Business

You remember that “dire economic inheritance” the new government keeps talking about? Earlier in the summer Rachel Reeves produced a document suggesting the state of Britain’s economy and public finances was so dismal – so much worse than expected – that she would be forced into introducing significant measures (which read: lots more tax rises)

Government borrowing rose to the highest amount since the pandemic in July, official figures show. Not since 2021 has there been a July with such high borrowing, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It means that there was a £3.1bn difference between what the government took in from things like taxes

A pilot scheme scrapping peak-time ScotRail fares will end next month following a “limited degree of success”. Transport Scotland said the trial – subsidised by the Scottish government – cost £40m but “did not achieve its aims” of encouraging more people to swap their cars for rail travel. The scheme began in October last year

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Italy. One person has been confirmed dead – believed to be the vessel’s cook – while four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, according to

British tech billionaire Mike Lynch is missing off Sicily’s coast after a yacht sank, Sky News understands. One person is dead and six others are missing after a UK-flagged superyacht named Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily in a storm. Follow live: Superyacht sinks latest Sky News also understands the yacht is owned by

The housing market experienced a surge in activity following the Bank of England’s recent decision to cut interest rates, according to a leading property website. Estate agents reported a 19% jump in enquiries about properties for sale after 1 August, when compared with the same period last year, research by Rightmove found. It came after

Dozens of Ted Baker stores will shut for the last time this week amid growing doubts over a future licensing partnership with the retail tycoon Mike Ashley. Sky News understands that talks between Mr Ashley’s Frasers Group and Authentic, Ted Baker’s owner, have stalled three months after it appeared that an agreement was imminent. Administrators

The private equity backer of Six Nations Rugby is plotting to buy a stake in one of Britain’s biggest audit firms – a deal which could have ramifications across the professional services sector. Sky News has learnt that CVC Capital Partners is among the buyout firms preparing to table bids for a controlling stake in

Fortnite is back on mobile phones for the first time in four years, after bitter legal rows got the game taken off both Android and Apple app stores.  Now, developer Epic Games has launched its own app store, making it one of the first third-party stores available on iOS – although UK iPhone users will

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport go on strike from the end of the month. The 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union will be on strike from August 31 to September 3, then working-to-rule and refusing to work overtime until September 22. The long-running dispute centres on enforced changes

The accounting giant PwC has been fined £15m by the financial conduct regulator in its first-ever financial penalty on an audit firm. One of the so-called big four accounting firms, PwC was said by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to have missed a number of audit red flags and failed to act immediately to report

British retailers saw sales rise last month after a boost from Euro 2024 and summer discounting, official figures show, in a further sign of a growing economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales grew 0.5% last month, after contracting 0.9% in June. Money blog: Fines for parents taking children out of school

The boss of mobile phone firm Three has hit out at the UK’s “abysmal” 5G speeds and availability. Chief executive Robert Finnegan made the comments as he urged regulators to approve the company’s planned merger with Vodafone – arguing the £15bn move would pave the way for better investment in network infrastructure. It came as

The UK economy grew 0.6% over three months, official figures show.  But there was no growth at all in June, the Office for National Statistics said, as businesses delayed purchases until after the general election. Gross domestic product (GDP) – the measure of everything produced in the UK – expanded from April to June. This

A “major breakthrough” which could signal the end of national rail strikes has been made in the long-running pay row involving drivers, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). The department says that, following a series of “positive” talks led by the government, the train drivers’ union ASLEF has agreed to recommend a new pay

The pace at which prices are rising has sped up, according to official figures. The rate of inflation grew to 2.2% in July, up from 2% a month earlier, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. It is the first time since December last year that the rate has increased, rather than fallen. But

While attention has inevitably been on the first rise in grocery price inflation since March last year, the latest till roll data from Kantar Worldpanel also contains valuable insights into the grocery market itself. The figures highlight in particular the continued success of the biggest two players in the market, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, in terms

Grocery inflation has risen for the first time since March 2023, according to closely watched industry data. Prices in food shops rose by 1.8% in the four weeks to 4 August, research by Kantar Worldpanel found. It follows 17 consecutive months of easing inflation in the sector, including during the previous month when the rate

The threat of more than 100 riots across the country led to a 10% drop in hospitality sales, an industry body has said. The expectation of further far-right violence last Wednesday, which failed to materialise after more than a week of rioting, meant many shops, pubs and restaurants closed early and town centres emptied. The

Sir Charles Dunstone, the entrepreneur behind the TalkTalk broadband empire, has struck a £400m deal with its lenders to avert the threat of a debt default. Sky News has learnt that TalkTalk will announce later on Monday that its shareholders – who include Sir Charles – have agreed to inject £65m into the company immediately.