Business

Ian King’s show looks at the biggest gaming deal in history – he’s speaking to Sarah Cardell from the Competition and Markets Authority about its approval of Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard. There’s also an analysis of the latest retail sales figures by John Stevenson from Peel Hunt. And Sashola Prestcote and Stella Pozzi, the

Microsoft’s revised effort to get the £55bn takeover of Activision Blizzard past UK regulators appears to be on track for clearance. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had been a sole thorn in the side of the acquisition, rejecting the original terms on the grounds it had a duty to protect innovation and choice in

The headline numbers don’t do justice to the significance of the inflation data. On the surface, this only looks like a small fall, with the consumer price index (CPI) dropping from 6.8% in July to 6.7% in August. So what, you might ask? After all, it’s a far smaller drop than the one we heard

The rate of inflation has eased slightly to 6.7% confounding the predictions of economists that it would rise. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure slowed in the 12 months to August, from the 6.8% figure reported the previous month, thanks to food rising at a weaker pace during

Elon Musk has said he will start charging people to use the social media site formerly known as Twitter. NBC News reports the billionaire businessman, who renamed the platform to X, revealed on a live stream that the company would introduce a “small monthly payment” to combat “vast armies of bots”. Musk has long complained

Marks & Spencer is swapping plastic bags for paper ones across all of its stores following a successful trial. The retailer has become the latest chain to opt for the more environmentally friendly bags following Morrisons, Waitrose and Aldi, which all use paper bags for customers – though some stores offer plastic bags as an

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has revealed its transformation plan will take two more years to complete than expected, while revealing a fall in losses over the first half of its financial year. The employee-owned company, in which staff are known as partners, said that a combination of higher costs due to inflation and a

Ian King and Sky’s business correspondent Paul Kelso discuss BMW’s plan to build its next-generation electric Mini in Oxford. As a rescue deal to buy some Wilko stores collapses, Ian speaks to Julie Palmer, regional managing partner at the corporate rescue and recovery practice Begbies Traynor Group, about what this means for employees. And Space

BMW says it is confident the European Commission will ease regulations that would leave a new generation of electric Minis made at its Cowley plant in Oxford subject to 10% export tariffs. Speaking as the company announced a £600m investment in the UK, including £75m of taxpayer support, BMW board member Milan Nedeljkovic told Sky

Apple has seen around $200bn (£160bn) wiped off its value after China extended its curbs on iPhone use by government workers. Shares in the tech giant have tumbled by 6.4% over the last two days in response to Beijing ordering some state employees from using the devices. The move has fuelled fears Apple and its

The boss of the UK’s largest household energy supplier has been forced to defend record profits amid warnings of worse times ahead for household bills this winter. In evidence to the energy security and net zero committee of MPs, the chief executive of British Gas parent firm Centrica, Chris O’Shea, insisted the 889% surge in

China’s economy has slipped into deflation as consumer prices declined in July for the first time in more than two years. Ballooning local government debt, weak import and exports, challenges in the housing market, and growing youth unemployment are all contributing to the country’s downturn. On the Sky News Daily, Dominic Waghorn speaks to our

Mortgage approvals dropped almost 10% last month, new Bank of England figures show. The net decrease – from 54,600 in June to 49,400 in July – is a five-month low and worse than expected. A poll of economists predicted the figure would be around 51,000. It comes following a string of figures from lenders and

Adverts for acupuncture and craniosacral therapy have been banned for making misleading claims about the treatment of long COVID. A paid-for Facebook ad and an Instagram post for Jo Llewellyn, a craniosacral therapist, included the claim that craniosacral therapists treat long COVID. Meanwhile, an Instagram post for Peachy Acupuncture said acupuncture and doses of vitamin

Food prices are still rising faster than wages, new data has shown. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported overall food inflation rose 11.6% in August, down from 14.3% in July. But annual growth in average total pay only grew by 8.2% from April to June, according to the latest data available from the Office for

A group of trading nations known as BRICS, which is hoping to rival the G7, is set to grow in size after inviting six new countries to join – including Iran and Saudi Arabia. BRICS – which has, until now, comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – announced the proposed expansion at

The Gulf’s growing prominence in international sport will take another step forward on Thursday when a Qatari state vehicle unveils a deal to create a new global padel tour. Sky News has learnt that Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the owner of Paris Saint-Germain, the French Ligue 1 football club, will announce it has formally agreed

The US tech firm that dominates the market for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) has delighted investors with a doubling in quarterly revenue, promising more of the same in future. Nvidia shares gained almost 10% in after-hours trading in New York on Wednesday night when it revealed a string of numbers that beat analysts’

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country’s biggest mortgage

Microsoft lashed out in April when the UK’s competition regulator blocked the biggest gaming takeover in history. The tech giant suggested that the decision showed the UK was not a place to do business. But after the deal was approved in the EU and attempts to block it were stifled in the US, the CMA