Business

Wage growth in the UK struggled to keep up with increasing inflation between December 2021 and February 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Average weekly pay packets across Britain fell in December by 1%, reflecting how wages are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. Regular wages, excluding bonuses,

Prices have increased faster over the past 12 months than at any time in the previous 30 years, putting pressure on already stretched household budgets. The latest increases have been driven by rising household energy and fuel costs. But how much has your individual spending gone up in the past five years? Use our new

Ukraine’s finance minister has told Sky News that Russia should be made to pay post-war reparations to his country once the conflict between the two has ended. In an exclusive interview, Sergii Marchenko said there was an expectation among Ukrainians that Russia should pay for its aggression, highlighting a variety of ways in which money

The chairman of the world’s richest basketball league has joined one of the consortia preparing to table final takeover bids for Chelsea Football Club this week. Sky News has learnt that Larry Tanenbaum, who chairs the National Basketball Association (NBA) and owns a host of North American sports teams, is among the investors backing Steve

Elon Musk has decided not to join the Twitter board, despite becoming the company’s single biggest shareholder. The social media giant’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, said the Tesla and SpaceX founder relayed his decision on the very morning he had been due to be officially appointed. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open

One of Britain’s top boardroom headhunters is to oversee the search for a new chairman of the Premier League as a recruitment process gathers pace five months after the role’s last incumbent resigned. Sky News has learnt that MWM Consulting, which was set up by the veteran search consultant Anna Mann, has been charged with

Three multimillionaire businessmen have docked and entered the International Space Station in what has been hailed as a milestone for commercial space exploration. Alongside a retired NASA astronaut, the men launched from Florida on Friday as part of a private SpaceX launch. The four men were welcomed onboard the ISS on Saturday by the crew

The owner of the Cannes Lions global advertising festival is plotting a £1.5bn break-up that would see part of the company shift its stock market listing across the Atlantic to New York. Sky News has learnt that Ascential, which has a market capitalisation of £1.49bn, is working with investment bankers on plans to demerge its

Marine Le Pen is closing the gap on Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls – and investors are getting nervous ahead of this weekend’s first round of voting in the French presidential elections. For months it has seemed that Mr Macron, who cruised to victory five years ago at the head of his newly-formed La

The owners of TalkTalk, one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers, have received tentative approaches about a possible £3bn sale of the company amid a frenzy of international telecoms industry consolidation. Sky News has learnt that Vodafone has been weighing whether to make a potential offer for TalkTalk in recent weeks. Sky, the Comcast-owned immediate parent

Energy bills might be rising but the standard of customer service at some suppliers is going in the other direction, according to Citizens Advice. The charity’s energy watchdog found that customer service is at its worst since 2017, with the highest score for customer service at just 3.85 out of five compared to 3.95 in

Boris Johnson has pledged to “do more” to help people with the rising cost of living after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitted the government’s energy security strategy is “more of a medium three, four, five year answer”. Speaking to broadcasters from Hinkley Point C ahead of the release of the energy plan later today, the

Part of National Grid will be returned to public ownership under a new plan to help Britain reach its climate targets. The utility company will sell its Electricity System Operator (ESO) arm to the government and will then become part of a new Future System Operator (FSO). The new authority will oversee Britain’s electricity systems

The Treasury has blocked a proposal to expand the energy scheme to upgrade household insulation and energy efficiency, Sky News understands. It had been reported that Number 10 and business ministers were calling for an expansion of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme – which uses money raised from a levy on energy bills to

The cost of filling a family car with petrol was a third higher in March than it was a year ago, while a diesel car cost 40% more – and the chancellor’s 5p fuel duty cut has done little to help. That is the verdict from RAC’s Fuel Watch, which found that the average litre

A rise in demand for leisure and entertainment activities last month helped the UK economy grow more than had been expected, according to a closely watched survey, as fears intensify that soaring inflation will apply the brakes. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Services PMI, which measures the sector accounting for 80% of the country’s economy bar

The government has decided to push ahead with plans to privatise Channel 4. Ministers have concluded, following a consultation, that while the broadcaster is “currently performing well” its public ownership is “holding it back in the face of a rapidly-changing and competitive media landscape”, a government source said. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it

Shares in social media giant Twitter have surged by a quarter after it was revealed that Tesla billionaire Elon Musk had bought a 9.2% stake. A regulatory filing showed the tycoon had snapped up 73,486,938 Twitter shares. The stake is worth $2.89bn (£2.2bn), based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday. Musk is a frequent user

More than 200 flights were cancelled by easyJet over the weekend, leaving some passengers stranded amid travel chaos at some airports in the UK. The budget airline blamed the cancellations on the disruption of staff shortages caused by COVID-19, with at least 222 trips axed since Friday. It said it had made efforts to combat

The government is preparing to nationalise Gazprom’s British supply arm within days amid a stand-off between the Russian state-controlled energy firm and a Wall Street banking giant. Sky News has learnt that ministers are drawing up plans to take Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail (GM&T) into public hands if it fails to reassure financial counterparties