Business

Tesla has recalled almost 700,000 of its electric vehicles because of an issue with the warning light on the tyre pressure monitoring system. Its warning light may not remain illuminated between drive cycles, failing to warn the driver of low tyre pressure and increasing the risk of a crash, the manufacturer said. The issue affects

British billionaire Mike Ashley has been denied a seat on the board of fast-fashion business Boohoo. A majority of Boohoo shareholders rejected efforts by the Sports Direct founder at a meeting in Manchester on Friday, with 64% of votes opposing the appointment. A similar number also denied restructuring expert Mike Lennon a seat on the

The UK’s retail sales recovery was smaller than expected in the key Christmas shopping month of November, official figures show. Retail sales rose just 0.2% last month despite discounting events in the run-up to Black Friday. It followed a 0.7% fall seen in October, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Sales

The Bank of England has maintained its guidance for “gradual” interest rate cuts next year, following surprise support for a reduction this month. Its rate-setting committee, while deciding to keep Bank rate on hold at 4.75%, noted higher than expected wage rises and inflation despite a slowdown in the economy over the second half of

The US central bank has announced an interest rate cut, just hours before the Bank of England is tipped to refrain from following suit. The Federal Reserve cut its main funding rate by a quarter point to a new target range of 4.25%-4.5%, as markets had expected, but signalled that future reductions would happen more

English rent prices have reached another record high, growing by close to 10% in the past year, official figures show. The typical private rental price in England rose 9.3% in the year up to November, costing £116 more than 12 months earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). English renters paid an average

Inflation has risen for the second month in a row, according to official figures. The overall rate of price rises – as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) – grew by 2.6% in November. It’s a further move away from the Bank of England‘s target 2% inflation rate after the rate ticked up to

Sir Keir Starmer has defended a decision not to compensate women affected by changes to their retirement age – saying doing so would “burden” the taxpayer. The prime minister said he understood the concerns of the Women Against State Pension Inequality – often known as Waspi women – but their demands were not affordable. He

Thames Water is seeking High Court approval today for a £3bn emergency loan to keep the troubled utility afloat, in a crucial 48-hours for the company and the industry. At a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice before Mr Justice Trower on Tuesday, Thames will present the loan as the first stage of a

The Royal Mail group is on its way to passing into foreign ownership, but the state will keep a “golden share” in the company. It means the government will have to approve any key changes to Royal Mail’s ownership, the location of its headquarters and tax residency. This is something the government does with companies

This is a crucial week for the water industry. Regulator Ofwat will on Thursday give its “final determination” on how much bills will rise over the next five years. Before then, Britain’s largest company Thames Water hopes to win court approval for a £3bn bridging loan to stop it running out of cash in the

UK-based partners at Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, have voted to back the sale of a majority stake to Cinven, the private equity firm. Sky News has learnt that GTUK’s partnership voted unanimously to support the deal, in a move expected to be announced internally as early as Monday. Support for the deal had been

NatWest Group is to hand its chief executive a potential multimillion pound pay boost as it returns to full private ownership after nearly 17 years in state hands. Sky News has learnt that the chair of the bank’s remuneration committee, Lena Wilson, is consulting leading institutional shareholders about an overhaul of its boardroom pay policy.

The prime minister and chancellor were in lockstep as they reacted to Friday morning’s GDP figures. “Disappointing”, the PM’s spokesperson said, echoing Rachel Reeves’s words two hours earlier. The UK economy shrunk for a second month, contracting 0.1% in October. Money blog: latest updates Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:10

The private equity firm circling Boots the Chemist’s parent company is lining up financing from a syndicate of banks for a prospective $10bn-plus takeover deal. Sky News has learnt that Sycamore Partners is arranging debt funding for a deal to buy Walgreens Boots Alliance, with Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo among those

Tube and rail fares in London will go up by 4.6% from next March, the capital’s mayor has said. The hike matches the rise in regulated train fares for England’s mainline railway. From 2 March, Transport for London’s (TfL) daily caps will increase by 40p-70p, depending on what zones are travelled through. Labour mayor Sadiq

Royal Mail has been fined £10.5m for missing postal delivery targets. Regulator Ofcom said 74.7% of first class mail and 92.7% of second class was delivered on time in 2023/24. The targets were 93% and 98.5%. A “challenging financial position” was blamed by the company for its poor performance, the regulator said. There were also

The Daily Telegraph’s publisher is to hand hundreds of staff a £500 bonus this month as uncertainty over its ownership looks set to stretch into a third calendar year. Sky News has seen an email sent on Thursday by Anna Jones, Telegraph Media Group’s chief executive, in which she told employees that they would receive

Two of Britain’s biggest high street banks have quit a body dedicated to enhancing industry lending practices, sparking a furious row and casting doubt over its future. Sky News has learnt that HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group have terminated their membership of the Lending Standards Board (LSB). Their resignations – alongside that of Santander UK

Small British businesses have stopped selling to Northern Ireland as well as Europe due to extra administrative hurdles posed by new EU customs rules coming into effect. Many small firms said they are unable to meet new requirements for paperwork and numbering of each product as well as the need to have an “authorised representative”