Business

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce a rise in the national living wage this week, Sky News understands. Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will accept an official recommendation to increase the living wage from £9.50 an hour to about £10.40 an hour, according to news first reported in The Times. The rise of nearly

Amazon is to let go of approximately 10,000 employees as early this week, it has been reported. The jobs are to be lost in the corporate and technology parts of the company, according to The New York Times. Cuts are being made in the devices section of the company which makes the Alexa voice-assist tool;

The high street empire founded by Mike Ashley is close to agreeing a deal to buy the stricken Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes. Sky News understands that Frasers Group is in advanced talks to buy the brand, which was put up for sale earlier this year after its Hong Kong-based owner collapsed into liquidation.

Jeremy Hunt has said everyone is going to be paying higher taxes but those who earn the most will have to make larger sacrifices. The chancellor told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme during Thursday’s autumn statement he “will be asking everyone for sacrifices” but recognises there is “only so much we can ask” from

Ofgem’s failure to effectively regulate energy suppliers since 2018 has “come at a considerable cost” to British households, a watchdog report has found. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the energy regulator did not tighten requirements for new suppliers until 2019, or for existing suppliers until 2021, despite issues with the financial resilience of energy

The sale of collapsed energy company Bulb has been delayed by a High Court judge after concerns were raised by rival firms. The business is set to be bought by Octopus Energy, who announced it would be taking on Bulb’s 1.5 million customers after the company was placed into special administration last year. The deal

Byron, one of the UK’s best-known burger restaurant chains, is to be flipped to a new owner two-and-a-half years after a brush with insolvency. Sky News has learned that the company, which was one of numerous hospitality sector victims of the COVID pandemic, is working with advisers on a potential transaction. Sources said that the

FTX, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, is commencing bankruptcy proceedings in the US. Sam Bankman-Fried, its 30-year-old chief executive who once graced the cover of Forbes, is also resigning, days after its bigger rival Binance walked away from a proposed acquisition. His replacement, John J Ray III, said: “The FTX Group has valuable

Train drivers across England have declared a fresh strike in their long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Members of the Aslef union will walk out on Saturday 26 November, causing more disruption for passengers after months of walkouts by various groups. The 12 companies involved are Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway;

A union representing more than 100,000 civil servants has voted to strike in a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs. The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), one of the largest unions in the UK, said the legal threshold for industrial action had been reached in 126 separate areas, covering workers including driving test examiners,

Britain is in the grip of a mental health crisis that is causing workers to drop out of the labour market and fuelling staff shortages. The number of people neither working nor seeking work has ballooned since the pandemic to almost nine million. Figures analysed by Sky News show that this is being driven by

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has become the latest big tech player to wield the axe in the tougher global economy, laying off 13% of its workforce. The firm announced on Wednesday it will cut its global headcount by more than 11,000 employees as part of a wider shake-up of the business that

The owner of Pinewood Group, the most famous studio name in global movie-making, is transferring the company’s ownership to a new vehicle backed by some of the world’s biggest sovereign investors. Sky News has learnt that Aermont Capital, which bought Pinewood in 2016, will announce the move to bondholders on Wednesday. The new corporate vehicle,

The cost of the average annual grocery shop has risen by almost £40 in just one month, according to an industry report which is warning it is too early to say when food price inflation will peak. Kantar Worldpanel reported a fresh record grocery inflation figure of 14.7% for the four weeks to 30 October,

Britain will struggle to fill the jobs of the future if computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) are not made part of the school curriculum, research has warned. Demand for jobs that require such skills is estimated to rise by 40% over the next five years – but with only 15% of UK businesses having

The owners of Liverpool FC have said they are open to offers, raising the prospect of the club being sold. The Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which also owns the Boston Red Sox, bought the club in 2010, with it going on to win the Premier League in 2019-20 and the Champions League in 2019. In

The Labour peer who once presided over media assets including the Octonauts, Mr Men and Noddy is returning to the London stock market at the helm of a vehicle that will target takeovers in the creative industries. Sky News has learnt that Lord Waheed Alli, the former boss of Chorion and online fashion retailer Koovs,

Workers are set to see more money in their pay packets as a rise in National Insurance is being reversed today. National Insurance contributions rose by 1.25 percentage points in April as part of plans to help pay for social care and deal with the NHS backlog. Most employees will see a cut to their

Twitter has started rolling out its revamped subscription service that allows anyone to pay for a verification badge. An update to the platform’s iOS app, launched on Saturday, says the new-look Twitter Blue is now live, with the checkmark on your account listed among the perks of paying $7.99 a month. “Power to the people:

Grant Shapps, the new business secretary, will hold crunch talks next week with the owners of Britain’s second-biggest steel producer, amid dwindling hopes that a government aid package will prevent thousands of job losses. Sky News has learnt that Mr Shapps will speak to Jingye Group executives on Monday in an attempt to persuade the

Elon Musk has defended sacking half of Twitter’s 8,000 workers, saying “unfortunately, there is no choice”. Mr Musk insisted that the platform’s commitment to moderation remained “absolutely unchanged”. He tweeted: “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4m a day. “Everyone exited was offered three months

Twitter employees are finding out whether they are being laid off today – one week after Elon Musk’s takeover. The social network’s offices are temporarily closed globally, and workers will find out their fate by 4pm UK time. Those who are losing their jobs will receive a message to their personal email address, while employees

The regional newspaper group founded by David Montgomery, the former Daily Mirror boss, has struck a deal to invest in an industry start-up founded by another of Britain’s most prominent journalists. Sky News understands that National World Publishing has agreed to invest £1m into The News Movement (TNM), a social media-focused news platform. The investment

Let’s start with what we do know. The economy is now almost certainly in recession. It will not be pleasant. This is a recession which will be felt in most households’ pockets – both through the rise in energy prices and shop prices and the rise in the cost of borrowing. And when it comes

BT Group is expected to increase a multibillion-pound cost-savings target on Thursday as it seeks to counter the inflationary headwinds buffeting the UK economy. Sky News has learnt that Philip Jansen, BT chief executive, is poised to use the telecom giant’s half-results announcement to outline plans to find a further £500m of savings by the

The boss of Britishvolt, the start-up building a battery gigafactory in Northumberland, has told Sky News that staff have agreed a “substantial” temporary pay cut as it continues work to shore up its financial future. Chief executive Graham Hoare refused to tell Ian King Live about the figures involved, but added that the executive team

Food inflation saw to a record 11.6% in October – with staple items including tea bags, milk and sugar all seeing significant price rises. Overall, shops increased prices by 6.6% in the 12 months to October – the highest level since records began in 2005. But fresh food has been most vulnerable to surging costs,

Royal Mail has experienced a data breach where customers have seen the information of others users. A statement on Royal Mail’s Click and Drop status updates website said: “We have been made aware there was an issue affecting Click & Drop that meant some customers could see other customer’s orders. “As a protective measure, we

Tax rises are “likely” to come soon as the government faces an “unpalatable menu” to find ways to fill a £40bn fiscal black hole, a leading think tank has warned. A Resolution Foundation report suggests Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt face a thankless task to re-balance the nation’s finances after former chancellor Kwasi

Boomin, the online property portal founded by the former boss of Purplebricks, has called in liquidators after failing to secure new funding. Sky News has learnt that Boomin, which counted Channel 4 among its investors, called in BK Plus, an accountancy firm, to handle its insolvency on Monday. Boomin was launched by Michael Bruce in

The next operator of the National Lottery is in talks to buy the incumbent, Camelot, in a £100m deal that would pave the way for the removal of the latter’s final legal challenge against the industry regulator. Sky News has learnt that Allwyn Entertainment is in advanced discussions with Camelot’s Canadian owner about a takeover

Octopus Energy has sealed its deal to buy Bulb, a collapsed energy rival that has been funded by billions of pounds in government support for nearly a year. Octopus said it is taking on Bulb’s 1.5 million customers “bringing an end to taxpayer losses and uncertainty for Bulb customers and employees”. It added: “Octopus is

A veteran investment banker is being lined up to chair one of Britain’s biggest car parts manufacturers as it prepares for a newly independent life as a standalone listed company. Sky News has learnt that Simon Mackenzie-Smith, a prominent City figure during a long career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is close to being