Business

The boss of mobile phone firm Three has hit out at the UK’s “abysmal” 5G speeds and availability. Chief executive Robert Finnegan made the comments as he urged regulators to approve the company’s planned merger with Vodafone – arguing the £15bn move would pave the way for better investment in network infrastructure. It came as

The UK economy grew 0.6% over three months, official figures show.  But there was no growth at all in June, the Office for National Statistics said, as businesses delayed purchases until after the general election. Gross domestic product (GDP) – the measure of everything produced in the UK – expanded from April to June. This

A “major breakthrough” which could signal the end of national rail strikes has been made in the long-running pay row involving drivers, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). The department says that, following a series of “positive” talks led by the government, the train drivers’ union ASLEF has agreed to recommend a new pay

The pace at which prices are rising has sped up, according to official figures. The rate of inflation grew to 2.2% in July, up from 2% a month earlier, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. It is the first time since December last year that the rate has increased, rather than fallen. But

General Motors is being accused of collecting data about the “bad” habits of drivers and selling it on to insurers.  The state of Texas is suing the car company over the allegations, claiming it installed technology on more than 14 million vehicles to collect data about drivers. The lawsuit alleges GM – which manufactures brands

Grocery inflation has risen for the first time since March 2023, according to closely watched industry data. Prices in food shops rose by 1.8% in the four weeks to 4 August, research by Kantar Worldpanel found. It follows 17 consecutive months of easing inflation in the sector, including during the previous month when the rate

Heathrow Airport has claimed it has suffered a 90,000 decline in passenger numbers on routes affected by a new £10-per-person government scheme. Bosses described the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system, which was introduced by the Conservative government in November 2023, as “devastating for our hub competitiveness”. The digital permits are required for nationals of seven

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, is being sounded out about an executive role with The Daily Telegraph in a move which could reunite him with one of his former cabinet colleagues. Sky News has learnt that Mr Johnson has held preliminary, informal talks with Nadhim Zahawi about a possible job with the right-leaning newspaper

Coffee shop chain Pret A Manger has announced some staff members will wear body-worn cameras as a new safety measure.  The company confirmed to Sky News that six shops across London started trialling the new technology last month, which will only be worn by team leaders and managers. It said the cameras will only be

A music-streaming service whose shareholders include Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams is racing to raise millions of pounds within weeks. Sky News has learnt that ROXi has appointed Begbies Traynor Group, the professional services firm, to work alongside Rockefeller Capital Management on the hunt for new capital. Founded in 2014, ROXi described itself

Britain’s most influential small business group is urging the home secretary to ensure swift support for SMEs affected by the wave of rioting which has swept Britain in the last ten days. In a letter to Yvette Cooper, a copy of which has been seen by Sky News, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) called

The government has “no time to waste” in punishing “disgraced” water companies, the Liberal Democrats have said after obtaining new data on firms breaching permits for sewage spills. The nine water companies in England breached their environmental permits 695 times last year, often due to pumping raw sewage into waterways without permission, a Freedom of

Disney plans to spend $5bn (£3.9bn) on making blockbuster films and TV shows in regions including the UK over the next five years. The entertainment giant is said to have been buoyed by the success of its superhero comedy Deadpool & Wolverine, which was made at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The recent release, starring Hugh

The UK’s competition regulator has launched an inquiry into Amazon’s investment of over £3bn into an artificial intelligence (AI) startup as regulators ramp up their scrutiny of mergers involving the fast-growing technology. The deal, which was announced by Amazon in March, included a $4bn (£3.16bn) investment into Anthropic and a commitment from the AI startup

The prospect of the Bank of England cutting interest rates further in the near future has been raised after a closely watched report suggested the UK jobs market is showing signs of cooling. Researchers found the pace of pay rises slowed last month, while the hiring of temporary and permanent staff continued to decline. The

The boss of Fujitsu’s European arm has apologised in person to former sub-postmasters. Speaking following the meetings in London, Paul Patterson told Sky News he was “really grateful for their time”. He described “a really good conversation” held in private. “It’s not for me to get into that now – it was actually quite emotional

Mourning his mother’s death and celebrating her life at the Old Neighbourhood Inn was the obvious choice for Martin Leach, 72, from Chalford Hill, near Stroud.  The wood-beamed pub opposite his home had been woven into the fabric of the village for 150 years, so it made sense for 90 friends and family members to

House prices rose by 0.8% in July following three flat months for the market, according to one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. Halifax said the average cost of a home rose by more than £2,200 to £291,268 last month, when compared with June. The month-on-month increase was bigger than expected. Economists had forecast a

The £168m fines levied on three water companies by Ofwat are part of a slow – many argue far too slow – reckoning for the industry for the routine release of sewage via storm overflows. For Thames Water, predictably hit with the largest fine of £104m, close to the maximum penalty available to the regulator,

Markets in Asia have rallied after worldwide plunges on Monday amid fears the US may be in recession. Taiwan‘s stock exchange jumped following a record drop a day earlier, but shed some of the gains later in the morning amid lingering concerns over the outlook for the US economy and tech companies. Japan‘s benchmark Nikkei