Business

UPDATE: The Senate cleared the debt ceiling bill late on Thursday, the final hurdle for the U.S. to avoid default on its debt with a deadline approaching in just a matter of days. The bill, which passed 63-36, now goes to President Joe Biden. It ends the most precarious standoff over the debt limit since

The owner of British Gas is facing criticism from a leading City investor over the multimillion pound pay package handed to its chief executive after persistent criticism of windfall gains triggered by share price collapses during the pandemic. Sky News can reveal that abrdn, one of the London stock market’s most influential institutional shareholders, will

The new Alicia Keys musical Hell’s Kitchen will make its world premiere this fall as part of the 2023-24 season of New York’s Public Theater Off Broadway, the Public announced today. With music and lyrics by Keys and a book by Kristoffer Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen will begin previews at the Public on October 24, with

House prices fell by 3.4% year-on-year in May, according to one of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders. Data from Nationwide building society also showed a month-on-month decline of 0.1%, with the average cost of a UK home now said to be £260,736. The building society had said there were tentative signs of a recovery in the

Ari Emanuel believes artificial intelligence will help the entertainment industry, not destroy it. Speaking on the Freakonomics Radio podcast to author and host Stephen Dubner — an interview that took place before the Writer’s Guild of America strike, where AI issues loom large — Emanuel seemed to indicate that AI would be a useful tool.

Amazon and a subsidiary have agreed to pay millions to settle two separate privacy cases against its Alexa and Ring doorbell devices. Both cases were taken by US government consumer watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Amazon denies violating the law. In a case against the Alexa voice assistant, Amazon agreed to pay $25m

EXCLUSIVE: Unstoppable has, in fact, been stopped — at least for now. Production on the wrestling drama, starring Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jerome, paused for the day earlier this morning following picketing at their shooting location near USC. Artists Equity, the new production company that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon co-founded with RedBird Capital, declined

CBI members are to begin voting today on the future of the business lobby group, following a series of scandals. The organisation was plunged into disarray after claims of serious sexual assault were made by CBI employees against colleagues. Today it will launch what it describes as an “ambitious ‘programme of change'”, with adjustments to

Amazon’s Alexa will no longer sound like Samuel L. Jackson and Melissa McCarthy. The e-commerce giant has stopped sales of celebrity “personalities” for Alexa. In a note on the product pages for the available celebrity voices, Amazon indicates that they are no longer available for purchase. “Melissa McCarthy’s Alexa voice is no longer available for

Having made tackling inflation a key policy aim, ministers are under pressure to get a grip on food prices, which are still rising at a robust pace. Among the proposals being considered is a cap on the price of basic food items. The British government is not the first to weigh up such a policy.

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Australian actor James Mackay has signed with Elevate Entertainment. Mackay made his feature film debut in Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) starring alongside Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. In the remake of the 1973 TV movie of the same name, a family moves to Rhode

Asda Group has said it will acquire petrol station operator EG Group’s UK and Ireland business, creating a company with combined revenues of nearly £30bn. The news confirms a report by Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman last week, which said the “finishing touches” were being put on the deal. Asda is the UK’s third-largest

Elon Musk’s Twitter platform could potentially be banned in Europe if it doesn’t follow the disinformation rules. The threat comes from France’s Digital Minister Jean-Noël Barrot who recently talked about the importance of following guidelines to combat fake news on social media. “Disinformation is one of the gravest threats weighing on our democracies,” Barrot said

HSBC will next month unveil a new name for the technology-focused bank it rescued earlier this year after its US parent collapsed. Sky News has learned that Europe’s biggest lender intends to rebrand Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVBUK) under the name HSBC Innovation Banking. The new identity is expected to be announced to coincide with

A behind-closed-doors trial is being held in Tehran for an Iranian journalist on charges resulting from her coverage of Mahsa Amini, whose 2022 death in custody by Iran’s morality police sparked months of protest. Elaheh Mohammadi, a reporter for the pro-reform Hammihan newspaper who is on trial in Tehran, as well as Sharq newspaper journalist,

Ian King hears from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who says the government will do whatever it takes to bring down inflation, even if that means a recession. He also speaks to Nick Harding, the chief executive of consumer lender Fluro as analysis by PwC shows total household debt in the UK has exceeded 2 trillion pounds

 Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden surged past defending champion Marcus Ericsson on the final lap – then jumped out of his car and ran into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grandstands to celebrate with fans – as he won the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his career. “I started out as a fan in the crowd and this

The Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains the leading candidate to buy Manchester United Football Club despite an inconclusive board meeting held late last week. Sky News understands that directors of the Premier League club’s holding company met on Thursday to discuss the progress of its £5bn-plus auction. Controlled by members of the Glazer family

George Michael and Clayton Kershaw agree on one thing: “Ya gotta have faith.” The Los Angeles Dodgers and Kershaw have announced what’s termed a “relaunch” of the team’s “Christian Faith and Family Day” event. News of the resurrected faith event comes shortly after the team enmeshed itself in a controversy over its Pride Night celebration.