Business

The Bank of England has hiked interest rates by half a percentage point – the sixth rise since December and the biggest rise since 1995. This means the bank rate now stands at 1.75% – its highest level since late 2008 at the beginning of the global financial crisis. It will increase borrowing costs for

Hope of a meaningful drop in global oil prices have been dashed after a major group of oil-producing nations, including Russia, agreed to increase volumes by a much lower rate than requested. The United States had called on the OPEC+ cartel to raise output by at least 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to help ease

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey will give most of its employees £1,000 on top of their salaries to help them cope with rising fuel costs this winter. The payments will be given to workers on salaries of up to £70,000, meaning that about 90% of the workforce is eligible. Money will be paid in monthly instalments from

The energy price cap will remain above £3,500 a year throughout most of 2023, according to the latest dire forecast for household bills. The prediction, from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, comes as families gear up for what is set to be the toughest winter for decades amid mounting costs on almost every front as inflation

BP has reported a second-quarter profit of £6.9bn ($8.45bn) – its highest in 14 years – at a time when consumer fuel prices have been at record highs. BP’s underlying replacement cost profit, the company’s definition of net earnings, was the strongest since 2008 and far exceeded analysts’ expectations of £5.6bn ($6.8bn). That compares to

The UK’s largest sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion is to sell its Footasylum chain following a long battle with the country’s competition watchdog. The business will be sold to German asset management firm Aurelius for £37.5m – a substantial loss on the £90m JD Sports paid for it three years ago. The news confirms a

The Financial Conduct Authority has finalised tougher rules for the marketing of high-risk investments. Under the new rules, firms approving and issuing marketing must have the right expertise and those marketing some types of high-risk investments will have to do better checks to make sure those investments are well matched to consumers. Some incentives such

A London-based commodities broker controlled by a group of former Lehman Brothers executives will this week clinch a takeover of a major industry peer. Sky News has learnt that Marex Group will announce on Monday that it has reached an agreement to buy ED&F Man Capital Markets from ED&F Man Holdings. The purchase price is

Octopus Energy has asked the government for a £1bn taxpayer funding package to seal a takeover of Bulb, its stricken rival. Sky News has learnt that privately owned Octopus is nearing a deal with ministers to acquire its smaller competitor, which collapsed late last year. City sources said this weekend that a deal would involve

With so much fog surrounding the prospects for the UK economy, results statements from the country’s main commercial banks this week were an ideal opportunity to make sense of things, as the big lenders tend to have a good idea of what is happening on the ground. The overall picture painted – and this is

Credit card borrowing last month increased at the fastest annual rate since 2005, according to new figures from the Bank of England. At the same time, the amount of money being deposited into accounts plummeted, as concerns grow about the rapidly increasing cost of living. Consumer credit, which includes borrowing on credit cards, overdrafts, personal

The UK’s competition watchdog is investigating Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda over claims about the sustainability of their products. The Competition and Markets Authority said it would examine the eco-friendly and sustainability claims made by the three businesses about items including clothing, footwear and accessories. In January the CMA started to look at sustainability

British Airways owner IAG has returned to quarterly profitability for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, but blamed Heathrow for its current “operational challenges”. IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the group’s best performing airlines were Iberia and Vueling, which were boosted by a recovery in the Spanish domestic market and routes to Latin

Up to 40% of households could be drawn into fuel poverty by soaring energy prices this winter, the boss of one of the UK’s largest energy providers has told Sky News. Rising wholesale gas prices, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, mean the domestic energy price cap is forecast to increase from the current £1,971

Shell has reported record profits of $11.5bn (£9.4bn) for the second quarter, more than double last year’s figure of $5.5bn (£4.5bn). The oil giant had already smashed its own quarterly record at the start of the year when it clocked up profits of $9.1bn (£7.2bn), but the sums continued to rise into Q2. Shell attributed

Facebook owner Meta has reported its first ever revenue drop amid lower ad sales and growing competition from TikTok. The social media giant reported revenue of $28.8bn in the three months to June, down almost 1% from $29.08bn the previous year. The figure was lower than the $28.9bn expected by Wall Street, sending Meta shares

Shop price inflation rose to 4.4% in July, up from 3.1% in June, according to new figures. The rise is the highest since the British Retail Consortium started its index in 2005. Food inflation was up 7%, compared to 5.6% in June. This was partly due to a 8% rise in fresh food inflation, up

The world’s lender of last resort has appealed for central banks to raise interest rates and for governments to take a responsible stance with public finances while warning of a harder impact from the global inflation shock. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) used its updated World Economic Outlook to take another red pen to growth

Heathrow Airport and easyJet, two of the air industry players affected by this year’s flight chaos, have revealed large financial hits while outlining how they are coping during the summer rush. The low-cost carrier said cancellations and delays caused by staff shortages at airports and in the air had cost it £133m over its latest

Ryanair has warned that rising fuel prices will increase costs despite reporting a first-quarter profit. The airline industry has been impacted by significant disruption at airports and the Ukraine war but the budget airliner reported profits after tax of €170m (£145m) in Q1 (April to June 2022) against net losses of €273m (£233m). Passenger numbers