Business

A pack of suitors from international sport, property and finance are this weekend exploring bids to take control of Chelsea Football Club from the Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich. Sky News has learnt that the owners of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball (MLB) team have begun considering an offer for the West London club, and

Facebook and Instagram are blocking RT and Sputnik for users in the UK following a request by the British government. It follows a letter by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries in which she urged Meta, TikTok, and Twitter to restrict access to the Russian state-owned organisations which she accused of spreading “damaging propaganda into Britain”. “I

Microsoft has announced that it is suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia. In a blog post on Friday, the company said: “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and

Co-op supermarket has removed a Russian vodka brand from sale with immediate effect “as a sign of solidarity with the people of Ukraine”. Russian Standard vodka, which is distilled in St Petersburg, will no longer appear on shelves at Co-op, the company has announced. A Co-op spokesperson said: “In response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine

The impact of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine on oil and gas prices is now very apparent. The price of Brent crude surged to $119.84 a barrel on Thursday – a level last seen on 1 May 2012 – while the price of wholesale gas remains close to the record highs it hit just before

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich said he will sell the club – with the “net proceeds” of the sale going to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine. The Russian billionaire, who took over in 2003, said money generated from his sale of the club will go to a foundation benefiting “all victims of the war

The cost of Brent crude oil and natural gas have surged sharply as markets eye the chance of crucial Russian supplies being cut off – either through tighter Western sanctions or by a defiant President Vladimir Putin. As UK households already fret over wide-ranging hikes to bills, with a leap of almost £700 in the

Shop prices rose at their fastest rate in over a decade last month, new figures show. Retail price annual inflation accelerated to 1.8% in February, up from 1.5% in January – the highest rate of inflation since November 2011, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index. Rapidly rising food prices, particularly for fresh produce –

Two Russian billionaires hit back at EU sanctions on Tuesday morning, promising to fight the “spurious and unfounded” allegations that they are both members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven were named in a list of oligarchs sanctioned by Brussels on Monday over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The pair have

Oil titan Shell has announced that it will exit all of its joint ventures with Gazprom, an energy company controlled by the Russian state, following BP’s decision to pull out of the country yesterday. “We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression

One of Britain’s biggest fund managers has been left unable to sell its shareholding in the Russian state oil giant backed by BP amid restrictions on foreign share trades on Moscow’s stock exchange. Sky News has learnt that Abrdn, the FTSE-100 asset manager, is keen to offload its multimillion-pound stake in Rosneft but has been

BP is to offload its 19.75% stake in state-owned Russian oil giant Rosneft “with immediate effect” following the invasion of Ukraine. The firm’s chief executive Bernard Looney is also resigning from Rosneft’s board along with its other Rosneft director Bob Dudley, it said in a statement. The statement said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “caused us

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will this week hold talks with the chair of National Grid amid anticipation of a surge in state-sponsored cyber attacks from Russia. Sky News understands that Paula Rosput Reynolds, who took over as National Grid’s chair last year, will meet with Mr Kwarteng to discuss a range of issues, including the

Western allies have agreed to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system. In a joint statement, leader of the European Union, UK, US, and Canada, said the move was in response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine late last week. The group said: “We stand with the Ukrainian government and

McColl’s Retail Group, one of Britain’s biggest convenience store chains, is racing to secure new funding to stave off a collapse that could put thousands of jobs at risk. Sky News has learnt that McColl’s is working with advisers on attempts to find a buyer or third parties willing to inject fresh capital into the

UK flights to and over Russia have been banned by the country’s civil aviation authority in retaliation for a British ban on Aeroflot in UK airports and airspace. Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the UK carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned from Friday. It is acting, it said, in response

Asian shares have rallied slightly driven by a US rebound as some analysts said the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine were not as strong as markets had feared. Global share prices plummeted sharply on Thursday after Vladimir Putin unleashed a military assault on the neighbouring country. While the

A surge in wholesale gas prices after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine could see annual energy bills soar above £3,000 for millions of households, an analyst has warned. Bills are already set to climb by a typical £693 to £1,971 in April after regulator Ofgem announced the latest increase in the cap earlier this

The full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has sparked a rush for safe haven assets and sent the cost of Brent crude oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since September 2014. Fears of a wider conflict, additional sanctions and higher inflation arising from president Putin’s order to attack prompted a rush

Rishi Sunak has been urged by the IMF to consider raising taxes on those “who have benefited most from the pandemic” as it warned of inflation risks facing the UK economy. It suggested that levying “windfall or wealth taxes” now could be one way for the chancellor to address “demand-supply imbalances” when he unveils latest