Business

Food inflation saw to a record 11.6% in October – with staple items including tea bags, milk and sugar all seeing significant price rises. Overall, shops increased prices by 6.6% in the 12 months to October – the highest level since records began in 2005. But fresh food has been most vulnerable to surging costs,

Royal Mail has experienced a data breach where customers have seen the information of others users. A statement on Royal Mail’s Click and Drop status updates website said: “We have been made aware there was an issue affecting Click & Drop that meant some customers could see other customer’s orders. “As a protective measure, we

Tax rises are “likely” to come soon as the government faces an “unpalatable menu” to find ways to fill a £40bn fiscal black hole, a leading think tank has warned. A Resolution Foundation report suggests Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt face a thankless task to re-balance the nation’s finances after former chancellor Kwasi

Boomin, the online property portal founded by the former boss of Purplebricks, has called in liquidators after failing to secure new funding. Sky News has learnt that Boomin, which counted Channel 4 among its investors, called in BK Plus, an accountancy firm, to handle its insolvency on Monday. Boomin was launched by Michael Bruce in

The next operator of the National Lottery is in talks to buy the incumbent, Camelot, in a £100m deal that would pave the way for the removal of the latter’s final legal challenge against the industry regulator. Sky News has learnt that Allwyn Entertainment is in advanced discussions with Camelot’s Canadian owner about a takeover

Octopus Energy has sealed its deal to buy Bulb, a collapsed energy rival that has been funded by billions of pounds in government support for nearly a year. Octopus said it is taking on Bulb’s 1.5 million customers “bringing an end to taxpayer losses and uncertainty for Bulb customers and employees”. It added: “Octopus is

A veteran investment banker is being lined up to chair one of Britain’s biggest car parts manufacturers as it prepares for a newly independent life as a standalone listed company. Sky News has learnt that Simon Mackenzie-Smith, a prominent City figure during a long career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is close to being

At first glance, there is nothing altogether unusual about the train. Sitting on the platform at Spandau station in the suburbs of Berlin, it looks much the same as every other one. But do not be fooled, for this train, manufactured by French group Alstom, is very special indeed. It runs not on electricity or

The head of NatWest, which is part state-owned, has defended the amount of tax big banks pay. Alison Rose, the chief executive, said banks were taxed more than “any other sector” and more than the financial service sectors in other countries. Speaking on Ian King Live, Ms Rose said: “On taxes, the banking sector already

Shares in Amazon fell as the company expected slower Christmas sales and increased expenses. Shares fell nearly 20% as inflation and interest rate costs threatened to eat up profits. The world’s largest online retailer forecast comparatively weak growth for the next three months, typically the busiest Christmas period. The lacklustre forecast came at the same

Gross domestic product in the US bounced back in the third quarter, reversing a trend over the first six months that suggested the country was heading for a recession. The country’s GDP increased by 2.6% between July and September of this year, beating experts’ forecasts and reversing a steep decline of 0.6% in the previous

Elon Musk has been seen entering Twitter HQ – carrying what appears to be a sink. Mr Musk tweeted a video showing himself walking into the building in San Francisco a day after reports that he could close his $44bn takeover of the site by the end of this week. The 51-year-old captioned the video:

Jeremy Hunt has delayed the announcement of the government’s economic plan from Halloween to 17 November, saying it will help ministers make “difficult decisions… that stand the test of time”. A medium term fiscal statement was due to be delivered by the chancellor in the Commons on 31 October – along with a forecast from

The pound hit a six-week high as Rishi Sunak became prime minister today, another sign of the markets welcoming the country’s new leader. Sterling was up 1.8% against the dollar at $1.147, having risen by 1.92% to $1.150 earlier in the day – the highest level since 15 September. On Friday afternoon the pound had

The price of low-cost everyday grocery items has increased 17% in the 12 months to September, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has shown, more than the average rate of food and drink inflation. The figures, based on web-scraped supermarket data for 30 everyday grocery items, showed the cost of items had already

The financial markets appear to have welcomed news that Rishi Sunak will be the UK’s next prime minister. The pound was up 0.15% against the US dollar just moments after Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, said that only one valid nomination had been received for the top job. On Friday afternoon, the

Rishi Sunak is not just our first British Asian prime minister, our first Hindu PM. He is not just the youngest prime minister of the modern era. He is also the youngest since the Napoleonic wars and the first millennial PM. Just as intriguingly, and possibly even more consequentially, he is Britain’s first hedge fund

Train passengers have been warned to expect disruption on rail networks as a strike hits services on some of Britain’s busiest routes today. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union working for Avanti West Coast are staging a 24-hour walk-out in a dispute over rosters. Commuters have been warned to expect a “significantly

Moody’s rating agency has cut its UK’s financial outlook to negative but maintained its sovereign rating at Aa3. On Friday, the agency lowered the UK’s outlook to negative from stable, citing policy uncertainty amid high inflation and weaker growth prospects. Moody’s said the government’s “ability to engender confidence in its commitment to fiscal prudence” will

Elon Musk is finally buying Twitter, promising – or to some, threatening – sweeping changes for one of the world’s biggest social media platforms. With a self-proclaimed remit to ensure everyone’s timeline becomes the ultimate home of free speech, and a vague long-term goal to transform it into “X, the everything app”, the billionaire is