Business

The UK government made one of its largest interest payments on public debt ever last month, after inflation pushed borrowing costs to some of their highest levels on record.  Despite a cut in public sector borrowing, interest costs soared to £7.6bn in May, far above the £5.1bn predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The rate of inflation has risen to a fresh 40-year high of 9.1% in May, according to the latest official figures. The update, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), represents a slight uptick on the 9% figure of the previous month – driven upwards by April’s unprecedented rise in the energy price cap. The

Imagine, if you can, you are in the chancellor’s shoes. Your instincts are to cut taxes and reduce public spending yet pretty much every decision you’ve taken in office has involved doing precisely the opposite. Worse: in recent months, even when you have forked out serious sums to support workers, much of that money seems

This week’s rail strike and the potential for further walkouts across the public sector has conjured the spirits of the Winter of Discontent, the dark days of the late 70s still considered the low point for British industrial relations, even if some of those in government and Fleet Street are too young to remember it.

Demand for supermarket value ranges has surged by 12% as grocery inflation hits its highest level in 13 years, according to closely-watched industry data. Kantar Worldpanel reported that like-for-like grocery prices rose by an annual rate of 8.3% over the four weeks to 12 June, up 1.3 percentage points on the previous period. It warned

It would be tempting to assume, on the eve of what looks likely to be the biggest rail strike in a generation and amid speculation of a so-called “summer of discontent”, that the UK is somehow unique in being afflicted with poor labour relations at present. Nothing could be further from the truth. Governments across

A former top executive at Aviva and British Gas will this week be appointed to spearhead the latest takeover quest of Marwyn, one of the London market’s most prolific creators of listed acquisition vehicles. Sky News has learnt that Mark Hodges, who has run some of the biggest companies in the British insurance industry, will

Hundreds of UK-based executives at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) are to receive one-off six-figure windfalls from the sale of the global accountancy giant’s mobility services arm. Sky News has learnt that the firm’s 950 partners in Britain will be handed an average of just over £100,000 each following a $2.2bn deal with the private equity firm Clayton

Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with the soaring cost of living, the government has warned. Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke has said matching salaries to inflation risked causing prices in the shops to surge even higher. His intervention comes as more than 40,000 staff prepare for a three-day strike that will cripple

Russia’s economy may take a decade to recover from the crushing sanctions placed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to one of Russia’s top businessmen. Returning to pre-sanctions levels could take nearly 10 years as the country remains cut off from half of its trade, said German Gref, the

The UK’s central bank will need to remain flexible on interest rates as inflation spikes but the country’s economy slows, according to a senior official at the bank.. “The statement that we put out collectively is one that I think had a certain level of flexibility because it had to encompass those different views,” Bank

The Government is trying to do everything it can to tackle the cost of living “storm” but cannot solve every problem or save every business, a business minister has told Sky News. Paul Scully played down the immediate likelihood of tax cuts to help struggling households as he stressed the “tight” public finances and burgeoning

Elon Musk has addressed Twitter staff for the first time and outlined new details of his vision for the company, including plans to allow some staff to work from home. Despite previously telling Tesla employees to leave the company if they do not want to spend 40 hours a week in the office, the billionaire

The US central bank has increased interest rates by 0.75% to combat inflation – the sharpest hike in 28 years. The Federal Reserve signalled more rate rises to come and projected a slowing economy in the months ahead, along with rising unemployment. The bank raised its benchmark rate to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%,

More than two million households face increased mortgage payments following the latest Bank of England interest rate rise, which experts say could create more “mortgage prisoners”. The Bank rate rose from 1% to 1.25% in a bid to tackle rising inflation. Borrowers who have variable mortgage rates – those that move in line with the

The boss of Royal Mail has told Sky News it is keeping prices “under review” as costs surge across the business and that unions threatening strikes must understand the “changes that are required so we can compete in the market”. Simon Thompson was speaking as the company faces challenges to its modernisation plans across its

The pound has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since the onset of the pandemic, fuelled by concerns about the economy and the prospect of a second Scottish independence referendum. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier that her government had an “indisputable mandate” for another vote and was ready to set out

A consumer rights expert has hit out at the aviation regulator while accusing airlines of presiding over a ‘blatant flouting of consumer rights’ following the recent flight chaos. Sue Davies, head of consumer rights at consumer group Which?, told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) committee of MPs there were serious, historic, failures

The European Commission has warned it will take “proportionate action” to secure the legal implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol after the UK government published legislation which will override the mechanism. The commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic said the EU viewed the UK’s actions with “significant concern” and that it would consider what steps to

The UK economy contracted by 0.3% in April, according to official figures released as the CBI, Britain’s biggest employers’ group, demanded “vital actions” from the government to prevent an inflation-driven recession. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had been expected by economists to confirm a slight rise in gross domestic product (GDP) for the month