Business

The average annual energy bill will increase to £1,849 from April as the industry regulator Ofgem increases the price cap for the third time in a row. When compared to prices over the last three months, the new figure represents a 6.4% a year – or £9.25 per month – increase in the typical sum

Did you know there’s a critical product – one without which we’d all be dead – which Europe is actually importing more of from Russia now than before the invasion of Ukraine? It might feel a bit pointless, given how much chat there is right now about the end of the Ukraine war, to spend

The net zero sector has grown by 10% over the past year – adding £83bn to the UK economy, a new study suggests. Employment in green businesses and industry has also climbed 10%, supporting the equivalent of 951,000 full-time jobs (2.9% of total UK employment). Politics latest: PM warns of ‘crucial moment’ in Ukraine war

Waspi campaigners have threatened legal action against the government unless it reconsiders its decision to reject compensation. In December, the government said it would not be compensating millions of women born in the 1950s – known as Waspi women – who say they were not given sufficient warning of the state pension age for women

Britain’s payments watchdog is expected to be abolished as part of a purge of regulators being thrashed out in Whitehall. Sky News has learnt that ministers and officials are examining whether to scrap the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and fold it into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A decision is expected to be taken in

A challenger bank which has amassed a substantial customer base of Britain’s wealthiest savers is in talks about raising £200m in private funding before pursuing a US flotation which would raise further questions about the attractiveness of the London market. Sky News has learnt that Monument Bank, which now has roughly £5bn in assets, has

The Birkenstock sandal is recognisable for its big buckles, wide-straps, and cork-made sole. But the shoes do not qualify as works of art, Germany’s highest civil court has ruled. The German shoe company had filed a lawsuit against three competitors who sold sandals that were similar to its own, by claiming its products “are copyright-protected

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is coming under increased pressure to raise taxes or cut public spending as official figures show government borrowing was more expensive than expected, and tax revenue fell below expectations. The greatest budget surplus since records began in 1993 was reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in January. It means the

Shops were given a surprisingly big boost in January as retail sales rose by 1.7% – much more than the 0.3% rise forecast by economists. It’s the first growth since August and follows a fall of 0.6% in the key shopping month of December, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. There has not

Nigel Farage has given up sole control of Reform UK, with the party’s members now being “handed over ownership” following a vote last year, according to its chairman. The party, led by Mr Farage, was previously controlled by the Clacton MP as he held a majority of shares in the company. According to the party’s

Parents who are entitled to hours of free childcare should not have to pay mandatory extra charges to secure their nursery place, the government has said. Updated guidance from the Department for Education states that while nurseries are entitled to ask parents to pay for extras – including meals, snacks, nappies or sun cream –

What happens when you put a boyhood fan in charge of their club? They discover it’s not so simple to run after all. And the fans you sat with many years ago are as impatient as ever. Anger reverberates exactly a year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS organisation gained day-to-day control of football

Crisis-hit Thames Water has launched a bid to charge its customers more over the next five years than the industry regulator will allow, arguing it has been unfairly treated. Britain’s biggest household supplier, which is in a battle for survival as it grapples a £19bn debt pile, had sought a 53% hike to bills from

Regulators have proposed sweeping changes for the baby formula industry, saying high prices and branding are leading to “poor outcomes” for parents. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found many brands cost more than the weekly value of people’s benefits, leading some parents to forgo food to buy formula. The report was released nearly two

TikTok is back on Apple and Google’s US app stories after President Trump said the tech giants would not be fined if they reactivated it. They removed the hugely popular video-sharing app after a law came into effect on 19 January – the day before Mr Trump was inaugurated – requiring its Chinese owner ByteDance

Deep under the Bank of England, in a network of vaults into which cameras are rarely admitted, sits the world’s second biggest known trove of gold. Once upon a time the Bank’s vaults stored bullion owned by the Crown but these days they serve mostly as a repository for other central banks and private banks

The number of first-time buyers rose by almost a fifth last year, according to data from Halifax. The bank said 2024 saw 341,068 people buy their first properties, up by 19% from 2023. While the figures are a rebound from 2023’s 22% drop, they are not as high as they were in 2022. That year

The UK needs a “cool and clear-headed” response to Donald Trump imposing 25% tariffs on British steel exports, the trade minister has said. The US president announced the heavy levies on foreign steel and aluminium late on Monday, saying they will be enforced “without exceptions or exemptions”. UK Steel said the tariffs “would be a

The entrepreneur who masterminded Deliveroo’s evolution into one of Britain’s biggest consumer technology businesses is preparing to hand over the reins to a new chief executive. Sky News has learnt that Will Shu, who set the company up in 2013 and participated in its delivery service himself, is contemplating stepping back as CEO as soon

Elon Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI for $97.4bn (£78.7bn) came unsolicited on Monday night and was quickly rejected by his former friend and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. “The company is not for sale, neither is the mission,” Mr Altman said to Sky News this morning. “We’ll happily buy Twitter though.” Read more: OpenAI co-founder