Business

Close to 50 shops shut down every day in 2022, more than at any other point for at least five years. In a bruising year for retail, 17,145 shops closed last year – up by nearly 50% on 2021, when 11,449 shops shut. Analysis by the Centre for Retail Research found about 47 sites shut up

A group of financial investors which have lent hundreds of millions of pounds to Matalan are close to finalising a deal to take control of one of Britain’s biggest homewares retailers. Sky News understands that the senior lenders, which include prominent City names such as Invesco and Man GLG, could strike a deal within the

Ministers are urging the chancellor to provide £300m of taxpayers’ money to avert the closure of British Steel’s two blast furnaces – a move that would trigger the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in northern England. Sky News has learnt that Grant Shapps, the business secretary, and Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, wrote to

In response to the release of thousands of pages of his tax returns, former US president Donald Trump warned “horrible things” were to come, taking aim at “radical left Democrats”. The former US president was unable to stop Democrats in Congress divulging the information, covering 2015 to 2020. In a statement responding to the release,

House prices recorded their “worst run” since 2008 following a fourth consecutive monthly decline in December, according to a closely-watched measure. Mortgage lender Nationwide’s index charted a sharp slowdown in the annual rate of price growth – to 2.8% this month following the 4.4% recorded in November. It said prices dipped 0.1% in December compared

The cost of living crisis will deepen next year as people continue to be hit with falling pay, higher taxes and soaring bills, a think tank has warned. Households face a cost of living “groundhog year” with disposable incomes plummeting even further than in 2022 and living standards getting “far worse” before they improve, according

Wages are climbing at close to their fastest pace since records began. Yet, workers’ pay packets are declining at close to their fastest pace since records began. Both of these seemingly contradictory statements are true. Workers are fighting for pay rises and are having some success but the gains are no match for inflation, which

Tesla stocks have slid to their lowest value in more than two years as the electric car maker plans to reduce its production cycle and investors worry how much time Elon Musk is dedicating to managing Twitter. Musk emailed Tesla staff telling them not to be “bothered by stock market craziness” and that Tesla will

Rail workers, Border Force staff and driving examiners are resuming strike action today, with commuters warned of serious delays as they return to work. It comes after a day of travel chaos despite a rail strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) coming to an end, with crowds of people left waiting

Border Force, rail and driving test staff are resuming strike action today – but strikes by waste collection workers in Wirral have been called off after a pay offer was accepted. Those striking on Wednesday include: Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Great Western Railway will walk out from noon to 11.59am

The number of Boxing Day shoppers rose by 50% across the UK but remained below pre-pandemic levels as cost of living pressures weigh on consumers. More shoppers were drawn to Boxing Day sales this year than last in all retail settings across the UK, according to data from retail analytics company Springboard. By 12pm today

The guide to getting a Boxing Day bargain Reena Sewraz, from Which?, says there are ways to keep costs down no matter what you’re in the market for. Make sure deals are genuine: Some special offers may not be as special as they appear. Use price-tracking websites to check the history of a price. Shop

Elon Musk says Twitter is “not on the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore”, but admits there is “still much work to do”. Since he took control of the social networking platform in October, having paid $44bn (£38bn) for it, Musk has not had an easy ride. He made a number of controversial policy decisions and

The prominent investment management firm GAM Holding is intensifying discussions over a potential sale months after it was forced to issue a profit warning. Sky News has learnt that GAM, which has assets under management of approximately CHF74.5bn (£66.38bn), is working with bankers at UBS to field interest from prospective bidders. The process is said

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has said he will not sell any more of his stock in the company for two years. Mr Musk, who founded the electric vehicle-maker, was speaking on a Twitter Spaces audio chat when he said the economy is likely to be in a “serious recession” next year. Tesla’s board is

Snug, a British sofa manufacturer, is in talks about a sale four years after its launch. Sky News understands that Snug, which was founded by Rob Bridgman, is working with the accountancy firm Evelyn Partners to find a buyer before the end of the year. Sources said a deadline of 23 December had been set

As a symbol of the year in crypto, the sight of Sam Bankman-Fried being hustled out of court in Nassau to a blacked-out SUV that would take him to an airfield, and an extradition flight to New York, takes some beating. For the highest-profile player in cryptocurrency, 2022 has come to an abrupt and unforgiving

Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen have insisted they will work together to find a solution to the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol, as pressure grows to break the diplomatic deadlock. In a call on Thursday, the prime minister and the European Commission president discussed the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. A

Cryptocurrency trading is “too dangerous” to remain outside mainstream financial regulation and could pose “a systemic problem” without action, the deputy governor of the Bank of England has warned. Speaking for the first time since the founder of the crypto trading platform FTX was arrested and charged with massive fraud, Sir Jon Cunliffe told Sky

Regulated rail fares in England will increase by up to 5.9% from 5 March next year, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. The increase is being imposed to support “crucial investment and the financial stability” of the railway, the department said. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “This is the biggest-ever government intervention in rail