Business

The UK’s largest supermarket chain has reported a strong Christmas for sales in the face of “growing cost pressures and supply chain challenges”. Tesco reported a 2.7% rise in like-for-like sales for its core UK and Ireland grocery business during the six weeks to 8 January compared to the same period last year. It raised

Attorney Jerry Longarzo, co-founder and managing partner of Longarzo Vance Klevan LLP, has died at the age of 58. The entertainment lawyer and Grammy winner passed away in Los Angeles on January 10 after a nearly year-long fight against pancreatic cancer. The Georgetown grad is survived by his wife of 23 years, Diana, his three

Ovo Energy, the UK’s third-biggest gas and electricity supplier, is to cut a quarter of its workforce as part of a restructuring aimed at saving costs amid the deepening industry crisis. Sky News has learnt that Ovo could announce details of its plans as soon as Thursday, with roughly 1,700 out of 6,200 roles expected

In Tre’vell Anderson’s L.A. Times piece “There is room for everyone: 14 film critics on making media more inclusive,” he states, “Those who work for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety, among others, receive preferential treatment for talent interviews and screening access. And traditional publications

One of the biggest names in UK retail has raised its annual profit expectations despite a fall in sales during its core Christmas trading period. Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain by market share, reported grocery-led sales growth for the festive season covering the six weeks to 8 January when compared to the same pre-pandemic

After 10 seasons at the pressure cooker of Saturday Night Live, Cecily Strong comes well prepared, much loved and properly steeled to her New York stage debut as the solo star in an Off Broadway revival of Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Good thing, too, since jumping into

The World Bank has warned of a “pronounced slowdown” in global growth as threats from new COVID-19 variants and cost of living pressures bite. It also pointed to the risks of debt and income inequality as it stressed in particular the risk to emerging and developing economies. The warning came as separate figures showed inflation

With infections still surging, Los Angeles County’s cumulative number of Covid cases throughout the pandemic surpassed the 2 million mark today, with 43,582 new cases confirmed. Those new cases lifted the county’s cumulative case total to 2,010,964 since the pandemic began. Daily cases in the county set an all-time high on Sunday at 45,584. Another

Heathrow Airport has called for all coronavirus testing to be dropped for fully-vaccinated people while revealing that “at least” 600,000 passengers cancelled flights during the key holiday month of December. The UK’s largest airport said “swiftly imposed” action during the month to tackle the Omicron variant in the run-up to the festive season prompted uncertainty

A few days after WarnerMedia said HBO and HBO Max ended 2021 with 73.8 million global subscribers, ad sales president JP Colaco said consumers had been enticed to “sign up in droves” for its cheaper, ad-supported tier. In an online appearance at the TV of Tomorrow Show, the exec declined to provide a breakout of

A residential energy supplier part-owned by a Cheshire local authority is lining up administrators amid suggestions that it could collapse as soon as this week. Sky News has learnt that Together Energy, which serves about 170,000 homes, is preparing to call in insolvency practitioners from FRP Advisory, the London-listed restructuring firm. One energy industry executive

“I think for the next two weeks, we’re going to continue to see our case rates rise,” said Los Angeles Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Thursday. That statement was made more ominous by the fact that, on that very day, the county recorded a record number of new daily cases for the pandemic. At

Aldi says it enjoyed a record Christmas with sales boosted by “half a million new shoppers in December” as the wider grocery sector gears up for a tougher year as household budgets are squeezed by surging inflation. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket chain said sales in December rose by 0.4% compared to the previous year, when

EXCLUSIVE: TikTok’s grip on young audiences is a well-established fact, but the social network has just released a new report detailing how that defining trait has made it increasingly attractive to Hollywood. In a new blog post titled “The Future of Entertainment Marketing,” the company, which has more than 1 billion monthly active users globally,

WH Smith has kicked off a search for a new chairman as the high street and travel hub-focused retailer continues to grapple with the impact of the pandemic. Sky News understands that headhunters advising the chain have begun approaching prospective replacements for Henry Staunton, who has chaired the business since 2013. Mr Staunton, a former

Los Angeles County’s 43,712 new Covid infections today is the highest daily total of the entire pandemic, breaking a record set just 24 hours before, when 37,215 new cases were announced. Thursday’s number had, in turn, skyrocketed up over 10,000 cases from 26,754 the day before. On Tuesday, the county recorded 21,790 new daily cases.

Oil and gas companies operating in the UK’s North Sea are expected to report “near record” income in 2021 and 2022 as the price of energy skyrockets. Wood Mackenzie analysis says that UK oil and gas operators are projected to record around $17bn in cash flow for last year, and approximately $18bn this year. Such

NATPE Miami has become the latest major in-person entertainment industry event to be shelved due to concerns over the current Covid spike driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. The decision, announced Saturday by NATPE president and CEO JP Bommel, comes just 10 days before the annual confab was supposed to start. Organizers of the

The British company which has orchestrated a torrent of retail share placings for cash-strapped companies during the pandemic is in advanced talks to sell a big stake to the world’s largest technology investor. Sky News has learnt that PrimaryBid is close to finalising the details of a $150m (£110m) funding round that will be led

California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced he has activated the California National Guard to support local communities with additional testing facilities and capacity amid the surge in Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant. The state’s National Guard plan will deploy over 200 Cal Guard members across 50 Optum Serve sites around California, providing interim