Business

The UK car industry has warned of challenges just to remain operational after it produced just shy of 65,000 cars last month – the weakest October since 1956. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) blamed “production stoppages” linked to the shortage of semiconductors globally for the woeful total, adding that a resurgent coronavirus

Retailers are putting up prices at the fastest rate since 1990 according to industry figures that add to evidence of a cost of living squeeze this winter. A CBI survey also suggested that sales have been boosted by consumers starting their Christmas shopping early because of fears over supply disruption. Clothing and department stores saw

A group campaigning for lower fuel prices has demanded urgent intervention, claiming drivers are being “fleeced” as costs continue to hit record levels. FairFuelUK (FFUK), which has backing from haulage and logistics lobby groups, told Sky News it was clear that the Competition and Markets Authority should look at how “rip-off” pump prices are calculated

Consumers can expect a “scaled-back” Christmas this year as retailers reduce the range of products available to cope with supply chain pressures, MPs have been told. A lack of HGV drivers has strained supply chains and prompted fears of shortages on supermarket shelves this festive season. Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation,

Professional football club-owners in England will be overseen by a new licensing regime forcing them to demonstrate fully-funded three-year business plans under proposals to be set out by a former sports minister this week. Sky News has learnt that a review of football’s governance led by Tracey Crouch, the Conservative MP, will outline the new

So bombarded are we now with talk of higher inflation, at least due in part to higher energy prices, it may have escaped some people’s notice that the price of crude oil has been falling for most of the last month. Since hitting an intraday high on 25 October of $86.70, which was the highest

The chief executive of AstraZeneca (AZ) has told Sky News that the company’s decision to begin seeking a modest profit from its COVID vaccine is unlikely to kick in until next year. Pascal Soriot said this was because it still had many doses of the vaccine to supply that it had promised to do so

Bulb, Britain’s seventh-biggest energy supplier, is facing collapse within days amid eleventh-hour talks between the government and the company’s biggest secured creditor. Sky News has learnt that the company, which launched in 2015 and has amassed 1.7 million customers, is expected to appoint insolvency practitioners imminently. The precise timing remained unclear on Monday because of

There was a 17% increase in reported shopping scams during last year’s Black Friday season, with victims losing an average of £538y, a bank has warned in a report. A survey for Barclays found more than half of Britons (59%) will change their usual behaviour while looking for good deals this festive season, with 38%

Ryanair has confirmed plans to abandon its London listing, in a move that will be seen as a post-Brexit snub to the UK’s financial centre. The no-frills carrier had said at the start of the month that it was considering the idea due to a fall in trading volumes of its shares on the London

The Official Receiver is advancing a legal claim against the auditors of Carillion, the collapsed construction giant, that could target as much as £1bn in damages. Sky News understands that the liquidators of the former FTSE-100 constituent filed a claim form against KPMG on Friday – a move which gives the claimant four months to

Virgin Atlantic Airways is drawing up plans for a fresh £400m funding injection as prospects fade for an initial public offering (IPO) of Sir Richard Branson’s flagship company. Sky News has learnt that the transatlantic carrier is in talks with its shareholders and other financial stakeholders about raising additional capital to see it through the

Hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is at increased risk due to a failure to conduct sufficient checks on the now-collapsed finance firm that David Cameron lobbied for, a committee of MPs has found. A a new report by the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC), on the lessons to be learned

Retail sales rose for the first time in six months during October, according to official figures, suggesting shoppers started their hunt for Christmas gifts early as pressure intensifies on household budgets. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 0.8% increase in volumes last month compared to September – with clothing among categories leading the

The number of people in city centres is still below pre-pandemic levels on weekdays, according to a report, which suggests some workers have not gone back to the office. Footfall in the heart of cities has returned to normal on weekends but is still 25% lower on weekdays than it was before COVID-19, according to

The eastern leg of HS2 has been scrapped and plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail have been downgraded, Grant Shapps has confirmed. The transport secretary told MPs that a new £96bn Integrated Rail Plan for the north and the Midlands will instead deliver “faster” train journeys both earlier and cheaper than the original HS2 plans would