Business

The value of energy discounts given to households that cut their peak time electricity used will be raised, the National Grid ESO has said, in a bid to turn homes into “individual power plants”. Households will now be paid £3 per kilowatt hour instead of 52p if they avoid high-power activities – such as cooking

There has been a positive market reaction to the resignation of Liz Truss after just 44 days in office, following the fierce backlash against her economic plan and humiliating climbdown. News that the prime minister was to make a Downing Street statement sparked a rally for sterling versus the dollar – leaving the UK currency

More rail strikes have been announced for 3 and 5 November – this time involving 14 train operating companies. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has announced the strikes at the train operating companies – which run the trains – on the same days as other members of the union are planning walk outs

The rate of inflation rose to 10.1% in September, according to official figures, as the economy reels from the effects of rising prices and the fallout from the mini-budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure rose from an annual rate of 9.9% in August to match the recent

Rail workers’ union RMT has announced more strikes next month following what it said was a pay offer “U-turn” from Network Rail. Three days of strike action are set to take place on 3, 5 and 7 November. Negotiations had been under way between the union and the rail operator. The Railway, Maritime and Transport

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been ordered by the UK competition regulator to sell the GIF library Giphy. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the ruling was a “final decision”. The move followed a protracted effort by Meta to overturn a CMA ruling last year that the takeover, which completed in

Financial markets have reacted positively to the new chancellor’s cull of more costly measures in his predecessor’s disastrous mini-budget. Jeremy Hunt revealed in a televised statement that he would no longer be proceeding with almost all the controversial package, including the reduction in the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19% from next

Jeremy Hunt has revealed he is reversing “almost all” of the tax cuts announced in his predecessor’s mini-budget and is scaling back support on energy bills. In an emergency statement, the chancellor said a 1p cut to income tax will be delayed “indefinitely” until the UK’s finances improve instead of being introduced in April 2023

Unions are close to organising co-ordinated strike action “very soon” following the “horror story” of the past few weeks, a union boss has told Sky News. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, accused the government of “aiding and abetting” employers earning millions in profits but not handing that to workers. She confirmed Unite, the UK’s

The government is pressing ahead to introduce legislation which will require transport workers to run a minimum service when strikes are taking place. It comes after commuters have been plagued by months of travel chaos caused by industrial action by railway workers, who are calling for better pay, working conditions and job security. But trade

Interest rates will have to be raised higher than initially hoped in the face of inflationary pressures, the Bank of England (BoE) governor has suggested. Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in Washington, Andrew Bailey also said there had been “a very clear and immediate meeting of minds” with new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on

The financial markets have responded negatively following Liz Truss’s announcement of a U-turn on corporation tax in a bid to reassure investors. As was widely predicted, the prime minister said she was abandoning the government’s commitment to drop the planned tax increase from 19% to 25% – even though it was a central plank of

So farewell, then, Trussonomics. The demise of the country’s second shortest-lived chancellor also brings with it the demise of the country’s shortest-lived economic movement. Liz Truss came into office promising to boost the country’s growth rate through a forensic combination of tax cuts, reforms to the country’s supply side (for which read: things like planning

Royal Mail has announced it will begin a process to make 5,000 to 6,000 roles redundant by August next year. The announcement, made in a trading update by the postal service’s parent company, has been blamed on industrial action taken by Royal Mail workers, delays in improving productivity and falling parcel volumes. A process of

The head of the International Monetary Fund has delivered a blunt condemnation of the UK government’s mini-budget – pointing out government and Bank of England policies should not be working against each other. Kristalina Georgieva was speaking at a news conference in Washington after the government’s mini-budget unleashed chaos in the markets when it was

As Liz Truss faces open revolt in her party over her planned tax cuts, her chancellor will today try to reassure the IMF that everything is under control. Ministers continue to be under pressure for the market chaos that erupted after the government announced its £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts last month. The prime