Business

NatWest Group is preparing to cancel millions of pounds in bonuses and share awards earmarked for its former chief executive following a probe into the closure of the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s bank accounts. Sky News has learnt that NatWest, in which the government remains the single-largest shareholder, wants to resolve the issue of

Luton Airport has admitted it does not know whose vehicles were damaged by a massive fire which ripped through one of its car parks three days ago. Passengers who left their cars at Terminal Car Park 2 say they have been “left in limbo” since Tuesday night’s blaze. The airport apologised to customers in a

UK wholesale gas prices have risen again and are now at their highest level since mid-February. Prices rose to nearly 135 pence a therm (a unit of heat used to measure gas) on Friday afternoon. It comes after gas costs hit a six-month high of nearly 123p a therm on Tuesday afternoon – a level

The chancellor has warned the British public he is preparing “for the worst” as he draws up his autumn statement. Jeremy Hunt told Sky News the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) official economic forecasts would be considerably worse than at the budget – a signal there may be spending cuts or possibly even tax rises

The former CEO of Barclays has been fined £1.8m after misleading regulators and the bank’s board about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Jes Staley has also been banned from holding senior management positions in the financial services industry. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, he “recklessly approved” a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA

The UK economy grew by 0.2% in August – in line with expectations. This was mostly driven by 0.4% growth in the services sector – with a 0.7% contraction in production output and a 0.5% fall in the construction sector. The Office for National Statistics has also revised July’s gross domestic product (GDP) downwards. While

KPMG has been given a record fine for failings in its auditing of Carillion – the construction company that collapsed in 2018 with the loss of thousands of jobs. The Financial Reporting Council said the firm has been sanctioned a total of £30m – but this has been reduced by 30% after co-operation and admissions

Lush, the UK-based cosmetics retailer, is facing a backlash from customers after a “boycott Israel” message was displayed on the window of one of its stores. The company, which has in the past faced criticism from the Jewish community for openly supporting the Palestinian cause, suggested in a statement that a member of staff had

A star witness has given evidence at the trial of fallen crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried – telling the court he directed her to commit fraud. Caroline Ellison was the CEO of Alameda Research – a hedge fund linked to the doomed FTX exchange – and used to be the one-time billionaire’s girlfriend. She told the

UK gas prices have reached a six-month high after an Israeli gas field was closed and a Finnish gas pipe was damaged. While the oil price stabilised from Monday morning by returning to below $88 (£71.84) a barrel, UK gas prices rose more than 12% to nearly 123p a therm (122.96) Tuesday afternoon – a

Worse financial pain is to come, as many people have not yet felt the full impact of the increased cost of borrowing, the Bank of England has said in one of its latest health checks of the UK’s financial system. Higher interest rates, currently at 5.25% after a run of 14 hikes, have not yet

Santander UK has been approached to revive its financial crisis-era role as a white knight for failing British lenders as regulators seek to secure a quickfire private sector deal to shore up Metro Bank. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank, NatWest Group and Lloyds Banking Group are among those approached by banking regulators

Wilko will shut the doors on its last remaining high street stores for the final time after the chain’s collapse. The 93-year-old retailer has been closing each of its 400 UK stores over the past month after collapsing into administration in August. Forty-one stores now remain but will close on Sunday. The shelves have already

The board of Metro Bank rejected a secret takeover approach last month from a rival British lender, just days before its share price crashed when it emerged that it was seeking hundreds of millions of pounds to shore up its finances. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Shawbrook has tabled several bid proposals to Metro

The UK is on course for the biggest tax rise in at least 50 years because of the freeze on personal thresholds and soaring inflation, according to new analysis. The Resolution Foundation said taxpayers are set to hand over about £40bn a year by 2028 – up from a forecast of £30bn at the time

One thing that quite often puzzles people who do not work in financial markets is their tendency to treat seemingly good news as bad. We got a classic example on Friday with news that US employers added 336,000 jobs in September. That was up from 227,000 in August (a figure itself revised higher from the

Elon Musk’s $44bn (£36bn) takeover of Twitter is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and he could be compelled to testify. According to court filings on Thursday, the case centres around concerns the world’s richest man broke federal security laws in 2022, when he bought Twitter stock. The investigation is also

Metro Bank has kicked off talks about the sale of a £3bn chunk of its mortgage book as part of an increasingly urgent attempt to shore up its fragile balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that advisers to Metro Bank – which saw its shares plunge on Thursday after acknowledging that it was seeking to

Metro Bank, the high street lender, is drawing up plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital in weeks in a bid to strengthen its troubled balance sheet. Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank – the first new lender to open on Britain’s high streets in over 100 years when it

Rents have again reached a new record high with monthly bills outside London averaging £1,278, according to property website Rightmove. Average advertised rents outside the capital hit the latest high after breaking records for 15 consecutive three-month periods, the Rightmove data for the quarter from July to September showed. It means advertised monthly rents are