Business

The pace at which prices are rising has sped up, according to official figures. The rate of inflation grew to 2.2% in July, up from 2% a month earlier, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. It is the first time since December last year that the rate has increased, rather than fallen. But

Grocery inflation has risen for the first time since March 2023, according to closely watched industry data. Prices in food shops rose by 1.8% in the four weeks to 4 August, research by Kantar Worldpanel found. It follows 17 consecutive months of easing inflation in the sector, including during the previous month when the rate

Heathrow Airport has claimed it has suffered a 90,000 decline in passenger numbers on routes affected by a new £10-per-person government scheme. Bosses described the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system, which was introduced by the Conservative government in November 2023, as “devastating for our hub competitiveness”. The digital permits are required for nationals of seven

The threat of more than 100 riots across the country led to a 10% drop in hospitality sales, an industry body has said. The expectation of further far-right violence last Wednesday, which failed to materialise after more than a week of rioting, meant many shops, pubs and restaurants closed early and town centres emptied. The

Sir Charles Dunstone, the entrepreneur behind the TalkTalk broadband empire, has struck a £400m deal with its lenders to avert the threat of a debt default. Sky News has learnt that TalkTalk will announce later on Monday that its shareholders – who include Sir Charles – have agreed to inject £65m into the company immediately.

Coffee shop chain Pret A Manger has announced some staff members will wear body-worn cameras as a new safety measure.  The company confirmed to Sky News that six shops across London started trialling the new technology last month, which will only be worn by team leaders and managers. It said the cameras will only be

A music-streaming service whose shareholders include Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams is racing to raise millions of pounds within weeks. Sky News has learnt that ROXi has appointed Begbies Traynor Group, the professional services firm, to work alongside Rockefeller Capital Management on the hunt for new capital. Founded in 2014, ROXi described itself

Britain’s most influential small business group is urging the home secretary to ensure swift support for SMEs affected by the wave of rioting which has swept Britain in the last ten days. In a letter to Yvette Cooper, a copy of which has been seen by Sky News, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) called

The government has “no time to waste” in punishing “disgraced” water companies, the Liberal Democrats have said after obtaining new data on firms breaching permits for sewage spills. The nine water companies in England breached their environmental permits 695 times last year, often due to pumping raw sewage into waterways without permission, a Freedom of

Disney plans to spend $5bn (£3.9bn) on making blockbuster films and TV shows in regions including the UK over the next five years. The entertainment giant is said to have been buoyed by the success of its superhero comedy Deadpool & Wolverine, which was made at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The recent release, starring Hugh

The UK’s competition regulator has launched an inquiry into Amazon’s investment of over £3bn into an artificial intelligence (AI) startup as regulators ramp up their scrutiny of mergers involving the fast-growing technology. The deal, which was announced by Amazon in March, included a $4bn (£3.16bn) investment into Anthropic and a commitment from the AI startup

The prospect of the Bank of England cutting interest rates further in the near future has been raised after a closely watched report suggested the UK jobs market is showing signs of cooling. Researchers found the pace of pay rises slowed last month, while the hiring of temporary and permanent staff continued to decline. The

The boss of Fujitsu’s European arm has apologised in person to former sub-postmasters. Speaking following the meetings in London, Paul Patterson told Sky News he was “really grateful for their time”. He described “a really good conversation” held in private. “It’s not for me to get into that now – it was actually quite emotional

Shops have been urged to close early in areas where far-right gatherings are planned following vandalism, arson and looting in parts of the country. The Association Of Convenience Stores, which represents around 50,000 small retailers in the UK, said it was advising its members to “err on the side of caution” following riots in recent

An advert for the world’s first transatlantic flight to be 100% powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has been banned, as the advertising watchdog said it was misleading. The radio ad, which promoted the transatlantic flight, was misleading in its unqualified “100% sustainable aviation fuel” claim, said regulator the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). Money

Three water companies are facing a combined record fine of £168m after a series of failings, including over sewage treatment. The proposals by regulator Ofwat include a penalty of £104m for Thames Water. Yorkshire Water faces a £47m fine, while Northumbrian Water will have to pay £17m. It comes after an Ofwar investigation found the

Markets in Asia have rallied after worldwide plunges on Monday amid fears the US may be in recession. Taiwan‘s stock exchange jumped following a record drop a day earlier, but shed some of the gains later in the morning amid lingering concerns over the outlook for the US economy and tech companies. Japan‘s benchmark Nikkei

Stock markets in Asia have dropped sharply during trading on Monday amid fears the US economy may be heading for a recession. Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index fell by as much as 10% at one point, while the market’s broader TOPIX index also fell 8%. South Korea’s KOSPI index also dropped more than 8% on

The founder of Itsu and Pret A Manger is joining the board of Knoops, the fast-growing retailer of chocolate-based drinks. Sky News understands that Knoops, which is in the process of raising £5m to fund its expansion, will announce that Julian Metcalfe – a shareholder in the company – is to become a non-executive director.

The Post Office Horizon IT scandal may well be “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”. Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry which has been investigating the scandal, did not put it this way lightly. After four hard-fought years, senior executives reduced to tears, and countless heartbreaking stories of the damage