Business

The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that it is expecting the UK economy to grow faster than previously expected this year. The Washington-based fund, which was predicting only last October the UK would be the slowest of all the G7 nations this year, now expects it to be firmly in the middle of the pack.

Shares in the company behind Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform have surged by a third amid a wider bounce on investor hopes he returns to the oval office. The Trump Media & Technology Group was one of the most actively traded stocks on Wall Street during Monday’s session. It was the first chance investors had

It’s no secret that companies in the luxury goods sector have been going through a rough patch. After a boom for the sector following the end of the pandemic, during which consumers engaged in ‘revenge shopping’ as they spent the enforced savings built up during the lockdowns, the last year or so has seen a

Oanda Global Corporation, the online retail trading platform, has been put up for sale by its private equity backers. Sky News has learnt that the company, which is a rival to the likes of CMC Markets and IG Group, is being marketed by bankers at Nomura and Santander. Money latest: Best supermarket wines for under

The FTSE-100 owner of British Gas, the UK’s biggest domestic energy supplier, is in talks to recruit its next chairman. Sky News has learnt that Centrica, which has a market value of about £7.3bn, is working with headhunters to identify a successor to Scott Wheway. City sources said that Lygon Group, the search firm, was

Billionaire Elon Musk has donated to a political group working to elect presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to reports. According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the amount was not known but it was “a sizable amount” given to a group called America PAC. Bloomberg reported that the PAC – a group that can receive unlimited contributions

One of the UK’s biggest floorings retailers is just one step away from a collapse that would place 1,852 jobs at risk. Cash-strapped Carpetright confirmed it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The loss-making firm said in a statement however that it was still working towards a reprieve. Parent firm Nestware Holdings

The FTSE 100 mining giant Rio Tinto is wargaming its biggest takeover swoop for years after the collapse of rival BHP’s £39bn (£24.7bn) bid for Anglo American. Sky News has learnt that Rio, which is listed in London and Sydney, is studying a refreshed list of potentially industry-reshaping takeover targets including Teck Resources, the Canadian

Post Office chief executive Nick Read is stepping back from the role temporarily to prepare for the next stage of the Horizon scandal inquiry. Mr Read, who succeeded the heavily-criticised Paula Vennells after she stepped down in 2019, told staff in a note that he wanted to give his “entire attention” to the stage of

Card payments at major high street shops like Asda, Sainsbury’s, and petrol stations across the UK appear to have crashed this morning. Many social media users are reporting being unable to pay for their shopping and petrol. “I’ve just been turned away at Sainsbury’s as they can’t accept card payments,” said Vanessa Meehan, in Twickenham.

Passengers are entitled to compensation for a flight cancelled due to airline staff illness, the UK’s highest court has ruled. “Tens of thousands” of claims made annually could potentially be affected, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday afternoon. The case was brought against British Airways (BA) by a couple whose flight was cancelled due to

The new environment secretary has summoned the bosses of most of Britain’s water companies for urgent talks amid signs that Labour will take a tougher approach to regulating the industry. Sky News has learnt that Steve Reed will hold talks with executives from all 16 of the suppliers in England and Wales, including Thames Water,

Water companies in England and Wales have been told they will not be allowed to impose the hikes to bills they have demanded, the industry regulator has said in an interim verdict on their business plans for the next five years. Ofwat declared that it was minded to slash, by a third, the combined increases

The UK has launched a multi-billion pound national wealth fund to power green invest and infrastructure development in an effort to grow the economy. So far £7.3bn in state funds has been allocated so investments can be made “immediately” in areas such as ports, manufacturing and renewable energy. The move is part of Labour’s plans

Business presenter Ian King has answered 21 questions from readers of the Sky News Money blog on what a Labour government means for your personal finances. How will a Labour government affect benefits?Marie-Kate Ian King says… The expectation is that the UK’s principal disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments or PIP, will change. Labour has promised

Card spending fell last month for the first time in more than three years, according to Barclays. It’s the first time there’s been a drop in card spending values since February 2021, the bank’s June data showed. Money blog: What will happen to tax under Labour? The figures cover nearly 40% of the nation’s credit

The first big announcement of Gordon Brown’s chancellorship was, arguably, the single biggest decision and the single biggest moment of his entire time in office. In a wood-panelled room on Whitehall a few days after being elected, Mr Brown announced that he was making the Bank of England independent – to the shock of many

The founder of Revolut is to cash in part of his multibillion dollar stake in the company as part of a $500m (£391m) share sale. Sky News has learnt that Nik Storonsky, who is the fintech giant’s chief executive, plans to offload stock worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in the secondary

One of the advertising gurus who helped propel Margaret Thatcher to power is weighing the formation of a consortium to bid for The Daily Telegraph. Sky News has learnt that Lord Saatchi, the Conservative peer, has been discussing the option of launching an offer for the right-leaning newspapers ahead of a deadline later this month.

Having turned the political map red, Labour’s priority is steering the economy into the black. Sir Keir Starmer’s programme for government may be modest, but the means to deliver it are not. A new prime minister and, in Rachel Reeves, the first female chancellor, have a tough economic inheritance. Follow general election fallout live Stagnant