Business

The government has temporarily relaxed rules around airport slots to help airlines avoid last-minute cancellations due to staff shortages. It said airlines will be given a short window, described as an “amnesty”, to hand back take off and landing slots they are not confident they will be able to operate for the rest of the

Imagine, if you can, you are in the chancellor’s shoes. Your instincts are to cut taxes and reduce public spending yet pretty much every decision you’ve taken in office has involved doing precisely the opposite. Worse: in recent months, even when you have forked out serious sums to support workers, much of that money seems

The union representing 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail has begun a vote that could lead to strikes in a bitter row over pay and jobs. The CWU, which is also involved in pay disputes at BT and the Post Office amid the widespread union scramble for awards in line with soaring inflation, is sending

This week’s rail strike and the potential for further walkouts across the public sector has conjured the spirits of the Winter of Discontent, the dark days of the late 70s still considered the low point for British industrial relations, even if some of those in government and Fleet Street are too young to remember it.

It would be tempting to assume, on the eve of what looks likely to be the biggest rail strike in a generation and amid speculation of a so-called “summer of discontent”, that the UK is somehow unique in being afflicted with poor labour relations at present. Nothing could be further from the truth. Governments across

Motorists are being warned to expect a surge in traffic on the roads when this week’s strikes bring large parts of Britain’s rail network to a halt. The AA believes the worst-affected roads are likely to be main motorway arteries, in addition to rural and suburban areas. And although the rail strikes are only taking

A former top executive at Aviva and British Gas will this week be appointed to spearhead the latest takeover quest of Marwyn, one of the London market’s most prolific creators of listed acquisition vehicles. Sky News has learnt that Mark Hodges, who has run some of the biggest companies in the British insurance industry, will

Hundreds of UK-based executives at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are to receive one-off six-figure windfalls from the sale of the global accountancy giant’s mobility services arm. Sky News has learnt that the firm’s 950 partners in Britain will be handed an average of just over £100,000 each following a $2.2bn deal with the private equity firm Clayton

Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with the soaring cost of living, the government has warned. Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke has said matching salaries to inflation risked causing prices in the shops to surge even higher. His intervention comes as more than 40,000 staff prepare for a three-day strike that will cripple

Russia’s economy may take a decade to recover from the crushing sanctions placed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to one of Russia’s top businessmen. Returning to pre-sanctions levels could take nearly 10 years as the country remains cut off from half of its trade, said German Gref, the

The Government is trying to do everything it can to tackle the cost of living “storm” but cannot solve every problem or save every business, a business minister has told Sky News. Paul Scully played down the immediate likelihood of tax cuts to help struggling households as he stressed the “tight” public finances and burgeoning

Passengers at Heathrow will not face major disruption this summer despite an industry-wide international labour crisis that could take 18 months to resolve, the airport’s chief executive has said. Travellers at airports across the UK faced significant disruption to flights during a chaotic half-term week culminating in the Jubilee weekend, sparking concern that summer holidays

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the fifth time in a row to 1.25% and set the scene to act more “forcefully” ahead because of a mounting inflation threat. There had been speculation of a more aggressive tightening after the sharpest rate hike since 1994 of 0.75% was imposed by counterparts at

The US central bank has increased interest rates by 0.75% to combat inflation – the sharpest hike in 28 years. The Federal Reserve signalled more rate rises to come and projected a slowing economy in the months ahead, along with rising unemployment. The bank raised its benchmark rate to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%,

The boss of Royal Mail has told Sky News it is keeping prices “under review” as costs surge across the business and that unions threatening strikes must understand the “changes that are required so we can compete in the market”. Simon Thompson was speaking as the company faces challenges to its modernisation plans across its

The pound has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since the onset of the pandemic, fuelled by concerns about the economy and the prospect of a second Scottish independence referendum. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier that her government had an “indisputable mandate” for another vote and was ready to set out

A consumer rights expert has hit out at the aviation regulator while accusing airlines of presiding over a ‘blatant flouting of consumer rights’ following the recent flight chaos. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) committee of MPs there were serious, historic, failures

The European Commission has warned it will take “proportionate action” to secure the legal implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol after the UK government published legislation which will override the mechanism. The commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic said the EU viewed the UK’s actions with “significant concern” and that it would consider what steps to

The UK economy contracted by 0.3% in April, according to official figures released as the CBI, Britain’s biggest employers’ group, demanded “vital actions” from the government to prevent an inflation-driven recession. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been expected by economists to confirm a slight rise in gross domestic product (GDP) for the month

The chair of Landsec, the FTSE-100 commercial property group, is on a shortlist of contenders to take the helm at the Royal Opera House, one of Britain’s most important cultural sector jobs. Sky News has learnt that Cressida Hogg, who is preparing to step down from the Landsec post, is among a small number of