Business

Britain’s economy will grow faster than any major economy in Europe as it rebounds from the COVID-19 recession and emerges from lockdown, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook – its periodical look at the state of the global economy – the IMF forecast that the

China’s government has just provided investors with another reminder of why they should tread carefully when putting money into the country. At the end of last month, the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi made history when it floated on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of $70bn, making it the biggest IPO of a

Ministers are reportedly exploring how to block China’s state-owned nuclear energy company from future power projects in the UK. The change in Britain’s stance towards China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) could affect the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear energy project in Suffolk, the Financial Times reported. France’s EDF is scheduled to build the Sizewell site

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has ordered officials to launch a national security probe into the £2.6bn takeover of Ultra Electronics, a key supplier of military technology, by Cobham, the former London-listed defence group. Sky News has learnt that Mr Kwarteng has told civil servants at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Selfridges has been put up for sale in a move that could net its Canadian billionaire owners as much as £4bn. The department store chain reportedly attracted bid interest last month, prompting the Weston family to order a formal auction process. It is understood that advisers at Credit Suisse are leading the sale and hope

The food industry tycoon known as the ‘chicken king’ has told Sky News the so-called ‘pingdemic’ staffing crisis is just a small part of unprecedented pressures on supplies, with food shortages already being felt. Ranjit Singh Boparan, whose interests include the 2 Sisters Food Group (2SFG) and a string of casual dining brands, used an

Heathrow Airport has urged the government to reopen the UK economy to fully vaccinated travellers from the European Union and United States by the end of the month after revealing coronavirus crisis losses of almost £3bn to date. The company said expensive COVID-19 testing requirements were hampering an effective reopening of the skies while it

Ryanair has raised its passenger forecast following a recovery in summer bookings but reported a sharper first quarter loss, saying the coronavirus crisis “wreaked havoc” on Easter demand. Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers said it now expected to fly between 90 and 100 million people in its current financial year to the end of

Senior ministers are set to discuss extending the rollout of daily COVD testing sites to ease the concerns of industry and frontline services by allowing further exemptions from isolation for critical workers. The COVID operations sub-committee of Cabinet will meet later to discuss if the number of jobs eligible for the testing regime should be

Marks & Spencer’s chairman Archie Norman has warned of a political “running sore of symbolic proportions” if UK chilled products are banned in Northern Ireland. Mr Norman also said consumers in Northern Ireland faced higher prices and empty shelves as a result of the “pointless and byzantine” way post-Brexit rules are being enforced. The retail

A haulage industry body has rounded on the latest government plans to help ease the shortage of drivers – still estimated at 100,000 and delivering disruption across the economy as a result. Ministers including Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote an open letter, published via their Twitter accounts, to insist they understood the severity of the

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have, it is reported, agreed to pay for long term reform of social care by raising national insurance by a penny in the pound for both employers and employees. The move would raise an estimated £10bn annually. The government is braced for unease among its backbenchers because the Conservatives promised

Boris Johnson is looking at raising National Insurance in order to fund long-promised reforms of social care, but any proposals won’t be set out until after the summer. The prime minister‘s plans have been delayed in part because he is isolating along with Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, after the latter tested

Easyjet has revealed that fewer than half of UK flights for this summer have been booked as customers leave it late to arrange trips. The budget airline said capacity for the usually lucrative July-September period was just 44% sold, down from 69% in the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. It said customers “are

Half of managers (50%) think the government is lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly, according to a Chartered Management Institute poll. Shared exclusively with Trevor Phillips on Sunday, it reveals 39% believe the changes are happening at the right pace, while 8% think they are occurring too slowly. Public sector managers were slightly more concerned than

One of the great puzzles emerging from the last year has been why, in spite of COVID, repeated lockdown, and surging self-isolation, recruitment agencies have seldom been busier. Employment levels are still rising and unemployment has – so far – not become the scourge many anticipated. In theory, such a tight labour market should generate

Shortages of building supplies are causing delays in construction work and putting businesses under pressure, an industry expert has told Sky News. Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said that a lack of supplies is having “a big impact” on the industry. “Particularly the smaller builders, they’re the ones struggling to

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in advanced talks to acquire a stake in McLaren Group as part of a fresh shake-up at the British supercar manufacturer and Formula One (F1) team-owner. Sky News has learnt that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is to participate in a £550m equity-raise which could be unveiled by

Two pharmaceutical companies have been fined more than £260m by the UK’s competition watchdog after the pair colluded to overcharge the NHS for almost a decade. Drugmakers Auden McKenzie and Accord UK, formerly called Actavis UK, charged the NHS excessively high prices for hydrocortisone tablets, costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds, according to

Factories across the country are on the verge of shutting down due to isolation warnings from the test and trace app, the UK’s manufacturing union Unite has claimed. The union says it has been warned by a number of companies, particularly in the automotive sector, that swathes of staff are being advised to self-isolate by