Business

The pound has edged higher against the dollar in anticipation of a key statement from the new chancellor tasked with sorting out the fallout from the government’s mini-budget. Sterling had fallen to a record low against the dollar at the end of September, after the short-lived then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled the biggest programme of

Unions are close to organising co-ordinated strike action “very soon” following the “horror story” of the past few weeks, a union boss has told Sky News. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, accused the government of “aiding and abetting” employers earning millions in profits but not handing that to workers. She confirmed Unite, the UK’s

Interest rates will have to be raised higher than initially hoped in the face of inflationary pressures, the Bank of England (BoE) governor has suggested. Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in Washington, Andrew Bailey also said there had been “a very clear and immediate meeting of minds” with new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on

So farewell, then, Trussonomics. The demise of the country’s second shortest-lived chancellor also brings with it the demise of the country’s shortest-lived economic movement. Liz Truss came into office promising to boost the country’s growth rate through a forensic combination of tax cuts, reforms to the country’s supply side (for which read: things like planning

Ministers are in talks with major US-based producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a bid to bolster Britain’s energy security. Sky News has learnt that the government is discussing substantial purchase agreements with companies including Cheniere and Venture Global. Sources said the talks were at a detailed stage although it was possible that they

The financial markets have responded negatively following Liz Truss’s announcement of a U-turn on corporation tax in a bid to reassure investors. As was widely predicted, the prime minister said she was abandoning the government’s commitment to drop the planned tax increase from 19% to 25% – even though it was a central plank of

The Bank of England is set to stop its government bond buying scheme today after attempting to reassure the UK’s financial markets. The Bank launched the unprecedented intervention after the chancellor’s mini-budget caused chaos within the markets, as well as a potential pension pots crisis. It promised to buy up to £65bn in UK government

The head of the International Monetary Fund has delivered a blunt condemnation of the UK government’s mini-budget – pointing out government and Bank of England policies should not be working against each other. Kristalina Georgieva was speaking at a news conference in Washington after the government’s mini-budget unleashed chaos in the markets when it was

The chancellor’s mini-budget “complicated matters” for the Bank of England as it battled to bring down inflation, the International Monetary Fund’s chief economist has told Sky News. In an interview at the IMF’s annual meetings in Washington, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas warned the coming years would “not be very pleasant” for the global economy. He also said

UK government borrowing costs have hit a 20-year high after the Bank of England confirmed its emergency bond-buying programme will end on Friday as planned. On Wednesday morning, it said all temporary and targeted purchases of UK government bonds, known as gilts, would stop. This has been the position throughout and has been “made absolutely

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a tough 2023 as it cut growth predictions and forecast economic contraction in a third of the world. “The worst is yet to come,” the global financial institution’s World Economic Outlook report said. “For many people 2023 will feel like a recession,” it added. A downward revision of

This is starting to look a little… unnerving. This morning the Bank of England tweaked its emergency intervention into the government bond (gilts) market for a second successive day. The details are somewhat arcane: yesterday it doubled the amount it was offering to buy each day; today it said it would widen the stock of

The acquisition by Morrisons of McColl’s, one of Britain’s biggest convenience store chains, has edged closer to being given the go-ahead by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority has said it is “minded to accept” proposals from the retailers. A total of 28 McColl’s stores could be offloaded as part of the proposals

The Bank of England has announced it is doubling the value of UK government bonds it can buy up as it enters the final days of its emergency bond buying programme in an effort to support the pension market and allay fears of a cliff edge ending. The Bank said it was now ready to

Nearly one in seven Britons experience anxiety about the week ahead, dubbed the “Sunday scaries”, with work stress the most common trigger, according to new figures. Research by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities also found 53% of people feel anxious about working in person, compared to 6% of people who feel anxious about

A former boss of crisis-hit Wasps is spearheading a takeover bid for the Premiership Rugby club that could save it from the threat of relegation or extinction. Sky News has learnt that David Armstrong, who stepped down as Wasps’ chief executive in 2017, is working with Terminum Capital, an investment firm, on a bid to

Octopus Energy is close to clinching a takeover of stricken rival Bulb in a deal that will crystallise up to £4bn of losses for British taxpayers. Sky News has learnt that ministers at the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have been told that a sale of Bulb’s 1.6m-strong customer

Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, has ruled out tearing up the regime put in place to segregate high street lenders’ investment banking arms that was put in place after the 2008 financial crisis. Sky News has learnt that Mr Kwarteng told a gathering of industry chief executives this week that bank ring-fencing would not be scrapped

The pound’s value ebbed and flowed on Friday – supported by a Bank of England deputy governor’s vow to persist in the fight against inflation but later hammered as stronger than expected US jobs data lifted the dollar. Remarks by Sir Dave Ramsden, a member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) which sets Bank rate,

The number of company insolvencies in England and Wales hit its highest level for 13 years in the second quarter of the year, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded a total of 5,629 business failures between April and June. It was the highest quarterly number since the third quarter of