Business

The Transport Select Committee heard from two sides in the national rail dispute, but the most important voice – the third rail – was not even in the room. Mick Whelan, of drivers’ unions Aslef, put the chances of resolution at zero (on a scale of one to 10) while Mick Lynch, of the RMT,

Sainsbury’s has become the latest retailer to post strong Christmas sales figures, saying it achieved a “record” festive season. The UK’s second largest supermarket group, which also includes Argos, said it now expected annual profits for the year to March towards the upper end of its previously guided range between £630m and £690m. Underlying pre-tax

Up to 3,200 jobs are to go at Goldman Sachs as part of the biggest restructuring efforts at the company since the global financial crash. The US-based multinational financial services company and investment bank is embarking on a series of cost-saving measures after the deal making and market boom of the COVID-19 pandemic dried up

Consumer spending failed to keep pace with inflation in December, figures suggest, likely bolstering the view among economists that the UK is in recession. Closely watched data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Barclaycard showed spending rose by 6.9% and 4.4% in value terms respectively in December compared to a year ago. Both readings

Businesses are set to secure £5.5bn in scaled back government support to help them with their energy bills from the start of April, after the current scheme ends. The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will reduce rather than cap energy costs for businesses and will last for 12 months. The latest measure replaces the Energy

All businesses are set to secure further taxpayer support for their energy bills when the current scheme ends in March but at a reduced cost to the taxpayer. The government is set to confirm later on Monday that it has decided on applying a discount to wholesale prices, for up to a year, following talks

A leisure entrepreneur whose dealmaking prowess earned her the nickname ‘the pub superwoman’ is in talks to join the board of Whitbread, the FTSE-100 hospitality group. Sky News has learnt that Dame Karen Jones, who has been a prominent industry figure for decades, is in advanced negotiations about becoming a non-executive director of the company

Richard Branson has revealed a bizarre story about finding Elon Musk in the kitchen of his New Mexico house in the middle of the night before his first space flight. In an interview this weekend, Mr Branson said the Twitter and Tesla owner was completely barefoot, holding his fast-asleep baby X Æ A-12, and had

The UK’s flag carrier airline has rolled out its first uniform change in 20 years, offering its 30,000 workers a choice of jumpsuits, hijabs, three-piece suits, and tunics. From spring this year, engineers and ground handling agents will be dressed in the designs of fashion designer, Ozwald Boateng, with cabin crew, pilots and check-in agents

Rail minister Huw Merriman will meet union leaders including Mick Lynch of the RMT on Monday after three weeks of unseasonal disruption left the two sides apparently as far apart as ever. While both say they are ready to talk, unions remain committed to further strikes if required and the government is legislating to limit

Windfall tax payments are to cost Shell around $2bn (£1.7bn), the oil and gas company has revealed. The cost of the UK’s energy profits levy and the EU’s recently announced solidarity contribution will reach $2bn (£1.7bn) in the final three months of its financial year, the firm said in a fourth quarter 2022 update. It

House prices have dropped for the fourth month in a row as cost of living pressures and higher borrowing costs dampen demand. The average house price fell to £281,272 in December, according to data from Halifax. It was a 1.5% decrease from November prices, which had already fallen more than 2%, representing the fastest decrease

Hauliers exporting goods to the European Union have faced fresh disruption since the turn of the year as a glitch in the UK’s digital customs system and new demands from French authorities threaten delays. Drivers heading to ports in the first few days of January found they were unable to enter details of shipments in

Next performed better than expected over the Christmas period and has increased its profit outlook as a result, painting a positive picture for retail over the Christmas period. Sales were up nearly 5% in the nine weeks to 30 December on the same period in 2021, far outpacing the 2% reduction the retailer had forecast

Government support for business energy bills will be cut in April as the chancellor moves to reduce taxpayer exposure to the soaring cost of gas and electricity in 2023. Jeremy Hunt told business leaders and trade groups they should expect state support to be reduced when the current support package ends in the spring, having

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars of customer money in his first court appearance since he was released on a record $250m pretrial bail. Bankman-Fried, 30, entered his plea before US district judge Lewis Kaplan at a court in Manhattan, after spending the Christmas period under house

Food inflation hit a record annual rate in December as cash-strapped households prepared for Christmas, according to a retail sector report. The latest British Retail Consortium-NielsenIQ shop price index showed typical food grocery costs up 13.3% last month compared with December 2021. The rate had stood at 12.4% in November. The data showed fresh food

Strikes by rail and road staff are set to cause extensive disruption to commuters returning to work after the Christmas break – amid fears that continued walkouts could cause a years-long slump in demand for train travel. About 40,000 members of the RMT union from Network Rail and 14 train operators are taking industrial action

Close to 50 shops shut down every day in 2022, more than at any other point for at least five years. In a bruising year for retail, 17,145 shops closed last year – up by nearly 50% on 2021, when 11,449 shops shut. Analysis by the Centre for Retail Research found about 47 sites shut up

A group of financial investors which have lent hundreds of millions of pounds to Matalan are close to finalising a deal to take control of one of Britain’s biggest homewares retailers. Sky News understands that the senior lenders, which include prominent City names such as Invesco and Man GLG, could strike a deal within the