Business

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

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has said he will not sell any more of his stock in the company for two years. Mr Musk, who founded the electric vehicle-maker, was speaking on a Twitter Spaces audio chat when he said the economy is likely to be in a “serious recession” next year. Tesla’s board is

Snug, a British sofa manufacturer, is in talks about a sale four years after its launch. Sky News understands that Snug, which was founded by Rob Bridgman, is working with the accountancy firm Evelyn Partners to find a buyer before the end of the year. Sources said a deadline of 23 December had been set

As a symbol of the year in crypto, the sight of Sam Bankman-Fried being hustled out of court in Nassau to a blacked-out SUV that would take him to an airfield, and an extradition flight to New York, takes some beating. For the highest-profile player in cryptocurrency, 2022 has come to an abrupt and unforgiving

Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen have insisted they will work together to find a solution to the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol, as pressure grows to break the diplomatic deadlock. In a call on Thursday, the prime minister and the European Commission president discussed the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. A

Cryptocurrency trading is “too dangerous” to remain outside mainstream financial regulation and could pose “a systemic problem” without action, the deputy governor of the Bank of England has warned. Speaking for the first time since the founder of the crypto trading platform FTX was arrested and charged with massive fraud, Sir Jon Cunliffe told Sky

Regulated rail fares in England will increase by up to 5.9% from 5 March next year, the Department for Transport has announced. The increase is being imposed to support “crucial investment and the financial stability” of the railway, the department said. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “This is the biggest-ever government intervention in rail fares.

The average UK property is £17,500 more expensive now than a year ago though house price growth has slowed and London properties are nearly 25% cheaper than five years ago, according to data from property website Zoopla. House prices have risen 7.5% over the past year, though the increase has slowed in the past three

An insolvent solar farms empire which received hundreds of millions of pounds in funding from a debt-laden English local authority is being put up for sale. Sky News has learnt that Interpath Advisory, which was appointed administrator to Toucan Energy last month, will confirm on Friday that KPMG, the accountancy firm, has been hired to

Given the drama of 2022, there is no guessing what 2023 will throw at us. Still, that needn’t stop us having a shot, so without further ado, here are some of the charts that might help tell the story of 2023. 1. The gas divergence One of the most curious things about 2022 was that

Government borrowing reached the highest amount for November since records began in 1993, official data shows. Last month, net public sector borrowing – excluding public sector banks – totalled £22bn, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure was up by £13.9bn compared to November 2021 and nearly £9bn higher than

The London-listed advertising technology company whose directors include Rebekah Brooks, the boss of The Sun newspaper’s publisher, has kicked off talks that could lead to it being sold. Sky News has learnt that Tremor International, whose shares have halved in the last 12 months, is working with bankers at Goldman Sachs to solicit takeover interest.

When looking back at the year gone by, it is rather hard to know where to start. The death of a monarch, war in mainland Europe, the shortest running prime minister of all time. It has been an extraordinary 12 months of news, especially for the economy. Rather than running through the whole thing in

British Airways has apologised to customers after suffering “a technical issue” with its flight planning systems that has affected flights departing the US and elsewhere globally ahead of Christmas. BA said it had fixed the glitch, first experienced overnight, that had grounded many long haul services ahead of scheduled departures and left many passengers complaining

The founder of Xpediator, a London-listed logistics company, is hatching a plan to take it private. Sky News understands that Stephen Blyth, who stepped down as Xpediator’s chief executive in 2020, has assembled financial backing for a takeover offer. The identity of Mr Blyth’s backers and the price at which a bid would be pitched

Visits to high streets slumped last week, according to industry data showing a “key” impact from rail strikes amid wider evidence of a hit to the economy from the industrial action. Springboard reported that shopper numbers across Britain fell 4.6% last week versus the week before amid the disruption to public transport – also blamed

Construction businesses are going bust at their fastest rate in a decade, driving the number of company insolvencies to its highest level since the financial crisis. Rising material costs, staff shortages and plummeting consumer demand are weighing on businesses, forcing them to squeeze their margins to unsustainable levels. Official figures show that in the second

Pubs, clubs and bars in England and Wales could be allowed to open for longer to celebrate the King’s coronation. The government has said it will consult on extending licensing hours from 11pm until 1am on 5, 6, and 7 May across the Bank Holiday weekend. The Home Office said the move will provide “an

The former head of the Bank of England’s governing body is to chair the bulk of Goldman Sachs’ operations outside the US – one of the most influential jobs at the Wall Street titan. Sky News has learnt that Sir Bradley Fried, who stepped down as chair of the Court of the Bank of England only

Rishi Sunak has abandoned his predecessor’s plan to intervene in global energy markets by spending billions of pounds on foreign gas imports. Sky News has learnt that Liz Truss’s Energy Supply Taskforce (EST), which was launched in September, is being scrapped. Headed by Madelaine McTernan, who was director-general of the government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce, the

There was a surprise fall in retail sales last month as shoppers remained cautious given the squeeze on budgets from inflation in the run-up to Christmas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a fall in sales volumes of 0.3% compared to October when the effects of fuel sales were excluded. Economists had expected to

Workers at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Goodwood factory are to receive a pay award worth up to 17.6% after negotiations between the luxury automaker and Unite the union. In all, 1,200 production workers at the West Sussex plant are to receive a salary boost of 10% and a one-off payment of £2,000 from January, avoiding the

The Bank of England has revealed a 0.5 percentage point interest rate increase – its ninth consecutive rise as it maintains its battle against inflation. The decision, by its monetary policy committee (MPC), took the bank rate to 3.5% – a fresh high not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. The move, however, represented a

The rules limiting the volume of liquids allowed on planes and requiring electronics to be taken out of hand luggage in security are to change. The government has set a deadline of June 2024 for major UK airports to install new security technology, which will make obsolete the rule to bring no more than 100ml