Business

The company behind many popular consumer brands including Marmite and Magnum ice creams has said it expects price growth to ease later this year but not find a reverse gear. As the cost of living crisis continues to harm household spending power, Unilever forecast a €1.5bn (£1.3bn) impact from inflation during the first half of

The UK’s competition watchdog has moved a step closer to potentially blocking Microsoft’s planned $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Call of Duty gaming firm Activision. In a provisional ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the proposed tie-up could lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation for UK gamers. Activision responded by claiming

The UK will avoid tipping into recession this year but a greater number of homes – one-in-four – will struggle to pay elevated bills, according to an economic think-tank. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said in a forecast that the squeeze on incomes from the energy-driven cost of living crisis and

So farewell, then, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). This pantomime horse of a government department was created by Theresa May in 2016 on the premise that it would deliver the industrial strategy the last prime minister-but-two declared the UK had been so lacking when she assumed office in 2016. However, when Mrs

BP has revealed it is to miss a key climate goal while announcing record annual profits. The London-based firm said its main measure, underlying replacement cost profit, came in at $27.7bn (£23bn) for 2022 – more than double the previous year’s sum despite weaker oil and gas costs knocking its performance in the final quarter.

The bosses of Britain’s biggest housebuilders will hold talks with the chancellor this week as they face a multibillion-pound bill in the form of several new levies. Sky News has learnt that the executives from companies including Barratt Developments, Fairview and Persimmon will meet Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday. The Home Builders Federation (HBF), the leading

Administrators have selected a rival battery start-up based in Australia as preferred bidder for collapsed Britishvolt. EY confirmed on Monday morning that its team had chosen Recharge Industries – owned by US investment firm Scale Facilitation Partners – to acquire the “majority of the business and assets” of Britishvolt following its demise last month. The

Google looks set to unveil how it plans to rival the wildly successful ChatGPT AI, possibly within days. The technology giant has scheduled a 40-minute event for Wednesday 8 February, when it will reveal how it is “reimagining how people search for, explore and interact with information”. “Join us to learn how we’re opening up

Netflix has said that updated measures to crack down on password sharing were posted by mistake. Following widespread disappointment on social media, with many threatening to cancel their memberships, the streaming giant claimed some new account rules being trialled in other countries had accidentally been added to its help pages elsewhere. While subscribers have been

The German automotive giant BMW is in talks with the government about a £75m funding package that would secure production of electric Minis at its Oxfordshire plant. Sky News has learnt that BMW is negotiating with officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) over a grant from Whitehall’s Automotive Transformation Fund.

Elon Musk did not deceive his investors when he tweeted in 2018 that he had the funding to take Tesla private, a jury has found. Investors had sought to sue the SpaceX owner for billions of dollars because his tweet caused Tesla’s shares to soar, only to crash 10 days later when it became clear

London’s FTSE 100 Index has reached an all-time high at 7905 earlier this afternoon. The Financial Times Stock Exchange index of the 100 most valuable companies on the London stock exchange beat the previous record of 7,903.5 set in May 2018. It comes as central banks – including the Bank of England and the US

The head of markets at the National Grid Electricity System Operator has told Sky News that its new energy saving scheme “is likely how we’re all going to operate in the future.” The new Demand Flexibility Service, which allows consumers to volunteer to use less electricity at times of peak demand to help avoid blackouts,

The energy regulator Ofgem has asked suppliers to suspend the forced installation of prepayment meters and review their processes for dealing with customers who have fallen into arrears. Sky News understands the regulator made the request on Thursday after it was revealed that debt collectors working for British Gas had forced their way into the

Shell has announced annual profits of £32.2bn ($39.9) doubling from a year earlier and far exceeding the previous record of £25bn ($31bn) in 2008. The London-listed company also posted record fourth-quarter earnings of £7.9bn ($9.8bn). Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said: “Our results in Q4 and across the full year demonstrate the strength of Shell’s

The US central bank has slowed the pace of interest rate hikes further but indicated more rises are on the way despite official figures suggesting price pressures have peaked in the world’s largest economy. The Federal Reserve announced the decision hours before its counterparts in the UK and Europe reveal their next moves in the