Business

Europe’s reliance on Russian oil and gas is funding the rape and murder of Ukrainian children, an MP and member of the country’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos has told Sky News. Ivana Kylmpush-Tsintsadze, an MP and former minister, said Western states and companies need to end “business as usual” with Moscow,

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is launching a new scholarship scheme to encourage more British students from ethnic minorities to enter the farming sector. The RAU, one of the leading agricultural institutions in the UK, hopes the two undergraduate scholarships will increase diversity and equality in the industry – which is predominately made up of

A senior figure in Donald Trump’s Cabinet is plotting a £700m deal that would see one of Britain’s biggest digital-only banks being listed on the US stock market. Sky News has learnt that a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by Wilbur Ross, who was President Trump’s commerce secretary between 2017 and 2021, is

Hundreds of staple grocery items had shot up in price by more than a fifth over the two years prior to the surge in food inflation caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to an investigation. As households get to grips with a growing cost of living crisis, the consumer group Which? said that shoppers

Britons must brace themselves for a “very unpleasant period”, with “considerable” interest rate hikes now needed to prevent a re-run of the 1970s, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned. Lord King launched a coruscating attack on central banks including the Bank of England itself, saying they shared responsibility for the cost of

National Grid has seen its annual pre-tax profits increase by 107% to £3.4bn. The energy network operator attributed much of the rise to its £7.8bn purchase of Western Power Distribution (WPD), which was recently fined £14.9m for failing to help vulnerable customers. National Grid, which delivers electricity to households and businesses, previously said profits in

British consumer confidence has plunged to its lowest level since records began nearly 50 years ago, a survey has suggested, adding to fears that the economy will soon be hit by a slowdown in consumer spending.  Market research firm GfK said its consumer confidence gauge sunk to a score of -40 in May, down from

Royal Mail has said it will need to rise prices and cut costs in the face of soaring inflation. The company warned that it sees “significant headwinds” from rising costs including wages, energy and fuel. Royal Mail revealed that it aimed to make cost savings of £350m over the course of its current financial year

Britain’s biggest dairy producer has admitted the price of milk will continue to increase due to sky high energy costs that have already risen by 200%. Arla Foods’ chief commercial officer Peter Giortz-Carlson told Sky News that input costs, driven higher by the war in Ukraine, will have to be passed on to customers. His

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has written to the leading petrol retailers “to remind them of their responsibilities” to pass on tax cuts to motorists. The letter, sent to fuel giants on Tuesday, follows claims some retailers hiked profits following the 5p per litre fuel duty cut implemented by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March to help

Inflation has hit its highest level in 40 years amid the deteriorating cost of living crisis. The rate shot up to 9% last month – its highest level since comparable readings in 1982. Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a broad-based hike in prices for everyday goods and services during April

Real wages have dropped by 1.2% as regular pay growth fails to keep up with soaring inflation, according to the latest official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the fall in regular pay, which excludes bonus payments, intensified when the effects of inflation were included in the three months to March compared

The £4.25bn takeover of Chelsea Football Club has been thrown into fresh doubt amid a renewed impasse between owner Roman Abramovich and Whitehall over the deal’s terms. Sky News understands that government officials have doubts about whether a special licence needed to approve the sale will be issued before a deadline at the end of

The energy price cap, the mechanism that determines gas and electricity bills for 22 million households, could soon be reviewed every three months under plans announced by the industry regulator. Ofgem revealed that it was putting the idea out to consultation amid criticism that the current twice-yearly adjustment arrangement – in April and October –

Oil giant Saudi Aramco has revealed its profits skyrocketed by more than 80% in the first three months of the year, with prices buoyed by post-pandemic global demand and the Ukraine war. The bumper first-quarter earnings by the state-owned firm, which overtook Apple as the world’s most valuable company last week, showed a record net

Business leaders in the fish and chip industry are calling on the government to offer a “long-term strategy” to their food shortages crisis – or face a third of chippies closing. The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) has warned the four key ingredients that make up a traditional fish and chip meal are deeply

The Premier League is considering a formal ban on debt-fuelled club takeovers as part of a far-reaching  overhaul of its ownership rules. Sky News has learnt that the 20 top-flight clubs are being canvassed by Premier League executives for their views on the merits of a block on so-called leveraged buyouts. The consultation process, which

What is Elon Musk up to? Not for the first time that’s the question on the minds of Twitter executives, global investors and many of his 92 million followers, after the world’s richest man announced, in a tweet, naturally, that his purchase of the social media platform is “temporarily on hold”. The impact was instant,

Billionaire Elon Musk has said his Twitter deal is “temporarily on hold” over the company’s spam and fake user accounts. Mr Musk, who last week secured $7bn from new investors for his $44bn takeover, tweeted: “Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users.”

Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to come up with plans to cut more than 90,000 civil service jobs in order to free up billions of pounds for tax cuts. During an away-day with cabinet ministers in Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister asked them to report back within a month on how they can reduce the size

Be in no doubt, today’s GDP figures are bad news indeed. Bad news as they show the economy is shrinking sooner than expected, down 0.1% in March. But bad news too, in terms of what it heralds for the rest of the year. All the signs and predictions were already that the worst is set

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in March, as surging inflation took a toll on demand to offset the boost that had been expected from the end of COVID restrictions. The monthly figure compares to no growth in February and 0.7% growth in January, while the quarterly figure (between January and March) showed a growth

Chelsea FC is close to unveiling a £20m-a-year sponsorship deal with a fast-growing cryptocurrency group – despite a temporary ban on the club striking lucrative new partnerships while it operates under government supervision. Sky News can reveal that the Blues have agreed a shirt-sleeve contract with WhaleFin, a digital asset platform owned by Singapore-based Amber

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to buy Twitter, has said he would reverse the platform’s “foolish” ban on former US president Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through. The tech tycoon said: “Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it

Households are being urged to get their finances in the best shape possible amid increasing evidence of increased stress over the growing cost of living crisis – now said to be the main concern for people across the UK. A debt advice charity told Sky News it was helping thousands of new clients navigate problem

The soaring cost of living has seen consumers “put the brakes” on their shopping habits, new figures show. The latest retail monitoring from BRC-KPMG revealed sales dipped in April after a sharp downturn in consumer confidence. And separate figures from Barclaycard showed credit card spending on retail and eating out slowed last month as people

Convenience retailer McColl’s has been formally bought out of administration by its existing trading partner Morrisons in a deal that saves all its 16,000 jobs and its stores. The news was announced hours after Sky News reported that the supermarket chain had won a race with petrol station powerhouse EG Group for a rescue. Moments

Britain has announced fresh sanctions targeting £1.7bn worth of trade with Russia in a bid to “further weaken Putin’s war machine”. They include sharply higher tariffs on £1.4bn worth of imports from Russia and bans on exports to the country that are worth £250m a year. The measures, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Trade

Morrisons has tabled a last-gasp bid to wrest McColl’s Retail Group from the clutches of its Asda-owning rivals just hours before administrators are formally appointed to oversee its sale. Sky News can reveal that Morrisons has lodged an improved offer with McColl’s lenders that would see them repaid immediately in full, satisfying their principal demand.

Plans to revive struggling town centres will form a key part of the Queen’s Speech next week as the prime minister tries to move on after his party’s poor local election performance. Boris Johnson will say on Tuesday that he wants to rid high streets of derelict shopfronts and restore “neighbourhood pride”, with councils given

Two companies behind large swathes of London’s West End are in advanced talks about a £3.5bn merger that would unite world-famous tourist destinations, including Covent Garden and Chinatown under common ownership. Sky News has learnt that Capital & Counties Properties – also known as Capco – and Shaftesbury are in detailed discussions about an all-share

A consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital has signed a purchase agreement to buy Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea confirmed that terms had been agreed for the new ownership group led by Mr Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss to acquire the club in a

The billionaire brothers behind one of Britain’s biggest fuel retailing empires are close to sealing a last-ditch swoop on McColl’s Retail Group that could lead to thousands of job losses. Sky News has learnt that EG Group was putting the finishing touches on Friday to a takeover of McColl’s through a pre-pack administration that would