A member of the Bank of England committee which sets interest rates has backtracked on his support for a hike, saying he wants to see data on how the new Omicron COVID variant affects the UK’s economic recovery. Michael Saunders warned that a delay in raising rates could result in a more painful tightening being
Business
The parent company of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street chemist, is to explore a sale of the business next year that could value it at well over £5bn. Sky News has learnt that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is lining up Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street bank, to advise it on a review of options that
The number of job vacancies in the UK has hit a new record 3.5 million ahead of the Christmas peak according to a closely-watched report – double the number seen in the summer. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said there was a particular rise in demand last week for prison officers, scaffolders, dentists and
The EU has fined banks, including Barclays, NatWest and HSBC, a total of €344m (£293m) for roles in an alleged foreign exchange spot trading cartel on a chatroom named “Sterling Lads”. The European Commission said the UK-based banks agreed to settle the case, alongside UBS which avoided a penalty because it had blown the whistle
The US has delayed its removal of trade tariffs on UK steel and aluminium products amid concerns at the government’s approach to the dispute with the EU on post-Brexit trade rules affecting Northern Ireland. The move was met with a defiant response from Whitehall as a spokesperson said it would not “affect the UK’s approach”
Business owners across the hospitality industry say COVID rule changes are already having a “chilling” impact on bookings. Many who have survived 20 months of lockdowns and restrictions as well as a “lost” Christmas last year, say a strong festive period this year is essential to their survival. Data from reservations website OpenTable also suggests
British households are facing a more expensive Christmas shop after labour shortages and surging costs pushed retail prices higher for the first time since May 2019, according to industry figures. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) shop price index showed a rise of 0.3% in November compared to the same month last year. It follows a
Facebook’s owner Meta has been issued a legally binding order to sell the GIF library Giphy after an investigation found the takeover “could harm social media users and UK advertisers”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth investigation into the deal in April after raising a number of concerns. It subsequently warned of
EasyJet has told investors it is expecting passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels next summer despite uncertainty over the winter months ahead as coronavirus restrictions grow across Europe. The no-frills carrier said it had seen early signs of a softening of bookings since the emergence of the omicron variant but it was too early
Analysis: This isn’t a surprise By Ian King, Sky News business presenter It is no surprise to see Jack Dorsey stepping down as chief executive of Twitter. There has been disquiet for some time among shareholders at Mr Dorsey serving in that role and also at Square, the fintech payments company he co-founded, with Paul
US fashion designer Virgil Abloh has died at the age of 41 after a private battle with cancer. The influential Louis Vuitton menswear designer and founder of fashion label Off-White was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma – a rare, aggressive form of cancer in 2019, the design house’s parent company LVMH revealed on Sunday. Abloh first
Deliveroo is close to naming Goldman Sachs as one of its new brokers, eight months after the Wall Street bank played a major role in what became one of the London stock market’s most calamitous listings. Sky News has learnt that Deliveroo is close to finalising the appointments of Goldman and Barclays as joint corporate
As we begin to hit the shops ahead of Christmas, retail sales are back to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since restrictions eased in April. We are now spending more on items like clothing and furnishings than we were in February 2020, according to real-time credit and debit card data from the Office for
The owner of Butlin’s is preparing to put it up for sale amid a boom in British staycations, sparking a potential bidding frenzy for the country’s best-known chain of holiday camps. Sky News has learnt that Bourne Leisure, which also owns Haven and Warner Leisure Hotels, recently picked investment bankers to conduct an auction of
News of a potentially fast-spreading new coronavirus variant has already triggered a violent reaction on markets and in a number of different asset classes. While much attention has naturally alighted on equity markets, with big falls in the FTSE-100 and continental European indices such as the DAX in Germany and the CAC-40 in France, probably
More than £65bn was wiped off the UK stock market on Friday, reflecting fears that a new coronavirus variant could wreak further havoc on international business and travel. The FTSE 100 fell more than 3%, or 240 points, as the market opened on Friday morning, following steep drops in global markets. Shares in major airlines