Business

Construction businesses are going bust at their fastest rate in a decade, driving the number of company insolvencies to its highest level since the financial crisis. Rising material costs, staff shortages and plummeting consumer demand are weighing on businesses, forcing them to squeeze their margins to unsustainable levels. Official figures show that in the second

The former head of the Bank of England’s governing body is to chair the bulk of Goldman Sachs’ operations outside the US – one of the most influential jobs at the Wall Street titan. Sky News has learnt that Sir Bradley Fried, who stepped down as chair of the Court of the Bank of England only

Rishi Sunak has abandoned his predecessor’s plan to intervene in global energy markets by spending billions of pounds on foreign gas imports. Sky News has learnt that Liz Truss’s Energy Supply Taskforce (EST), which was launched in September, is being scrapped. Headed by Madelaine McTernan, who was director-general of the government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce, the

There was a surprise fall in retail sales last month as shoppers remained cautious given the squeeze on budgets from inflation in the run-up to Christmas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a fall in sales volumes of 0.3% compared to October when the effects of fuel sales were excluded. Economists had expected to

Workers at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Goodwood factory are to receive a pay award worth up to 17.6% after negotiations between the luxury automaker and Unite the union. In all, 1,200 production workers at the West Sussex plant are to receive a salary boost of 10% and a one-off payment of £2,000 from January, avoiding the

One might have thought, to judge from the acres of newsprint and hours of airtime devoted to its documentary about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that this would be a boom time for Netflix. Not so. Shares of the streaming giant fell by more than 8% this afternoon, wiping $11.5bn from its stock market

The Bank of England has revealed a 0.5 percentage point interest rate increase – its ninth consecutive rise as it maintains its battle against inflation. The decision, by its monetary policy committee (MPC), took the bank rate to 3.5% – a fresh high not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. The move, however, represented a

The rules limiting the volume of liquids allowed on planes and requiring electronics to be taken out of hand luggage in security are to change. The government has set a deadline of June 2024 for major UK airports to install new security technology, which will make obsolete the rule to bring no more than 100ml

The rate of inflation eased to 10.7% from 11.1% last month, according to official figures showing that food and the cost of a night out continue to rise in price ahead of Christmas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said falling motor fuel prices led the decline in the core consumer prices index (CPI) measure

A London-listed advertising technology provider has caved into shareholder pressure and abandoned plans to recalibrate a multimillion-pound executive pay scheme. Sky News has learnt that Tremor International has withdrawn two resolutions that were scheduled to be voted on at its annual meeting on Wednesday. They related to a repricing of share options and an increase

The former boss of one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges has been criticised after he was charged with defrauding investors out of $1.8bn (£1.5bn). Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). John Ray, who was named Chief Executive of FTX after Bankman-Fried stepped down and

Police in the Bahamas have arrested Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt crypto firm FTX. The country’s attorney general said the Bahamas received formal notification from the US that criminal charges have been filed against him there – and it was likely there would be a request for his extradition. FTX, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency

Rail strikes planned for later this week will go ahead as union members have voted to reject an offer from Network Rail. Planned work stoppages by members of the RMT union will take place on 13, 14 and 16 and 17 December. More strikes are planned from 6pm on 24 to 5.59am on 27 December.

Troops are being trained to drive ambulances ahead of strikes as the government holds emergency COBRA meetings to limit disruption while 10 different industries go on strike this week. Over the weekend, government sources said a decision had not yet been made to put in a formal request to the Ministry of Defence but said

Britain’s biggest retailer is preparing to kick off a search for a new chairman, firing the starting gun on a race to fill one of the FTSE-100’s most prestigious boardroom posts. Sky News has learnt that Tesco is drawing up plans to begin identifying a replacement for John Allan, who will step down in 2024.

It can feel like all the money is flying straight out of your bank account this month, but payday isn’t quite as far away as you may think. There is also a range of extra benefits available in December which could ease some pressures amid the cost of living crisis. Here are some key money

The cost of antibiotics needed to treat Strep A has skyrocketed – as industry professionals claim prices have been hiked up to take advantage of “unprecedented” demand. Multiple pharmacies have warned they cannot obtain the necessary medications to treat Strep A as a 16th child died in Sussex with a suspected infection on Friday –

Depending on your point of view, Jeremy Hunt’s proposed reform of financial regulations represents a potentially significant boost to the competitiveness of the UK’s financial services sector or a potentially dangerous watering-down of rules put in place to prevent a re-run of the financial crisis. The truth, as ever, is that it is probably somewhere

Twitter has been accused of secretly “blacklisting” prominent right-wing figures in the US in order to ensure they reached a smaller audience. High-profile right-wing individuals – such as talk show host Dan Bongino, conservative activist Charlie Kirk and anti-lockdown campaigner Dr Jay Bhattacharya – were apparently demoted by Twitter staff before it was taken over

A striking Royal Mail worker has voiced fears up to 25,000 staff could be sacked and new working conditions imposed on those left after the core Christmas season has finished. The man, who usually delivers letters and parcels in the London area and is being identified as ‘Derek’ because he wished to remain anonymous, was