investors which have lent hundreds of millions of pounds to Matalan are close to finalising a deal to take control of one of Britain’s biggest homewares retailers. Sky News understands that the senior lenders, which include prominent City names such as Invesco and Man GLG, could strike a deal within the

Ministers are urging the chancellor to provide £300m of taxpayers’ money to avert the closure of British Steel’s two blast furnaces – a move that would trigger the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in northern England. Sky News has learnt that Grant Shapps, the business secretary, and Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, wrote to

In response to the release of thousands of pages of his tax returns, former US president Donald Trump warned “horrible things” were to come, taking aim at “radical left Democrats”. The former US president was unable to stop Democrats in Congress divulging the information, covering 2015 to 2020. In a statement responding to the release,

House prices recorded their “worst run” since 2008 following a fourth consecutive monthly decline in December, according to a closely-watched measure. Mortgage lender Nationwide’s index charted a sharp slowdown in the annual rate of price growth – to 2.8% this month following the 4.4% recorded in November. It said prices dipped 0.1% in December compared

The cost of living crisis will deepen next year as people continue to be hit with falling pay, higher taxes and soaring bills, a think tank has warned. Households face a cost of living “groundhog year” with disposable incomes plummeting even further than in 2022 and living standards getting “far worse” before they improve, according

Wages are climbing at close to their fastest pace since records began. Yet, workers’ pay packets are declining at close to their fastest pace since records began. Both of these seemingly contradictory statements are true. Workers are fighting for pay rises and are having some success but the gains are no match for inflation, which

Tesla stocks have slid to their lowest value in more than two years as the electric car maker plans to reduce its production cycle and investors worry how much time Elon Musk is dedicating to managing Twitter. Musk emailed Tesla staff telling them not to be “bothered by stock market craziness” and that Tesla will

Rail workers, Border Force staff and driving examiners are resuming strike action today, with commuters warned of serious delays as they return to work. It comes after a day of travel chaos despite a rail strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) coming to an end, with crowds of people left waiting

Border Force, rail and driving test staff are resuming strike action today – but strikes by waste collection workers in Wirral have been called off after a pay offer was accepted. Those striking on Wednesday include: Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Great Western Railway will walk out from noon to 11.59am

The number of Boxing Day shoppers rose by 50% across the UK but remained below pre-pandemic levels as cost of living pressures weigh on consumers. More shoppers were drawn to Boxing Day sales this year than last in all retail settings across the UK, according to data from retail analytics company Springboard. By 12pm today

The guide to getting a Boxing Day bargain Reena Sewraz, from Which?, says there are ways to keep costs down no matter what you’re in the market for. Make sure deals are genuine: Some special offers may not be as special as they appear. Use price-tracking websites to check the history of a price. Shop

Elon Musk says Twitter is “not on the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore”, but admits there is “still much work to do”. Since he took control of the social networking platform in October, having paid $44bn (£38bn) for it, Musk has not had an easy ride. He made a number of controversial policy decisions and

The prominent investment management firm GAM Holding is intensifying discussions over a potential sale months after it was forced to issue a profit warning. Sky News has learnt that GAM, which has assets under management of approximately CHF74.5bn (£66.38bn), is working with bankers at UBS to field interest from prospective bidders. The process is said