Business

A minister has urged the Rail, Maritime and Transport union not to “hold the country to ransom” after it announced days of extra strikes over Christmas in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Calling on the union to cancel the strikes, Nick Gibb, the school minister, said the walkouts are “inconveniencing people up

The UK is already in a recession which is expected to last into next year, according to the UK’s biggest business group.  The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) downgraded its economic growth outlook amid a stormy picture of declining business investment, higher price forecasts, continued high interest rates and worker shortages. The economy is to

Workers across the UK will soon be able to request flexible working from day one on the job, under new plans by the government. Under the legislation making its way through parliament, employees will no longer be required to wait 26 weeks before making a request for flexible working arrangements. Employers will be required to

The RMT has rejected an offer from train operators aimed at preventing strikes over the Christmas period, the union has announced. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said its proposed framework would have supported pay increases of up to 8%, covering 2022 and 2023 pay awards, while delivering much-needed reforms. But the RMT, led by secretary

Amazon is planning to resume multimillion dollar advertising on Twitter, according to reports. The move will see Amazon ply about $100m (£81.3m) per year into the platform, now owned by Elon Musk, according to Reuters news agency, citing a tweet from the tech blog Platformer. The tweet by a Platformer reporter said the company’s return

McLaren Group, the supercar manufacturer and Formula One team-owner, is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in new funding aimed at steering the British-based company into the electric vehicle era. Sky News has learnt that McLaren has opened talks with existing shareholders including the sovereign wealth funds of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

The number of landlords selling up has risen by nearly 13% in four months, Sky News has learned. The statistics, given to us by the estate agents trade body Propertymark, show an increase from July to October. Why should we care what happens to landlords? In basic terms, if the landlord exodus continues we could

Travellers have been told to brace for more Christmas chaos after road workers announced 12 days of strikes to coincide with rail walkouts. Ground handlers at Heathrow have also said they will strike before Christmas in a dispute over pay. In all, 350 workers employed by Menzies will walk out from 4am on 16 December

Collapsed fashion retailer Joules will live on after Next agreed a £34m cash rescue deal that preserves most of its stores and jobs. Under the deal Next will pick up 100 of its 132 stores and only 133 of 1,600 staff will lose their jobs. The 100 stores now owned by Next are to remain

Union leaders could coordinate industrial action across the NHS this winter to cause “maximum impact”, the head of the GMB has suggested. Andy Prendergast, the GMB national secretary, said health workers have had enough of “public school boys who run the government and simply don’t care” about their pay demands. More than 10,000 ambulance workers

The total value of fraud in three COVID-19 schemes totalled £4.5bn, of which the taxpayer is only going to get £1.1bn back, the head of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has told MPs. Speaking at the Treasury Committee on Wednesday, HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said the £4.5bn was lost to fraud in the furlough,

HSBC has announced plans to shut a further 114 UK branches, or more than a quarter of its surviving sites. The UK-based but mainly Asia-focused bank said they would begin to shut from April next year. The decision, as the wider banking sector has consistently claimed over many years, is the result of the surge

More energy suppliers could go bust this winter potentially taking government payments intended for customers with them, the chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica has warned. Chris O’Shea told Sky News that the UK energy market, regulated by Ofgem, offers “wealthy individuals” behind some retail suppliers a “free bet” to speculate, with other bill

The number of mortgages approved by lenders plunged to their lowest monthly level in more than two years during October, according to data from the Bank of England. A total of 58,977 loans were issued last month, down from 65,967 in September. Financial analysts said the figures likely reflected two main factors; the mortgage market

An aircraft engine has successfully been powered with hydrogen fuel in what is thought to be a world first, Rolls-Royce has said, in an attempt to reduce the enormous carbon footprint of flying. The aerospace manufacturer and partner easyJet, the low-cost airline, say the ground test marks a “major step” towards proving that hydrogen could

Stock markets in Asia have seen sharp falls while a recent easing in oil prices gained new momentum on Monday in reaction to growing COVID lockdowns and public protests against them in China. Brent crude futures were 3% down on the day at $81 a barrel as investors fretted over demand in the world’s second-largest

Qatar is reviewing its investments in London after the organisation running the capital’s transport system banned the Middle East country’s advertisements on the Tube, buses and taxis. A source with knowledge of the review has told Sky News the decision by Transport for London (TfL) is “another blatant example of double standards and virtue signalling

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received a £400m private equity approach that would see it relinquish majority ownership of The Hundred while raising funds to inject into the sport’s cash-strapped counties. Sky News has learnt that the governing body has in recent weeks been handed an offer from Bridgepoint Group, the London-listed

An extra £118m, at least, will be spent this year on temporary accommodation, such as hotels and B&Bs, by councils, a Sky News investigation has found. If trends continue, local authorities in England will spend nearly a quarter more (24%) this financial year than pre-COVID-19. Outside London, expenditure is on track to increase by 55%.

A pubs industry veteran is drinking to his biggest shareholder after it injected new funding into his business amid talks with lenders. Sky News understands that Oaktree Capital has in recent weeks committed millions of pounds to RedCat Pub Company, set up by Rooney Anand, which trades from roughly 120 venues. An industry source said