The World Bank has warned of a “pronounced slowdown” in global growth as threats from new COVID-19 variants and cost of living pressures bite. It also pointed to the risks of debt and income inequality as it stressed in particular the risk to emerging and developing economies. The warning came as separate figures showed inflation
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Heathrow Airport has called for all coronavirus testing to be dropped for fully-vaccinated people while revealing that “at least” 600,000 passengers cancelled flights during the key holiday month of December. The UK’s largest airport said “swiftly imposed” action during the month to tackle the Omicron variant in the run-up to the festive season prompted uncertainty
A residential energy supplier part-owned by a Cheshire local authority is lining up administrators amid suggestions that it could collapse as soon as this week. Sky News has learnt that Together Energy, which serves about 170,000 homes, is preparing to call in insolvency practitioners from FRP Advisory, the London-listed restructuring firm. One energy industry executive
Aldi says it enjoyed a record Christmas with sales boosted by “half a million new shoppers in December” as the wider grocery sector gears up for a tougher year as household budgets are squeezed by surging inflation. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket chain said sales in December rose by 0.4% compared to the previous year, when
Users of the Virgin Media O2 phone network will not face roaming charges this year, despite other major networks announcing an extra fee. EE and Vodafone – two of the UK’s four biggest networks – said they were reintroducing roaming charges for customers travelling to the EU in January, and Three is set to reintroduce
The British company which has orchestrated a torrent of retail share placings for cash-strapped companies during the pandemic is in advanced talks to sell a big stake to the world’s largest technology investor. Sky News has learnt that PrimaryBid is close to finalising the details of a $150m (£110m) funding round that will be led
Eyewitness: Remembering a job done By James Matthews, Scotland correspondent Hunterston is a human story too. It showed in the gathering of around a dozen former employees who lined the approach road to watch this nuclear power station, their station, breathe its last. The 40-second rapid release of steam into the cold January air was
The US jobs recovery stalled at the end of last year even as official figures confirmed annual record growth in employment numbers. Closely-watched data from America’s bureau of labour statistics (BLS) showed the world’s biggest economy added 199,000 jobs in December – well short of the 400,000 figure pencilled in by forecasters. Experts said a
Oil and gas companies operating in the UK’s North Sea are expected to report “near record” income in 2021 and 2022 as the price of energy skyrockets. Wood Mackenzie analysis says that UK oil and gas operators are projected to record around $17bn in cash flow for last year, and approximately $18bn this year. Such
Unions and fair pay campaigners are demanding a recognition of UK workers’ contribution to the UK during the coronavirus pandemic as the annual ‘high pay day’ arrives – albeit a day later than usual. The High Pay Centre said 9am on Friday would mark the time when the median FTSE 100 chief executive (CEO) would
The scrapping of pre-departure coronavirus testing for people arriving in the UK has resulted in a leap in interest in international travel, companies have reported. The measure, which was introduced in the run-up to Christmas to combat the Omicron variant, will be withdrawn from 4am on Friday across the UK now Scotland has decided to
The UK car industry says growing demand for electric cars was the only “bright spot” for the sector last year as a string of coronavirus crisis-related challenges combined to knock sales. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported a rise of just 1% in overall new car sales during 2021 compared to the
A local authority-backed energy supplier with 170,000 customers faces collapsing within weeks as a last-ditch search for new funding nears its end. Sky News has learnt that Together Energy, which is 50%-owned by Warrington Borough Council, is likely to run out of money later in January without an emergency capital injection. A source close to
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will hold further talks with energy suppliers on Wednesday as the government continues to explore ways of softening the blow of a forecast 50% increase to household energy bills. A third round of talks between industry and ministers in the week since the Christmas break comes after Boris Johnson said he
Frozen food specialist Iceland has revealed that more than one in 10 workers are currently self-isolating as staff shortages take a toll on business, the NHS, and public transport networks after the Christmas break. The supermarket chain told Sky News that about 3,300 people were currently at home – representing 11% of its entire workforce
Apple has become the world’s first company with a $3tn (£2.2tn) stock market value. On the first day of trading in 2022, the Silicon Valley-based tech company’s shares briefly hit a record of $182.88 around midday on Monday. The stock later pulled back from that level, closing 2.5% higher at $182.01. The iPhone maker passed $2tn
David Bowie’s back catalogue has been sold to Warner Music Group in a deal reported to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The deal covers songs from the 26 studio albums released within the star’s life as well as the posthumous album Toy, and two he made with the band Tin Machine. It spans
One of Britain’s most acquisitive insurance companies has struck a £400m deal to snap up the group which distributes policies for the likes of Marks & Spencer and the RAC. Sky News has learnt that Markerstudy has agreed to buy BGL Insurance, which is owned by the group behind the Comparethemarket price comparison platform in
Twenty Conservative politicians have urged Boris Johnson to scrap energy taxes as bills continue to rocket. The MPs and peers have written a letter in the Sunday Telegraph to ask the prime minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help consumers facing “fuel poverty”. Energy prices in the UK are being forced up faster than any
Microsoft says it is aware of a programming flaw which saw some customers’ Exchange servers stop processing emails just as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. System administrators, who are sharing workarounds on social media, have dubbed the bug Y2K22 – in the style of the Y2K bug which affected some computers at