Business

A veteran investment banker is being lined up to chair one of Britain’s biggest car parts manufacturers as it prepares for a newly independent life as a standalone listed company. Sky News has learnt that Simon Mackenzie-Smith, a prominent City figure during a long career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is close to being

At first glance, there is nothing altogether unusual about the train. Sitting on the platform at Spandau station in the suburbs of Berlin, it looks much the same as every other one. But do not be fooled, for this train, manufactured by French group Alstom, is very special indeed. It runs not on electricity or

The head of NatWest, which is state-controlled, has defended the amount of tax that big banks pay. Alison Rose, the chief executive, said banks were taxed more than “any other sector” and more than the financial service sectors in other countries. Speaking on Ian King Live, Ms Rose said: “On taxes, the banking sector already

Shares in Amazon fell as the company expected slower Christmas sales and increased expenses. Shares fell nearly 20% as inflation and interest rate costs threatened to eat up profits. The world’s largest online retailer forecast comparatively weak growth for the next three months, typically the busiest Christmas period. The lacklustre forecast came at the same

The gap between housing benefit and the actual cost of private rent has risen by 40% in just five months, Sky News has learned. Figures from the homeless charity Crisis and Zoopla show that affordable homes in England, for those on housing allowance, have declined by more than a third. It means only 8% of

Shell has reported operating profits of $9.5bn (£8.19bn) for the third quarter of this year, lower than that of the three months before but still more than double the same period in 2021. The London-listed energy giant reported two consecutive quarters of record profit in the first half of the year at a time of

Elon Musk has been seen entering Twitter HQ – carrying what appears to be a sink. Mr Musk tweeted a video showing himself walking into the building in San Francisco a day after reports that he could close his $44bn takeover of the site by the end of this week. The 51-year-old captioned the video:

Ford has announced the end of the UK’s best selling car – the Fiesta. By the end of June next year, no more Fiestas are to be produced in the manufacturer’s factory in Cologne, Germany. The Fiesta was the UK’s best-selling car with 4,804,098 sold, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and

The pound hit a six-week high as Rishi Sunak became prime minister today, another sign of the markets welcoming the country’s new leader. Sterling was up 1.8% against the dollar at $1.147, having risen by 1.92% to $1.150 earlier in the day – the highest level since 15 September. On Friday afternoon the pound had

The price of low-cost everyday grocery items has increased 17% in the 12 months to September, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown, more than the average rate of food and drink inflation. The figures, based on web-scraped supermarket data for 30 everyday grocery items, showed the cost of items had already

The financial markets appear to have welcomed news that Rishi Sunak will be the UK’s next prime minister. The pound was up 0.15% against the US dollar just moments after Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, said that only one valid nomination had been received for the top job. On Friday afternoon, the

Train passengers have been warned to expect disruption on rail networks as a strike hits services on some of Britain’s busiest routes today. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union working for Avanti West Coast are staging a 24-hour walk-out in a dispute over rosters. Commuters have been warned to expect a “significantly

Moody’s rating agency has cut its UK’s financial outlook to negative but maintained its sovereign rating at Aa3. On Friday, the agency lowered the UK’s outlook to negative from stable, citing policy uncertainty amid high inflation and weaker growth prospects. Moody’s said the government’s “ability to engender confidence in its commitment to fiscal prudence” will

Just when you thought it was safe to step back into the gilts market… things are getting nervy again. Around lunchtime on Friday the odds on Boris Johnson winning the Conservative leadership battle rapidly shortened. For a moment, the former prime minister was favourite, on Betfair’s betting markets, to become the next PM. Johnson backed

The iPhone and iPad are both getting a bunch of new features courtesy of a software update today. Apple is releasing iOS 16.1 – adding to the functionality which arrived with the iPhone 14 range last month – and iPadOS 16, which comes ahead of the launch of new tablets this week. Starting with the

The country’s biggest supermarket chain has raised the price for its popular lunchtime meal deal for the first time in more than a decade as costs soar. Tesco revealed that the package, typically a sandwich, packet of crisps and a soft drink, would rise from £3.50 to £3.90 for customers who are not Clubcard holders.

The latest official data on the state of the public finances and consumer spending makes for grim reading as the country awaits its next leader, with financial markets reflecting renewed jitters over the economy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that public sector net borrowing came in at £20bn last month – £3bn more

Almost six in 10 UK adults are struggling to keep up with their bills, according to new research from the City regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimated that 7.8 million people were struggling to keep up with their bills – an increase of around 2.5 million people since 2020 – when around 5.3 million

The value of energy discounts given to households that cut their peak time electricity used will be raised, the National Grid ESO has said, in a bid to turn homes into “individual power plants”. Households will now be paid £3 per kilowatt hour instead of 52p if they avoid high-power activities – such as cooking

Naked Wines has made around 6% of its workforce redundant after a failed growth strategy forced a restructuring. The online retailer, which connects its subscribers with products from independent winemakers, said 30 staff had gone as it looked to create a “leaner and more focused organisation”, saving around £18m. Naked had spent big on marketing