Energy suppliers have been asked to prepare for government support to households to be maintained at the current level in April, ahead of a final decision expected to be announced in the budget. Sky News understands the government has asked suppliers to prepare for two scenarios; the current effective cap of £2,500 for typical annual
Business
The Chinese owner of Thomas Cook is plotting an outright sale of the British holiday brand three years after it rescued the name from corporate ignominy. Sky News has learnt that Fosun Tourism Group is in preliminary discussions with a number of potential purchasers of the online travel agent (OTA). Fosun, which is part of
Looking at recent headlines, one could be forgiven that there is a host of UK-listed companies packing their bags and preparing to head to New York. Today brought news that CRH, the world’s biggest supplier of building materials, is moving its main listing from London to New York – in the process depriving the FTSE
TikTok videos using hashtags previously identified as hosting eating-disorder content are continuing to attract views, new research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate has found. A December report by the campaign group identified “coded” hashtags where users could access potentially harmful videos promoting restrictive diets and so-called “thinspo” content, designed to encourage harmful weight
The American company behind brands such as Reebok and Ted Baker is among the suitors weighing bids for Hunter Boot, the royal warrant-holding footwear brand. Sky News understands that Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which also has a stake in David Beckham’s branded products portfolio, has expressed an interest in a deal with Hunter. It was
The cryptocurrency firm chaired by Lord Hammond, the former chancellor, is in talks to recruit a new finance chief amid heightened scrutiny of the industry’s financial controls. Sky News understands that Copper is targeting the appointment of Sam Goh, an executive at Onfido, the digital identity company, as its chief financial officer. Industry insiders said
Shares in Manchester United have fallen by more than 12% following a report that the club’s owners want bidders to raise their offers if the team is to be sold. A source had told the Financial Times on Saturday that the Glazer family was not happy with the sums on the table following the conclusion
Let’s get the policy stuff out of the way first. Labour has an economic growth target. They want to achieve the highest sustainable growth per head rate of the seven major industrialised economies. They say that unless we do something to change the path of British economic growth we will end up poorer than Poland
Ian King speaks to our business correspondent about the new energy price cap and what it means for households. Plus hear from EY’s UK chief economist about how cost of living pressures are expected to intensify regional divisions. And the CEO of bodycam maker Reveal Media joins the show to discuss why the technology is
Ofgem has lowered its cap on the amount energy companies can charge for gas and electricity but it’s not all good news. Even though wholesale energy prices have been falling, households will see their bills go up from April as the government support that has been shielding us from the worst of the energy crisis
The energy regulator has reduced the cap on the amount they can charge customers but bills are still expected to increase. Ofgem has today announced the cap on the amount households pay on electricity and gas bills will drop to £3,280 from 1 April. It’s a decrease from the previous cap of £4,279 effective from
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
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