Business

The UK car industry has declared it is “recovering” after production last month rose by almost a third compared to a year ago. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported a 31.6% hike in output during July versus the same month in 2022. It said the 76,451 vehicles made represented a sixth consecutive

Job losses at Wilko could be announced on Thursday after an offer to buy the entire business reportedly failed to “pass basic checks”, according to a union representing workers. The GMB said it had been told redundancy plans at the discount homeware chain, which were said to have been suspended earlier this week, could be

Adverts for acupuncture and craniosacral therapy have been banned for making misleading claims about the treatment of long COVID. A paid-for Facebook ad and an Instagram post for Jo Llewellyn, a craniosacral therapist, included the claim that craniosacral therapists treat long COVID. Meanwhile, an Instagram post for Peachy Acupuncture said acupuncture and doses of vitamin

Redundancies among Wilko’s 12,500-strong workforce have been suspended while further bids for the collapsed retailer are considered, a union has said. The GMB said it had been assured by administrators PwC about the move during a meeting on Tuesday morning. The discount homeware goods company collapsed earlier this month after struggling from inflationary pressures, competition

The expansion of Sadiq Khan’s controversial ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) will come into force on Tuesday despite facing a number of political hurdles. The zone – which charges motorists £12.50 a day if their car does not comply with emissions standards – will cover every London borough and not just the city centre, as

A trio of former Deliveroo executives have secured investment for a new property search engine start-up backed by a Google artificial intelligence fund. Sky News understands that Jitty will announce this week that it has raised $2m from investors led by Gradient Ventures, an AI fund established by the global technology behemoth. Jitty, which will

“When the time comes, disconnect the main flex cable.” Besides being a short guy named Tom, I never felt I had any sort of Mission: Impossible credentials until I donned safety googles and got handed a screwdriver and plastic scalpel at what’s thought to be the UK’s biggest phone recycling factory. Fixing the screen on

The owner of HMV has approached a number of debt providers to back a last-gasp rescue bid for Wilko, the ailing high street retailer. Sky News understands that Doug Putman has sounded out firms including Gordon Brothers and Hilco – from which he bought HMV in 2018 – about helping to finance an offer for

The former owners of The Daily Telegraph have lined up hundreds of millions of pounds from Middle Eastern investors in a bid to wrest back control of the newspaper from Britain’s biggest high street bank. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the Barclay family lodged a proposal last week to buy back roughly £1bn of

Rail services across England will be crippled today because of another strike in the deadlocked dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Around 20,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at 14 train operators are expected to join the walk out. Trains will start later on Saturday and finish earlier and some areas

Rail services across England will be crippled today because of another strike in the deadlocked dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Around 20,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at 14 train operators are expected to join the walk out. Trains will start later on Saturday and finish earlier and some areas

The energy regulator has confirmed a cut to its price cap that will see average household bills come down this autumn, as experts continue to warn of hikes to come during the winter months. Ofgem said the typical household paying by direct debit for gas and electricity faces an annual charge of £1,923 from October

Consumer confidence has grown again, with positive signs ahead for the UK economy, a survey says. But the picture still remains negative, according to a closely watched index of shopper sentiment. The figures, by research group GfK, suggest consumer demand has been resilient to the shocks of rising prices and more expensive borrowing. The long-running

The US tech firm that dominates the market for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) has delighted investors with a doubling in quarterly revenue, promising more of the same in future. Nvidia shares gained almost 10% in after-hours trading in New York on Wednesday night when it revealed a string of numbers that beat analysts’

Energy bills are to rise higher than last year for millions this winter, despite the energy price cap falling, a think tank has said. Withdrawn energy supports and a rise in the daily standing charge will mean winter bill costs going up for one in three English households, the Resolution Foundation said. That’s despite the

NatWest has said former boss Dame Alison Rose, who quit last month over her handling of Nigel Farage’s bank account closure, could receive a pay package worth more than £2.4m. Dame Alison resigned last month, abruptly ending her four-year tenure, amid government pressure on her position. It followed her admission that she had discussed the

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country’s biggest mortgage

The UK’s competition regulator has launched a fresh investigation into Microsoft’s proposed £55bn takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard after the tech firm offered a new remedy in a bid to get the deal over the line. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed on Tuesday that it stood by its final decision

Bosses of some of the UK’s biggest companies had their pay increased to 118 times the median wage of a full time UK worker, up from 108 times the average rate a year earlier. Median pay for chief executives of FTSE 100 share index companies grew to £3.91m in 2022, the highest level since 2007.

There are potential early signs that the labour market is losing some of its inflationary heat, in a shift that could give the Bank of England reason to pause its cycle of interest rate hikes. Data from a jobs search website suggested that vacancies and advertised starting salaries both fell in July – the first