Business

Confidential notes seen by Sky News reveal European Union officials think a Brexit deal is 95% agreed – but show the extent of anxiety over the potential impact if negotiations break down. The notes come from a meeting of the most senior diplomats in Brussels on Friday morning, when they were briefed about the state

Britain’s biggest airport is to furlough its entire senior management team apart from its chief executive and pave the way for more permanent job losses, underlining its pessimism about the aviation industry’s short-term recovery prospects. Sky News has seen emails sent by Heathrow executives on Friday which detail plans for a new voluntary redundancy scheme

UK households are expected to have spent £6,600 less this year after the pandemic slashed demand for holidays, eating out and transport, according to new research. In total, consumer spending for 2020 is on course to be £183.6bn, or 14.9%, lower in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to consumer analysts Mintel. Bucking the

Marks & Spencer is planning to open most of its stores until midnight in the run-up to Christmas to allow shoppers and staff “the time and space they need to social distance”. M&S said the three days from December 21-23, expected to be its busiest days, would see its “longest ever store opening hours”. It

Businesses should be given at least seven days’ notice of the government’s lockdown exit plan so they can prepare for the key Christmas trading period, the CBI has said. The lobby group said firms will need time to activate supply chains and call in staff ahead of the expected reopening in England on 3 December. Notice

Regulators have cleared Boeing’s 737 MAX to fly again, 20 months after the fleet was grounded globally following two fatal crashes. The decision was announced by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just months after a highly critical congressional report accused the watchdog itself of contributing to a “horrific culmination” of failures before the accidents.

Companies recommended by MPs, peers and advisers were given priority to win government contracts as it scrambled to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, the public spending watchdog has found. A National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into pandemic procurement concludes that normal standards of transparency were waived as departments awarded 8,600 contracts worth £18bn to tackle

The giant American investor which bought £13bn of mortgages from British taxpayers in 2015 is in talks to take control of The Co-operative Bank. Sky News can exclusively reveal that Cerberus Capital Management is in preliminary talks with the lender’s board and shareholders about a deal. Sources said on Tuesday that Cerberus was likely to

Some British ports will find it “impossible” to carry out checks on fresh food and plant imports in the event of a no-deal Brexit, industry groups have warned parliament. Ports around the UK face fundamental changes to customs arrangements in just 45 days’ time when the EU transition period ends on January 1. Deal or

Global stock markets are rallying sharply after positive trial results from a second potential coronavirus vaccine lifted hopes over the battle to defeat the pandemic. The FTSE 100 jumped by 2%, or more than 100 points, after interim data from a US-developed drug produced by Moderna showed it to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19. Markets

Two new “mega labs” to turnaround 600,000 coronavirus tests a day are planned for next year, as Boris Johnson tries to draw a line under losing two key advisers. The prime minister will make a “series of critical announcements”, Number 10 said, following the sudden departure of aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. And in

One of Britain’s biggest listed property groups is facing demands from an American hedge fund to break itself up and hand over a board seat in the latest example of shareholder activism targeting a major UK company. Sky News has learnt that Countryside Properties, which has a market capitalisation of over £2bn, has been told

After an £85m refurbishment, the Royal Lancaster hotel was set to take its place as one of London’s premier locations. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the immaculate lobby is empty. Sebastian, the concierge who worked his way up the ranks over 16 years, waits patiently behind his visor. Image: Sally Beck says ‘resilience, creativity

The high street tycoon Sir Philip Green is this weekend trying to secure tens of millions of pounds in fresh funding to keep his TopShop empire afloat. Sky News has learnt that Arcadia Group has approached several potential lenders about borrowing roughly £30m to prop up the business after seeing its pre-Christmas trading plans wrecked

Greggs has announced plans to cut more than 800 jobs as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The boss warned that the bakery chain “will not be profitable as a business” if sales continue at the rates they have been in lockdown. In a statement posted on its employee information website earlier this week,

Donald Trump’s White House has fuelled tensions with Beijing by banning US investment in firms it says have ties to the Chinese military. The executive order, due to come into force on 11 January, is designed to stop American businesses, pension funds and others from buying stocks in 31 companies designated by the Pentagon earlier