Shell has reported a $19.9bn (£14.4bn) loss for 2020 after an “extraordinary year” in which oil and gas prices have slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic. The energy giant tumbled into the red, compared with a profit of $15.3bn (£11.1bn) in 2019, as it took billions of dollars worth of accounting charges against the value of
Business
Boris Johnson has vowed to “do everything we need to do” – including an attempt to override post-Brexit arrangements with the EU – in order to “ensure there is no barrier down the Irish Sea”. Having held talks with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster on Wednesday morning, the prime minister later raised the prospect
Amazon has announced its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is to step down from running the business as it reported record revenues for its core Christmas quarter, topping $100bn for the first time with help from the coronavirus pandemic. The e-commerce, cloud data storage and entertainment giant said Bezos would become executive chair during the
Shares targeted by armchair investors to inflict losses on hedge funds this year have fallen sharply in a sign the activism may have peaked. The market value of GameStop – a struggling US gaming retailer – plunged by up to 50% on Tuesday to roughly $105 a share amid a rollercoaster ride for the stock
Interest-free “buy-now-pay-later” (BNPL) deals face tighter regulation under plans announced by the government. A review published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that the currently unregulated use of BNPL products nearly quadrupled to £2.7bn during 2020 and five million people had used them since the start of the pandemic. It concluded that the market
Silver has become the latest target of a small-time trading frenzy that last week targeted US retailer Gamestop – as the boss of the London Stock Exchange group admitted that the trend was a worry. The price of the precious metal rose 11% to its highest level since Feburary 2013 at more than $30 an
ASOS has agreed to buy Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge – but their 70 stores, employing 2,500 people, are not included in the deal. The online retailer is paying a total of £330m for the brands, plus stock currently held and on order, following the collapse late last year of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail
Serco, the outsourcing giant behind NHS Test and Trace, has confirmed that it was hit by a cyber attack – but told Sky News its oft-criticised scheme had not been impacted. The company won several coronavirus-related contracts, including NHS Test and Trace, via a procurement system that came under fire from the public spending watchdog
Lenders to Virgin Active are preparing for a fight over the future of one of Britain’s biggest gym chains as its owners draw up a radical blueprint to help it survive the pandemic. Sky News has learnt that a syndicate of roughly half a dozen banks held a beauty parade of financial advisers this week
ASOS is this weekend on the brink of capping one of the most tumultuous months in the history of the British high street by sealing a deal worth nearly £300m to buy TopShop and Miss Selfridge. Sky News understands that the online fashion retailer hopes to sign an agreement with Arcadia Group’s administrators ahead of
Financial markets have been rocked this week by a battle initiated by ordinary people against those who are usually dubbed market manipulators – hedge funds. This is not being fought on trading floors but online and is a consequence of an explosion in the popularity of amateur share trading by armchair investors and collaboration among
Shares in US retailer GameStop have fallen 44% to lose some of the extraordinary gains fuelled by Reddit users – only to recover again in after-hours trading. Thousands of investors have been buying the shares to try to reap quick gains and impose losses on hedge funds who have “shorted” the company – betting billions
A record percentage of retail space is lying empty as the coronavirus crisis places intolerable pressure on businesses, according to industry data. The latest BRC-LDC vacancy monitor, which excludes stores forced to shut their doors because of COVID-19 restrictions, found 13.7% of all shops were empty in the final quarter of 2020. Store vacancies had
Boohoo Group is in advanced talks to acquire the remaining components of Sir Philip Green’s high street empire in a deal that will accelerate the transition of famous British retail names to becoming online-only brands. Sky News has learnt that Boohoo is nearing exclusive negotiations to snap up the Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis brands
UK car production slumped to its lowest level since 1984 last year as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted factories and depressed demand, industry figures show. Brexit uncertainty was also partly to blame as the number of vehicles manufactured in Britain fell by 29.3% to 920,928, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). SMMT
The 737 MAX has been cleared to resume passenger flights in Europe in a boost for Boeing as it prepares to reveal, what is expected to be, a record annual loss for the company. The US plane maker has been locked in crisis mode since the flagship of its fleet of planes was grounded globally