One of the co-founders of Angel City Football Club, the American National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) outfit, is plotting a transatlantic swoop that would see her investment vehicle buying a stake in Chelsea FC’s women’s team. Sky News has learnt that Monarch Collective, which is jointly headed by Kara Nortman, is among the parties exploring
Business
A week of news showing the UK economy is slowing has ironically yielded a positive for mortgage holders and the broader economy itself – borrowing is now expected to become cheaper faster this year. Traders are now pricing in three interest rate cuts in 2025, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. Earlier
There has been a surprise contraction in retail sales in December, despite the month being key for many retailers due to Christmas shopping, official figures show. Retail sales fell 0.3% last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). No drop at all was expected, not least a 0.3% drop. Sales growth of 0.4%
Fears have been raised over the robustness of Britain’s trade sanctions against Russia after the main government department enforcing the rules admitted it has no idea how many cases it is investigating. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which monitors and polices flows of goods in and out of the country, says it had no central
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against the prospects of a renewed US-led trade war, just days before Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term in the White House. The world’s lender of last resort used the latest update to its World Economic Outlook (WEO) to lay out a series of consequences for
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been accused of refusing to “face up to her own failures” by “jetting off to Beijing” during a week of market turmoil. Shadow chancellor Mel Stride accused the chancellor of ducking difficult questions as the “government was losing control of the economy” while Ms Reeves visited China over the past week
Campaigners are calling on the government to allow rents to be capped within tenancies as a key bill returns to the Commons. More than 30 MPs have backed an amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill which, if passed, would restrict how much landlords can raise rents on sitting tenants by limiting percentage increases to inflation
Pizza Hut’s biggest UK restaurant franchisee is closing in on a rescue deal that would salvage the vast majority of its British outlets and jobs. Sky News has learnt that Directional Capital, an investment firm which already controls much of Pizza Hut’s dine-in operations in Denmark and Sweden, is in advanced talks to acquire roughly
The government will “mainline AI into the veins” of the UK, with plans being unveiled on Monday by Sir Keir Starmer. The prime minister is set to promise investment, jobs and economic growth due to a boom in the sector. It comes as his government battles against allegations they are mismanaging the economy and stymied
The health secretary has said that the cabinet is aware of the “pressure” on Chancellor Rachel Reeves amid volatile markets and a challenging broader economic picture – but appealed for the public to “give her time”. Wes Streeting argued that the public “underestimates” the “amount of heavy-lifting” Ms Reeves has had to do and will
The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds living with their parents has risen by more than a third in just under two decades, according to new analysis. Last year, the share of the age group living at home was almost a fifth (18%), up from 13% in 2006, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said in
The London Stock Exchange is preparing to do battle for one of Europe’s biggest initial public offerings for years as Verisure, the domestic security systems provider, kicks off plans for a flotation valuing it at more than €20bn (£16.7bn). Sky News has learnt that Verisure’s owner, the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F), is
Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip. Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home. The past week has seen
The pound has come under renewed pressure at the end of a torrid week for the UK currency, falling to fresh 14-month lows against the dollar. Sterling lost almost a cent, to stand just above $1.22 at one stage, on the back of higher support for the greenback after US employment data came in much
The price of resale tickets could be capped under plans to stop the public being “fleeced” by professional touts, the government has announced. The limit could range from the cost of the original ticket to a 30% uplift, with a consultation to be launched on the specifics of the measure. Some in No 10 ‘a
The chancellor is under pressure because financial market moves have pushed up the cost of government borrowing, putting Rachel Reeves’ economic plans in peril. So what’s going on, and should we be worried? What is a bond? UK Treasury bonds, known as gilts because they used to literally have gold edges, are the mechanism by
Bim Afolami, the former City minister, is to return to HSBC – the bank he worked for before he embarked on a career in politics – in a boardroom role. Sky News has learnt that Mr Afolami, who lost his Hitchin seat at last year’s general election, is to become a non-executive director of the
How worried should Rachel Reeves be about the fact that the interest rates on government bonds have leapt to the highest level in more than a quarter of a century? More to the point, how worried should the rest of us be about it? After all, the interest rate on 30-year government bonds (gilts, as
A representative for one of the world’s biggest fast fashion retailers, Shein was unable to answer questions from MPs over where it sources its cotton from. Shein’s general counsel for Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA) Yinan Zhu was asked if the company sells products containing cotton from China, mainly the region of Xinjiang, where China
UK long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level since 1998. The unwanted milestone for the Treasury’s coffers was reached ahead of an auction of 30-year bonds, known as gilts, this morning. The yield – the effective interest rate demanded by investors to hold UK public debt – peaked at 5.21%. At that level, it