Business

Blimey. The Bank of England was always going to increase its Bank rate this month. But every economist had expected only a quarter percentage point increase. There was good reason for this. Although inflation data had been higher than expected this week, the bank had been slowing down the rate at which it was lifting

The prime minister and his chancellor find themselves in something of a conundrum. They have committed themselves to halving inflation this year – without referring to the fact this is actually something the politicians outsourced to the Bank of England 25 years ago – even, if the chancellor is to be believed, this comes at

The rate of price rises has remained 8.7% despite expectations of a fall, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced the consumer price index measure of inflation stood at 8.7% in the year up to May, the same as the rate in April. A slight decrease, to 8.4%, had been expected

The chancellor has ruled out mortgage bill support for fear it would increase inflation. Answering questions in the House of Commons, Jeremy Hunt told MPs that “schemes which involve injecting large amounts of cash into the economy, right now will be inflationary”. Despite expressing sympathy for people with higher mortgage costs he said, “we won’t

The pace of grocery inflation has eased to its slowest monthly rate this year, according to industry data that backs hopes the worst may be over. Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks supermarket sales and prices, reported a rate of 16.5% over the four weeks to 11 June. That was down from the 17.2% figure revealed a

A wave of corporate dealmaking in Britain’s car dealership sector is to continue with an overseas swoop on Lookers worth over £400m. Sky News has learnt that Alpha Auto Group, a privately owned Canadian car dealer network, has agreed a deal to buy its British peer. One City source said a deal was likely to

It’s too early to talk about job losses, as part of a deal that would create the UK’s biggest mobile phone operator, the Vodafone UK chief executive exclusively told Sky’s Ian King Live programme. “Some roles” might be impacted by the merger with Three, Ahmed Essam said, in his first interview since the deal was

Thousands of jobs could be created in Scotland under a Labour proposal to create a publicly-owned clean energy company with its headquarters north of the border, the leader of the opposition has said. Sir Keir Starmer set out his proposal to launch Great British Energy (GBN) during his party conference speech in Liverpool last year

It would be “risky” for the government to protect mortgage holders against rising interest rates, according to a former Bank of England deputy governor. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, Sir Charlie Bean said trying to help those paying off home loans could force the bank to raise the base rate even further. His

The bosses of Britain’s biggest banks have told Rishi Sunak that technology companies must contribute to the cost of an online fraud “pandemic” that is undermining international investor confidence in the UK economy. Sky News has obtained a letter to the prime minister signed by the chief executives of nine lenders, including Barclays, NatWest and

Annual mortgage repayments are set to rise by £2,900 for the average household remortgaging next year, according to a think tank. As the UK’s “mortgage crunch” deepens, total annual mortgage repayments could rise by £15.8bn by 2026, the Resolution Foundation said. Prolonged inflation has raised expectations that the Bank of England’s base rate-rising cycle, which

London taxpayers could face millions of pounds in losses after an electric vehicle company backed by Sadiq Khan collapsed into administration. Sky News can reveal that the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) injected more than £3m into Breathe, which provides EVs including Teslas to private-hire drivers. The funds were committed by MEEF just

Tesco has reported “encouraging early signs” that grocery inflation is starting to ease while revealing a leap in sales. The UK’s largest retailer said there was a slowdown in price growth across the market and it was continuing to focus on value for its customers. The company updated on its performance as the food sector

Millions of people were left waiting too long for energy support due to a lack of government “bandwidth”, according to a report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee. More than a million households became eligible for support too late, while a further two million homes using prepayment meters have yet to redeem their £400 voucher,

The operator of Britain’s electricity system says it is to keep a scheme that aims to help prevent blackouts for the coming winter. National Grid ESO said it was “prudent to maintain” the demand flexibility service (DFS), which was introduced in 2022 in the wake of Europe’s gas squeeze caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Federal Reserve, which is the US central bank, has held interest rates after 10 consecutive rises. The decision was announced a day after official figures showed US inflation was 4% – less than half the UK’s current level of 8.7%. Latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said prices rose 4% in May,

A deal that will create the country’s biggest mobile phone operator has been struck by Vodafone and the owner of Three UK, CK Hutchison. The combined group, which will comprise only their respective UK operations, will be majority-owned by Vodafone with 51% of the equity. The deal, if approved by regulators, will create a group

Cineworld’s London-listed holding company is preparing to file for administration as part of a comprehensive financial restructuring that will wipe out its shareholders. Sky News understands that the multinational cinema operator is lining up AlixPartners to act as administrator to help effect a transfer of ownership to its lenders. An announcement is expected to be

Next weekend’s security staff strikes at Heathrow have been postponed as Unite, the union, considers a pay offer. Last week security staff at the UK’s largest airport announced an escalation of strike action, with walkouts to take place nearly every weekend from mid-June to the end of August. Two thousand staff were due to strike

Basic wage increases picked up pace at a higher rate than expected in the 12 months to April, according to the latest official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average earnings, excluding bonuses, grew at 7.2% over the 12 months – up from the 6.7% recorded in March and higher than the 6.9%