Business

A former chief executive of Aston Villa and Liverpool is a surprise contender to become the inaugural chairman of the government’s controversial football watchdog. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Christian Purslow, who left Villa Park in 2023, is on a three-person shortlist being considered by Whitehall officials to chair the Independent Football Regulator (IFR).

Microsoft has announced it will shut down Skype, once the dominant video call service, in May this year. At its peak, the service boasted more than 300 million users, but that number had fallen to more than 36 million users, according to the most recent figures shared by Microsoft in 2023. The US tech giant,

The chairman of Kick It Out, the football anti-racism charity, has been shortlisted to become the first head of Britain’s proposed new Independent Football Regulator (IFR). Sky News has learnt that Sanjay Bhandari is among three remaining candidates being considered by the government to chair the watchdog. A decision is expected in the coming weeks,

The banking sector is “investing heavily” in digital platforms, according to the body which represents the country’s lenders as many face a backlash over the latest payday glitch chaos to hit customers. Millions were exposed on Friday to varying challenges from slow app or online banking performance to being blocked out of their accounts altogether.

The disgraced former chair of the Co-op Bank, Paul Flowers, has been jailed for three years on fraud charges. The 74-year old, who was forced out of the lender in 2013 amid claims of inappropriate expenses and illegal drugs allegations, admitted 18 counts of fraud worth nearly £100,000. Flowers, also a former Methodist minister, committed

Nvidia has signalled no drop in demand for its flagship chips among big artificial intelligence (AI) spenders despite the low-cost challenge posed by Chinese rival DeepSeek. The leading AI chipmaker said it expected Blackwell sales to continue to grow after its latest earnings beat market expectations. Nvidia forecast revenue of around $43bn (£34bn) for its

Heathrow Airport is in talks with scores of airlines including British Airways about a once-a-decade overhaul of its occupancy – which could lead to some being forced to relocate their long-standing bases. Sky News has learnt that Heathrow has opened negotiations with the 82 carriers which fly from the airport with a view to implementing

Oil and gas giant BP has again slashed its renewable energy investment and announced more funding for greater fossil fuel production. In a further row back of climate targets the company has said renewable energy investment will fall by $5bn (£3.95bn) a year to just $1bn to $2bn (£790m to £1.58bn). Less than half that

The average annual energy bill will increase to £1,849 from April as the industry regulator Ofgem increases the price cap for the third time in a row. When compared to prices over the last three months, the new figure represents a 6.4% a year – or £9.25 per month – increase in the typical sum

Did you know there’s a critical product – one without which we’d all be dead – which Europe is actually importing more of from Russia now than before the invasion of Ukraine? It might feel a bit pointless, given how much chat there is right now about the end of the Ukraine war, to spend

The net zero sector has grown by 10% over the past year – adding £83bn to the UK economy, a new study suggests. Employment in green businesses and industry has also climbed 10%, supporting the equivalent of 951,000 full-time jobs (2.9% of total UK employment). Politics latest: PM warns of ‘crucial moment’ in Ukraine war

Russian oligarchs with links to the Kremlin can now be banned from the UK, the government has announced as part of a fresh sanctions package on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Home Office said “elites” linked to the Russian state can now be prevented from entering the UK under the

Britain’s payments watchdog is expected to be abolished as part of a purge of regulators being thrashed out in Whitehall. Sky News has learnt that ministers and officials are examining whether to scrap the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and fold it into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A decision is expected to be taken in

Heist highlights concerns over crypto industry security Anyone who owns crypto may well be feeling a little nauseous after the biggest ever theft of funds by hackers. Bybit is the second largest cryptocurrency exchange. It would have had careful security protocols. And yet somehow their systems were penetrated and an as-yet unidentified individual or group

Cliff Nicholls runs two trampoline parks and indoor play centres: one in Tamworth in the West Midlands, the other in Bolton, Greater Manchester. He’s already feeling the pressure from the government’s latest budget measures and has been forced to abandon further investment plans. “The national minimum wage increases coming in April, combined with the reduced

Shops were given a surprisingly big boost in January as retail sales rose by 1.7% – much more than the 0.3% rise forecast by economists. It’s the first growth since August and follows a fall of 0.6% in the key shopping month of December, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. There has not

Nigel Farage has given up sole control of Reform UK, with the party’s members now being “handed over ownership” following a vote last year, according to its chairman. The party, led by Mr Farage, was previously controlled by the Clacton MP as he held a majority of shares in the company. According to the party’s

What happens when you put a boyhood fan in charge of their club? They discover it’s not so simple to run after all. And the fans you sat with many years ago are as impatient as ever. Anger reverberates exactly a year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS organisation gained day-to-day control of football

Hundreds more high street jobs will be lost this week after Quiz Clothing, the troubled fashion retailer, called in administrators. Sky News understands that the company, which was listed until recently on the London Stock Exchange, will see the closure of 23 of its shops, with about 200 employees expected to be made redundant. Quiz,

Inflation has risen a surprising amount – to the highest in nearly a year – official figures show. This means prices are rising even more than at any time since last March, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for January. The consumer price index (CPI) ticked up steeply to 3% from