Business

The UK’s unemployment rate ticked up to 3.8% in the three months to February, according to official figures that also highlighted a faster than expected spike in wage rises. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate rose from 3.7% due to a surge in the number of people unemployed for more than

Sega Sammy, the gaming firm behind Sonic the Hedgehog, has agreed a deal to buy rival Rovio Entertainment – best known for Angry Birds. The pair confirmed that the Japanese firm would pay €706m (£625m) for Rovio just days after takeover talks were revealed. The acquisition comes as Sega seeks to accelerate its growth in

Air France and Airbus have been found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the crash of Flight 447 in 2009 that killed 228 people. The Airbus A330 was travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during a thunderstorm in June 2009, killing people from 33 countries. Both Air

Barclays is joining the ranks of global investment banks taking the axe to jobs amid a slowdown in dealmaking and stock market flotations. Sky News has learnt that the British lender will this week cut more than 100 roles in its investment bank, with sources saying the layoffs would not be confined to a single

Spotify has announced it is dropping Heardle – the name-that-tune game inspired by Wordle. The streaming giant had acquired the game last July, five months after it took the world by storm. Heardle played small snippets of music and challenged gamers to guess the song as quickly as possible. But in a new statement, Spotify

Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have reached an agreement in principle amid a long-running dispute over pay and employment terms. In a joint statement with Royal Mail, CWU confirmed the agreement will now be considered by the executive of the union before it goes before the membership. The details of the proposed

The giant American financial investor Carlyle is in talks about a major investment in Manchester United Football Club as the auction of the Premier League side nears its concluding stages. Sky News has learnt that Carlyle is among a handful of parties which have pitched proposals to acquire a minority stake in the Old Trafford

“We hope you prove us wrong.” “We’re very focused on proving you wrong.” The exchange between Jeremy Hunt and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, captured by Sky News in Washington DC, tells you rather a lot about the Chancellor’s week here in Washington. This was Mr Hunt’s first International Monetary Fund meeting since taking on

The chancellor has told Sky News there is “no room for complacency” in tackling the UK’s economic problems after official figures revealed no GDP growth in February. But Jeremy Hunt said that while inflation was too high and growth too low, he was confident that his budget plans unveiled last month would help turn things

Jeremy Hunt struck an upbeat tone following the publication of the latest economic growth data for February. “The economic outlook is looking brighter than expected – GDP grew in the three months to February and we are set to avoid recession,” he said. In some respects he’s right. Even though the country was deep into

The world’s richest man Bernard Arnault has received a boost after his luxury goods company LVMH reported a 17% rise in global sales. The group, which owns brands including Moët, Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, recorded revenue of €21bn (£18.5bn) in the first quarter of 2023. LVMH hailed its “excellent” start to the year as it

Andrew Bailey has called into question whether UK banks have large enough cash buffers to cope with crises similar to the recent run on Silicon Valley Bank. The Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) said last month’s turmoil, which led to the rapid takeovers of the bank’s US and UK arms, served as a warning

The overall supply of candidates for jobs has increased for the first time in more than two years, a survey of recruiters suggests. While the rise in the availability of workers in March was “modest”, it marks the first such upturn in the UK since February 2021, a report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation

The president of the CBI expressed doubts about the survival of Britain’s biggest business lobbying group if it had run a conventional process to recruit a new chief. Sky News has learnt that Brian McBride told a group of members on Tuesday afternoon that he was concerned that the CBI might not have withstood a

Ultra-low interest rates are set to return with inflation due to tumble in the near future, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This will be welcome news to homeowners, many of whom have recently been hit with a steep rise in mortgage costs. The United Nations financial agency says that the combination of an

Thousands of UK Vodafone customers have complained after suffering from a broadband connection outage. Downdetector, a website where people can log outages, reported a peak of 2,820 people experiencing problems on Monday morning. Vodafone said in a post on Twitter: “We’re aware of and investigating an issue impacting some of our home broadband customers since

Wizz Air was the worst major airline for flight delays from the UK last year, according to an investigation. The figures, from the Civil Aviation Authority and reported by the PA news agency, found that the Hungarian carrier’s UK departures were an average of 46 minutes and six seconds behind schedule last year. This delay

Atom Bank, the app-based lender, has picked advisers to secure a further £100m in capital in what is expected to be its final fundraising before an attempt to list its shares publicly. Sky News understands the Durham-based company is working with bankers at Jefferies on a share sale that will take place in the coming

The FTSE-100 gambling giant behind Paddy Power is lining up a US-based businessman as its next chairman – a move that will further cement plans to abandon its presence on the London stock market. Sky News has learnt that Flutter Entertainment, which also owns SkyBet and Betfair, is in advanced talks to appoint John Bryant

Britain’s pensions lifeboat is to hoist a ‘for sale’ sign above Kodak Alaris, the photographic equipment group it took control of as part of a rescue of its retirement schemes. Sky News has learnt that the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has kicked off talks with bankers about an auction of the company behind the ‘Kodak