Business

The Bank of England’s interest rate hike will add to monthly mortgage payments for millions of borrowers. Industry body UK Finance estimates that 26% of home loans are on variable rates, translating to around two million. Of those, some 850,000 have tracker deals directly linked to the Bank rate, whose monthly repayments will typically rise

The Bank of England has announced a pre-Christmas interest rate hike from 0.1% to 0.25% despite fears over the economic impact of the Omicron variant. Officials have been under pressure to act with inflation at a ten-year high but many observers still thought the Bank would hold fire as the new wave of COVID-19 cases

The central bank of the United States has signalled it could raise interest rates three times next year. In an abrupt policy shift, the Federal Reserve has said will quicken the pace at which it withdraws support for the post-pandemic US economy as inflation surges. It announced on Wednesday it will shrink its monthly bond

Inflation surged to 5.1% last month, hitting a fresh decade high as the cost of living squeeze on households intensified. The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation in November was up from 4.2% in October and well ahead of expectations that it would hit 4.7%. It has not been higher since September 2011. It

All 11 countries on the travel red list will be removed as the system is “less effective in slowing the incursion” of the Omicron variant, Sajid Javid has announced. The health secretary told the Commons the countries will be removed from 4am on Wednesday, so passengers from those nations will no longer have to isolate

Britain should be “ready to redeploy” furlough aid if it faces a virulent COVID-19 wave requiring widespread lockdowns, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. The IMF said fresh waves of the pandemic and the uncertainty they bring represented the “major risk” to the economic outlook. It pointed to a “mild slowdown” in growth in

Ministers are facing a backlash from business over fears of the UK sliding into “lockdown by stealth”. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and pub chain Wetherspoons both used the term as they warned over the indirect impact of Plan B restrictions and rhetoric being used by officials about the pandemic. Tony Danker, the CBI’s

Wetherspoons has warned of a profits hit as tightening COVID restrictions and calls for even tougher measures “affect customer sentiment and trade”. The pub chain said its six-month results “may be loss-making or marginally profitable”, criticising “arbitrary changes of direction” by the government. Wetherspoons had already warned last month that some cautious older drinkers were

A robotics and automation company backed by Walmart, America’s biggest grocery retailer, is finalising plans for a $4.5bn (£3.3bn) merger with a ‘blank cheque’ company created by the Japanese technology giant SoftBank. Sky News has learnt that Symbotic is within days of concluding a combination with SVF Investment Corp 3, a New York-listed special purpose

Jupiter, one of Britain’s best-known fund managers, is on alert for a takeover approach amid a frenzy of dealmaking activity across the global asset management industry. Sky News has learnt that Jupiter’s board, which is chaired by Nichola Pease, has hired the advisory firm Robey Warshaw to fortify its defences against a potential bid. City

The future of LV= was thrown into confusion this evening when members of the UK’s second largest mutual life insurer narrowly rejected a takeover by private equity group Bain Capital. The board of LV=, which was formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, had urged its 1.16 million members to support the £530million takeover. However, with 75% of

US inflation has hit a 39-year high in the latest sign of a cost of living squeeze for consumers in the world’s biggest economy. Figures from America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed consumer price index (CPI) inflation hit 6.8% last month, the biggest year-on-year surge in prices since June 1982. The reading, which was

The company behind the controversial Cambo oil field has said work on the project is being paused – after oil giant Shell pulled out last week. Siccar Point, which owns 70% of the North Sea project off Shetland, said it would now “evaluate next steps”. The project has become a focal point for campaigners seeking

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned of “bumps on our road to recovery” as new figures showed growth stalled even before the arrival of the Omicron variant. GDP grew by just 0.1% in October, well short of the 0.4% expected by economists and a big slowdown on September’s 0.6% expansion, the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The government is facing increasing calls to step in and support businesses affected by new “plan B” COVID measures – which include working from home guidance and vaccine passports for some venues. Trade union GMB said it backed the reintroduction of a furlough scheme if the new measures threaten jobs. Industry body UK Hospitality has

The owner of House of Fraser and Sports Direct has warned of a “shadow of uncertainty” cast by latest COVID-19 fears as well as the potential impact of a cost of living squeeze on consumers. Frasers Group reported a sharp rise in half-year sales and profits compared to a period last year affected by lockdown

The prospect of new Plan B COVID-19 restrictions has sent the pound to a one-year low and stirred dismay in the leisure and travel sectors. Sterling dropped below $1.32 against the US dollar to its lowest level since December last year while the UK currency also slid against the euro. In stock markets, travel and

The Mercedes Formula One team, which includes Sir Lewis Hamilton in its driver line-up, has confirmed it has ended its controversial tie-up with a company that made some of the insulation used in Grenfell Tower. In a statement, it said: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Kingspan today announced that they have mutually agreed to

Asda has joined Tesco, its biggest rival, in facing the prospect of strike action ahead of the key Christmas trading season. The GMB union said it was launching a consultative ballot – due to close on 20 December – over the supermarket chain’s decision not to give distribution staff a “meaningful” pay offer. It added

The head of a select committee has reacted with incredulity after an energy boss blamed the way the wind blew for exacerbating problems caused by a devastating storm that cut off supplies to parts of the UK. Paul McGimpsey, director of regulation at the Energy Networks Association (ENA), told MPs on the business energy and