Business

Inflation hit 5.5% in January, its highest rate since March 1992, as the cost of living in Britain continued to surge, official figures show. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation, up from 5.4% in December, was in line with economists expectations – as clothing, housing, and furniture prices climbed higher, the Office for

There are many unknowns in the Russia-Ukraine situation. Will Russia invade? Will it stop short of invasion while taking other steps to destabilise Ukraine? Will it face European or American sanctions? What form would those sanctions take? And so on. But perhaps chief among the unknowns is what might happen to Europe’s energy supply. This

Pay packets across Britain grew by 6.3% in January when compared with the same month in 2021, just outstripping the 5.4% rate of inflation, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. Meanwhile, wages were 10.3% higher in January 2022 than before the pandemic started in February 2020. Recent labour market data has shown how

Vast numbers of Brits are still working from home, despite being free to go back to the office since the government repealed its advice to work remotely nearly a month ago. Boris Johnson announced on 20 January that in England the working from home guidance would be withdrawn immediately. Despite this, between 19 January and

Markets around the world were rattled on Monday morning as they digested news that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent, dealing a blow to investors already nervous about rising inflation. European indexes, including the UK’s FTSE 100, Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC 40, all fell several percentage points at the start of the

Boris Johnson is love-bombing Scots on Valentine’s Day with a pledge to boost trade and business by creating two “green freeports” north of the border. The prime minister is visiting Scotland on day one of a “levelling-up” tour of the UK which will also take him to England’s North West and North East regions this

Jack Monroe has praised Asda for cutting the cost of products in its Smartprice range – and making them more widely available. The poverty campaigner had gone viral last month after writing a Twitter thread to warn official inflation figures “grossly underestimated” the impact that the cost-of-living crisis was having on Britons with low incomes.

NatWest Group, the taxpayer-backed lender, is to start a search for a successor to Sir Howard Davies, the City grandee who has chaired it for the last seven years. Sky News has learnt that NatWest’s board has kicked off internal discussions about the launch of a process to fill what was once one of the

The cost of a homemade G&T could become more expensive as the price of popular tonic waters soars. The price of mixers made by brands such as Schweppes and Fever-Tree has increased sharply over the last month, according to shop price data from the research firm Assosia. Quoting the report, The Guardian said the price

The government has been warned it is falling dangerously behind in its plans to build a British battery industry, with manufacturing capacity forecast to be barely half the needed level by the end of the decade, according to internal documents seen by Sky News. The dossier of figures submitted to the Department for Business, Energy

Almost 1.5 billion fewer pints were sold in British pubs in 2021 than in 2019, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. The BBPA said pub beer sales were down 38% in 2021, with an on-trade loss of £5.7bn from beer sales alone. In 2020, trading was down 55% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Speaking to

US inflation has surged to its highest level in four decades according to new figures that add to pressure for interest rate hikes in the world’s biggest economy. Consumer price inflation climbed to 7.5% in January according to America’s Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), intensifying a squeeze on consumers and wiping out the value of

The economy grew at its best annual pace on record in 2021 despite a December hit from measures to control the spread of the Omicron COVID variant, early official estimates have revealed. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the pace of growth between October and December – the fourth quarter – was

Around three quarters of firms say they are putting up prices in response to surging costs such as wages, energy and raw materials, according to a new survey. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which conducted the poll, said it highlighted the intense pressure creating a “cost of doing business crisis” for firms across the

LV= has revealed that it has pulled out of merger talks with mutual life rival Royal London amid the bitter fallout from LV’s failed takeover by US private equity last year. Royal London, which had been accused by LV of trying to “destabilise” its £530m deal with Bain Capital through a rival offer before the

Higher costs, more paperwork and border delays have been “the only detectable impact so far” of Brexit for British businesses, according to a new report by MPs. Trade volumes have been suppressed since the end of the transition period in December 2020 – though the COVID-19 pandemic and wider global issues were also key factors,

At last November’s Glasgow climate talks COP26, many analysts predicted the cost of electric vehicles were set to plummet in the next few years. Then in December, the government cut down the grant for buyers of electric vehicles. So will they still soon be much cheaper? In short, yes. Here’s why. Please use Chrome browser

The energy regulator has told MPs that it estimated around £200m in household credit balances was lost through the failures of energy companies over the past year – with up to £10 set to be added to rocketing bills as a result. Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley made his remarks as the business, energy and

Asda said it had “taken on board” comments by food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe as it announced it would stock low-price ranges in all of its 581 stores. Ms Monroe had highlighted, in a series of recent tweets, the lack of availability of many of the supermarket chain’s “Smart Price” products. Asda currently stocks 150

House prices hit a record high last month, according to a report which warned that barriers to ownership – especially among young people – will become “more acute” in the coming months. The index, compiled by Halifax, showed average prices were 9.7% – or £24,500 – up over the 12 months to the end of