Business

The government should introduce a “social tariff” guaranteeing cheaper energy to vulnerable users who cannot afford their basic needs, the chief executive of regulator Ofgem has said. Speaking as Ofgem launched an investigation into energy suppliers imposing prepayment meters on struggling households, Jonathan Brearley said the current high-cost energy market left some households simply unable

Some households with smart meters could be eligible for discounts if they cut their use of electricity between 5 and 6pm today. The National Grid ESO is activating a live “demand flexibility service” – which allows it to access additional flexibility when national demand is at its highest during peak winter days. The scheme entitles

The bank executive who helped to transform Virgin Money into one of Britain’s biggest high street lenders has landed a role at the helm of a British-based digital wealth manager. Sky News understands that Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia will on Monday be unveiled as chair of Moneyfarm. Dame Jayne-Anne’s appointment will ignite speculation that Moneyfarm, which

Elon Musk has appeared in court to refute allegations that Tesla shareholders were defrauded out of billions of dollars by his tweets. The company’s chief executive wrote in 2018 that he had “secured” funding to take the electric carmaker private and later that investor backing was “confirmed”, causing shares to soar and then fall. Less

The outgoing chief executive of Rightmove is among a pack of contenders to become the next boss of Future, the Marie Claire and Wallpaper publisher. Sky News has learnt that Peter Brooks-Johnson, who will leave the property portal in March, has been shortlisted to succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne, the media group’s veteran chief. Mr Brooks-Johnson is

Google workers in the UK and Ireland face uncertainty after its parent company Alphabet announced 12,000 jobs are to be axed globally. The Silicon Valley giant employs more than 5,000 staff in both countries, but the company would not be drawn on how the mass redundancies would impact them. The “difficult news” about the job

The Treasury is close to agreeing a £300m aid package for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer in a move aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and averting the loss of thousands of industrial jobs across northern England. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, has been advised by officials to approve a request

Lloyds Pharmacy is to pull out of 237 in-store Sainsbury’s branches, potentially putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk and exposing the financial pressure on UK pharmacies at the height of the NHS crisis. Lloyds Pharmacy, which bought Sainsbury’s 280-strong pharmacy network in 2015 in a deal worth £125m, said it would close the branches

Argos will shut all of its stores in the Republic of Ireland in June this year, the company said on Thursday, following a “period of careful consideration”. The move is expected to result in 580 employees losing their jobs and the closure of 34 sites across the country. The company, which sells electronics, gadgets, and

Britain’s battery sector has been delivered some unexpected good news, after an Australian billionaire told Sky News he will be opening an advanced battery plant in Oxfordshire later this year, creating up to 300 new jobs. Andrew Forrest, the founder of the Australian iron ore giant Fortescue, said he was expanding operations at WAE Technologies,

Major North Sea oil and gas operator Harbour Energy has revealed plans for job cuts, blaming the impact of the government’s windfall tax on profits. A spokesperson for Harbour, the biggest offshore producer in UK waters, said the job losses would impact its head office functions in Aberdeen. They added that staff had been informed

Microsoft is preparing to axe thousands of jobs in the latest move by one of the world’s biggest technology companies to reduce its workforce in the face of a slowing global economy. Sky News has learnt that the US software giant could announce plans to cull a significant number of posts around the world within

Hundreds have lost their jobs after British electric car battery company Britishvolt fell into administration. The majority of Britishvolt’s 232 staff have been made redundant, administrators said, after the group made an application for administration to the courts on Tuesday. It followed talks with investors over a possible sale to keep the firm afloat. A

The governor of the Bank of England has told MPs there is still “something of a hangover effect” in the wake of the mini-budget market chaos last year but declared that the hit to mortgages was over. Andrew Bailey used remarks to the Treasury committee to declare that market conditions had returned to normal after

Davos, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its founder, Klaus Schwab, have become more famous than ever before in the past couple of years – albeit not for the reasons they might have wanted. As COVID-19 spread and the world battled the pandemic, Mr Schwab and the WEF, not to mention regular delegates such as

A stricken financial services group that has had its shares suspended amid apparent accounting irregularities will this week disclose that it has received takeover approaches for parts of its business. Sky News has learnt that MJ Hudson, which floated on London’s junior stock market on the day of the 2019 general election, will announce on