Business

Support for energy bills from the government is expected to continue for three months from April, protecting consumers from an average increase of £500. Sky News understands the chancellor will cancel a reduction in support that would have seen typical annual bills rise from £2,500 to £3,000. In recent days, the government has asked energy

Ian King speaks to AJ Bell about how more British companies are listing on the US stock market. Plus, hear from the pharmaceutical company Indivior’s chief executive about efforts to tackle an opioid crisis. And find out more about the Black Founders Fund – a scheme aimed at tackling the lack of black talent in

The Chinese owner of Thomas Cook is plotting an outright sale of the British holiday brand three years after it rescued the name from corporate ignominy. Sky News has learnt that Fosun Tourism Group is in preliminary discussions with a number of potential purchasers of the online travel agent (OTA). Fosun, which is part of

Looking at recent headlines, one could be forgiven that there is a host of UK-listed companies packing their bags and preparing to head to New York. Today brought news that CRH, the world’s biggest supplier of building materials, is moving its main listing from London to New York – in the process depriving the FTSE

TikTok videos using hashtags previously identified as hosting eating-disorder content are continuing to attract views, new research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate has found. A December report by the campaign group identified “coded” hashtags where users could access potentially harmful videos promoting restrictive diets and so-called “thinspo” content, designed to encourage harmful weight

The American company behind brands such as Reebok and Ted Baker is among the suitors weighing bids for Hunter Boot, the royal warrant-holding footwear brand. Sky News understands that Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which also has a stake in David Beckham’s branded products portfolio, has expressed an interest in a deal with Hunter. It was

The cryptocurrency firm chaired by Lord Hammond, the former chancellor, is in talks to recruit a new finance chief amid heightened scrutiny of the industry’s financial controls. Sky News understands that Copper is targeting the appointment of Sam Goh, an executive at Onfido, the digital identity company, as its chief financial officer. Industry insiders said

Household bills could rise if the government further delays its plan to rid the power network of polluting fossil fuels by 2035, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned. Energy officials committed to the target almost 18 months ago, but their plan to deliver it was delayed by the energy crisis as they focussed instead

Drivers leasing new electric cars are being overcharged by hundreds of pounds each month, it has been claaimed. Companies have been accused of failing to reflect the strong resale value of cleaner cars when they set their prices, according to clean transport campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). The monthly cost is typically based on

Let’s get the policy stuff out of the way first. Labour has an economic growth target. They want to achieve the highest sustainable growth per head rate of the seven major industrialised economies. They say that unless we do something to change the path of British economic growth we will end up poorer than Poland

Ian King speaks to our business correspondent about the new energy price cap and what it means for households. Plus hear from EY’s UK chief economist about how cost of living pressures are expected to intensify regional divisions. And the CEO of bodycam maker Reveal Media joins the show to discuss why the technology is

Ofgem has lowered its cap on the amount energy companies can charge for gas and electricity but it’s not all good news. Even though wholesale energy prices have been falling, households will see their bills go up from April as the government support that has been shielding us from the worst of the energy crisis

A British company that burns wood to create electricity is the latest power giant to post soaring annual profits amid the energy crisis of 2022. Gas prices reached record highs last year as Russia squeezed supplies to Europe in response to sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels and

The boss of one of the UK’s largest fish and chips chains has told Sky News that industry prices are stabilising but yet to reach their peak. James Lipscombe, chief executive of The Chesterford Group which runs 38 takeaways and restaurants under several brands, spoke of a mammoth effort to maintain sales volumes as the

Microsoft is limiting how many questions people can ask its new Bing chatbot after reports of it becoming somewhat unhinged, including threatening users and comparing them to Adolf Hitler. The upgraded search engine with new AI functionality, powered by the same kind of technology as ChatGPT, was announced earlier this month. Since then, it has

Charging customers higher electricity prices has helped the UK wing of the French state-owned energy giant turn a profit. While an overall loss was recorded at EDF (Électricité de France) earnings rose at its UK operations, it said in its 2022 annual results. Core profits in the UK electricity-producing entity hit £1.12bn, up from a

An estimated 91.2% of card payments last year were contactless, according to data covering spending when the technology was available. Analysis of habits by debit and credit card users at Barclays showed face-to-face or in-store spending using contactless was up from 82.6% achieved the previous year. The bank credited much of the “tap and go”

Britain’s biggest luxury yacht-builder is being sold to new private equity backers 15 years after it last changed hands. Sky News has learnt that Princess Yachts, which is based in Plymouth, is being sold to KPS Capital Partners, a US-headquartered investor which specialises in owning manufacturing businesses. Sources said a deal could be struck as

The UK communications regulator has launched an investigation into broadband and phone bill price rises as research suggested many customers are unaware providers can increase costs. The review, to be carried out by Ofcom (the Office of Communications), will focus on mid-contract price increases as the watchdog said it was worried about uncertainty faced by