In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders heralded a sanctions regime that would cripple the country’s war machine. Joe Biden claimed Russia’s economy would be “cut in half”, while Boris Johnson spoke of squeezing it “piece by piece.” A year has passed, but that great promise has been slow to deliver. Please
Business
A British company that burns wood to create electricity is the latest power giant to post soaring annual profits amid the energy crisis of 2022. Gas prices reached record highs as Russia gradually shut down its pipelines to Europe after they were hit with sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, accelerating the shift away from
British tomatoes will likely remain scarce until the end of April or even early May, the UK’s largest grower has warned. It comes after Tesco and Aldi became the latest supermarkets to place limits on some fruit and vegetables customers can buy due to supply shortages. The soaring cost of energy, and fertiliser also derived
The boss of one of the UK’s largest fish and chips chains has told Sky News that industry prices are stabilising but yet to reach their peak. James Lipscombe, chief executive of The Chesterford Group which runs 38 takeaways and restaurants under several brands, spoke of a mammoth effort to maintain sales volumes as the
Microsoft is limiting how many questions people can ask its new Bing chatbot after reports of it becoming somewhat unhinged, including threatening users and comparing them to Adolf Hitler. The upgraded search engine with new AI functionality, powered by the same kind of technology as ChatGPT, was announced earlier this month. Since then, it has
Charging customers higher electricity prices has helped the UK wing of the French state-owned energy giant turn a profit. While an overall loss was recorded at EDF (Électricité de France) earnings rose at its UK operations, it said in its 2022 annual results. Core profits in the UK electricity-producing entity hit £1.12bn, up from a
An estimated 91.2% of card payments last year were contactless, according to data covering spending when the technology was available. Analysis of habits by debit and credit card users at Barclays showed face-to-face or in-store spending using contactless was up from 82.6% achieved the previous year. The bank credited much of the “tap and go”
Britain’s biggest luxury yacht-builder is being sold to new private equity backers 15 years after it last changed hands. Sky News has learnt that Princess Yachts, which is based in Plymouth, is being sold to KPS Capital Partners, a US-headquartered investor which specialises in owning manufacturing businesses. Sources said a deal could be struck as
The UK communications regulator has launched an investigation into broadband and phone bill price rises as research suggested many customers are unaware providers can increase costs. The review, to be carried out by Ofcom (the Office of Communications), will focus on mid-contract price increases as the watchdog said it was worried about uncertainty faced by
Google published an online advert for its new AI chatbot Bard in which it delivered an inaccurate answer. The company unveiled its much-anticipated rival to ChatGPT this week, and has launched a marketing blitz to prepare the public for its full rollout in the coming weeks. A promotional tweet with a short GIF describes Bard
The tax and benefits system in Scotland is more progressive than elsewhere in Britain, a report has said. The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank said that, by April, the poorest 10% of Scottish households are set to have incomes £580 (4.6%) per year higher than they would under the system in England and Wales.
The UK’s competition watchdog has moved a step closer to potentially blocking Microsoft’s planned $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Call of Duty gaming firm Activision. In a provisional ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the proposed tie-up could lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation for UK gamers. Activision responded by claiming