Business

Households are being urged to get their finances in the best shape possible amid increasing evidence of increased stress over the growing cost of living crisis – now said to be the main concern for people across the UK. A debt advice charity told Sky News it was helping thousands of new clients navigate problem

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to buy Twitter, has said he would reverse the platform’s “foolish” ban on former US president Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through. The tech tycoon said: “Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it

The soaring cost of living has seen consumers “put the brakes” on their shopping habits, new figures show. The latest retail monitoring from BRC-KPMG revealed sales dipped in April after a sharp downturn in consumer confidence. And separate figures from Barclaycard showed credit card spending on retail and eating out slowed last month as people

Convenience retailer McColl’s has been formally bought out of administration by its existing trading partner Morrisons in a deal that saves all its 16,000 jobs and its stores. The news was announced hours after Sky News reported that the supermarket chain had won a race with petrol station powerhouse EG Group for a rescue. Moments

Britain has announced fresh sanctions targeting £1.7bn worth of trade with Russia in a bid to “further weaken Putin’s war machine”. They include sharply higher tariffs on £1.4bn worth of imports from Russia and bans on exports to the country that are worth £250m a year. The measures, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Trade

Morrisons has tabled a last-gasp bid to wrest McColl’s Retail Group from the clutches of its Asda-owning rivals just hours before administrators are formally appointed to oversee its sale. Sky News can reveal that Morrisons has lodged an improved offer with McColl’s lenders that would see them repaid immediately in full, satisfying their principal demand.

Plans to revive struggling town centres will form a key part of the Queen’s Speech next week as the prime minister tries to move on after his party’s poor local election performance. Boris Johnson will say on Tuesday that he wants to rid high streets of derelict shopfronts and restore “neighbourhood pride”, with councils given

Two companies behind large swathes of London’s West End are in advanced talks about a £3.5bn merger that would unite world-famous tourist destinations, including Covent Garden and Chinatown under common ownership. Sky News has learnt that Capital & Counties Properties – also known as Capco – and Shaftesbury are in detailed discussions about an all-share

A consortium led by LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital has signed a purchase agreement to buy Chelsea Football Club. Chelsea confirmed that terms had been agreed for the new ownership group led by Mr Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss to acquire the club in a

Roman Abramovich has insisted his position over the sale of Chelsea is unchanged and has described claims he has asked for a £1.5bn loan to be paid back as “entirely false”. Reports had suggested the Russian billionaire could insist on the money being paid back, which could threaten the sale of the Premier League club.

The Bank of England has raised the base rate of interest to 1% – the fourth consecutive increase as it continues to move against surging inflation – despite issuing a warning about a recession ahead. The Bank forecast that the UK economy will shrink later this year in the face of double-digit inflation and an

Rail companies have been accused of “failing dismally” to help families with young children travel on trains, according to a new report. Only five operators in Britain scored more than two out of eight points in analysis by the Campaign for Family-Friendly Trains. It comes after 13 firms were assessed on factors such as the

Elon Musk has secured $7bn from new investors for his $44bn takeover of Twitter. The 19 contributors supporting the billionaire’s deal include Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and Tesla board member, who is pledging $1bn. The Qatar state investment fund is putting up $375m, while Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is pitching in $500bn,

The parent company of British Airways has hailed a pick-up in travel between the UK and United States for helping to narrow losses and predicted a return to profitability this year despite a leap in costs. International Airlines Group (IAG), which also has the Aer Lingus and Iberia brands in its stable of carriers, reported

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, has been warned it must do more to help struggling pork producers or risk “the destruction of the UK pig sector”. The chairman of the National Pig Association (NPA) Rob Mutimer used an open letter to the Tesco boss Ken Murphy to argue that the company was uniquely positioned,

In today’s episode, Ian King looks at the markets reacting to rising interest rates and soaring inflation. He’s also joined by Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman, who has all the latest on Morrisons proposing a last-ditch rescue deal for McColl’s Retail Group. Plus, more on Zeelo, the UK-based smart bus platform bought last week for