Business

The cap on bankers’ bonuses is to be abolished, the financial services regulatory body has announced.  From 31 October, EU rules that limit bonus payments to twice a banker’s salary will be removed, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) said. The policy change was initially announced by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous September mini-budget

The voluntary real living wage – paid by more than 14,000 companies in the UK – is to rise by 10% as low-paid workers continue to struggle with the cost of living. The Living Wage Foundation, which sets the rate, announced it would increase to £12 across the UK, except for in London where it

The UK unemployment rate remains low, according to the latest official figures. The figure stood at 4.2% in the three months to August this year, after changes to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey method. Under the new means of assessing the labour market, there has been no change in the level of joblessness

Except on rare occasions – last year’s post-Liz Truss mini-budget episode being one of them – the bond market rarely garners as much attention as other financial sectors. Yet these markets, where companies and governments come to borrow, are the foundations for the global economy. In particular, the value of government bonds – and hence

Amid the fields of North Yorkshire, people who once eyed each other with enmity across rolls of razor wire are now walking side by side. A proposed and highly contested fracking site has become the source of clean, green, geothermal energy. In 2016, the North Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton, like many others across Yorkshire

Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, has turned down an invitation to address the CBI’s annual conference, dealing a blow to the business lobbying group’s efforts to rebuild its reputation. Sky News understands that Ms Badenoch’s officials have informed the CBI that diary clashes in the run-up to next month’s autumn statement will prevent her from

Owning a classic car is a sensory experience. Purists say it’s the feel of the leather, the smell of the fuel, the growl of the engine that brings a classic car to life. But on an industrial estate in Newtown, mid-Wales, that growl is silenced. Three Ferrari Testa Rossas, a Maserati Ghibli and a Land

A fast-growing British semiconductor manufacturer is lining up a £200m funding injection from blue-chip backers including the asset management giant M&G. Sky News has learnt that Pragmatic Semiconductor, which produces low-cost microchips for use in products such as packaging and clothing, is close to finalising a substantial fundraising backed by Saudi Arabian money. City sources

A closely-watched barometer of consumer confidence is warning of “concern” for retailers ahead of Christmas, as official figures for September show a steep fall in sales. GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Index suggested that the willingness of shoppers to spend, particularly on big-ticket items, had plunged since the end of the summer. The authors reported that

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned of a crackdown on “public sector waste” and focus on tackling debt after official figures showed weaker than expected borrowing last month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing stood at £14.3bn last month, £1.6bn less than a year earlier. The figure was well down on

The cost of UK state borrowing is close to a 15-year high – levels seen only twice since the global financial crash. The amount the UK government has to pay – the yield – to borrow money for 10 years via its benchmark 10-year bonds – known as gilts – rose to more than 4.7%

Nokia has revealed plans to shed up to 14,000 jobs following a slump in sales. The Finland-based telecoms technology firm, which has 86,000 staff worldwide, said it was launching a cost-saving drive across the business in a bid to boost its margins. Nokia reported a 20% fall in sales during its third quarter. Comparable net

High levels of national debt will hurt the UK’s ability to fund public services and respond to economic crises, a think tank has said. Not in the last 300 years has there been as large a peace time increase in the amount of government borrowing, the Resolution Foundation said. In the last 15 years alone

Last month’s inflation data release completely changed the outlook for Britain’s economic policy. The number came in far below what economists had expected, prompting the Bank of England to pause its rises in interest rates, with wider implications for the state of the British economy. This month’s inflation release – covering the rise in prices

The rate of inflation failed to nudge downwards as expected last month, remaining at an annual rate of 6.7% according to official figures. The headline consumer prices index (CPI) measure had been predicted to slow to 6.6% in September by a Reuters poll of economists. The higher than expected number – largely a consequence of

The UK has more than its fair share of looming infrastructure priorities. There’s a neglected water network that leaks sewage into rivers and clean water into the ground. A rail system in disarray after the last-minute scrapping of HS2. Not to mention roads filled with enough potholes to swallow fleets of electric cars there aren’t