Business

A weaker than expected easing in the pace of pay rises means real earnings growth, when inflation is taken into account, is at its highest rate in almost two and a half years, according to the latest official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average regular pay, excluding bonuses, stood at 6% in

The future of Nick Read, the embattled Post Office chief executive, will be determined this week with the publication of a report triggered by whistleblowing allegations about the conduct of the state-owned company’s bosses. Sky News has learnt that an independent report compiled by Marianne Tutin, a barrister at Devereux Chambers, has been submitted to

Global oil prices were trading slightly lower early on Monday, despite a weekend dominated by rising tensions in the Middle East. International benchmark Brent crude was down by almost 0.4% at $90 a barrel in Asia dealing, while US crude futures were also lower, according to LSEG data. Market experts said the moves reflected the

An arm of Standard Chartered, the FTSE-100 bank, is taking a stake in a British company set up with the objective of providing ethical financial products to customers. Sky News understands that SC Ventures will announce on Monday that it is injecting an unspecified multimillion-dollar sum into Algbra, which counts a host of illustrious names

Getir, one of the world’s largest grocery delivery platforms, is in talks about a radical restructuring just two years after it was valued at nearly $12bn (£9.6bn). Sky News has learnt that Getir, which was founded in Turkey and now operates in five markets including the UK, is examining a number of options as part

Three of the “big four” boiler manufacturers for the UK cannot guarantee customers will be refunded the so-called “boiler tax” that companies added to new boilers earlier this year. In January boiler-makers hiked costs by up to an extra £120 per boiler to cover anticipated penalties for a green scheme – which has now been

Poor software and bias toward making only small, sequential changes is one of the reasons economic forecasters at the Bank of England failed to predict and prepare for the cost of living crisis, brought about by high inflation, according to a “once in a generation” review. The review announced last year was undertaken by the

The UK economy has grown slightly for the second month in a row, official figures show. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew just 0.1% in February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It’s another signal that the UK economy is working its way out of recession. Growth of 0.3% was recorded last month – and

A former Post Office executive who celebrated the conviction of a pregnant sub-postmaster has said sorry. Former managing director David Smith made the apology to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry, which is investigating who knew what and when about the faulty accounting software that ruined lives and led to the conviction of hundreds of

A Greek energy and metals group has picked two of Wall Street’s biggest banks to prepare it for a UK listing that could propel it into London’s blue-chip share index. Sky News has learnt that Mytilineos, an Athens-listed industrial conglomerate, is working with Citi and Morgan Stanley on a London Stock Exchange flotation that would

The investor trying to take control of Everton Football Club has pushed back its target date for completing the deal as it scrambles to raise hundreds of millions of pounds to fund it. Sky News has learnt that 777 Partners has told stakeholders including the Premier League and prospective lenders that it now expects its

China ramped up coal power capacity last year, according to new analysis, despite a pledge to “strictly control” the dirtiest fossil fuel. The country added 47.4 Gigawatts (GW) of new coal power in 2023, more than double the amount added by the rest of the world combined. It raises concerns that gains in clean power,

More than seven million people in the UK were struggling with bills and credit repayments in January, according to a financial watchdog. The number is down significantly on the 10.9 million people in the same position in January 2023. However, it’s still above the 5.8 million recorded in February 2020, before the pandemic and the

Post Office victims campaigner Alan Bates has told the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal that it was “pretty obvious” the organisation “were after me – one way or another”. Mr Bates was also described as “unmanageable” by a former senior figure at the organisation, documents disclosed at the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal

The UK Post Office Horizon Public Inquiry resumes this week almost four years after it began. Public and political interest in the industrial-scale miscarriage of justice suffered by sub-postmasters was transformed by a television drama. Since 2020 retired judge Sir Wyn Williams has been probing the circumstances that led the Post Office to prosecute more

Ted Baker is to shut 15 of its stores across the UK within weeks, the retailer’s administrators have announced. Around 245 staff will be made redundant. It comes after Sky News revealed that hundreds of jobs were at risk after the company behind the brand’s UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), collapsed last

Santander UK, Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the

Nail salon prices across the UK are set to go up tomorrow as ‘thousands’ of workers band together. Across the UK, nail technicians are coming together to collectively raise their prices from 8 April. This is to make a fair wage the Nail Tech Org (NTO) says, as the organisation warned its member nail technicians

English cricket chiefs will next week take another step towards a radical revamp of the sport’s ownership structure by launching plans to sell stakes in The Hundred’s eight franchises. Sky News has learnt that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will interview bankers in the coming days as they prepare to raise funds by

Employees across the country have today been granted the legal right to request flexible working from the day they enter a new job. Previously, the right was only applicable if someone had worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more. The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 gained Royal Assent in July as Kevin Hollinrake,