Business

The government and Tata Steel are on the brink of an agreement that will secure the future of the country’s biggest steelworks but pave the way for thousands of long-term job losses. Sky News has learnt that Whitehall officials are in preliminary talks about a financial support package to assist Tata Steel employees who may

Following the shock resignation of BP chief executive Bernard Looney, Ian King speaks with the firm’s former head of strategy, Nick Butler to find out what it will mean for the business. The UK economy shrank by 0.5% in July according to official figures. Ian discusses the reasons why with the head of Saxo UK,

Economic forecasting is, like predicting the weather, an inexact science. You take the best available data, compare it to historical and more recent trends, perhaps chew your pencil, then make your best informed prediction. In recent months however charting the UK’s economic course has been as tricky as second-guessing the British summer. As heat waves

The UK economy contracted by 0.5% in July – with early official figures suggesting that strikes and the summer washout had an impact. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the decline – which was worse than many economists had expected – followed an unrevised 0.5% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) over the previous

Four people have been charged in connection with the collapse of Patisserie Valerie – a bakery chain that once had almost 200 stores. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it related to an investigation that began in October 2018 – just two days after the company abruptly suspended trading, with more than 900 jobs and

The Range, the value retail chain, has struck a deal to buy the Wilko brand from its collapsed rival’s administrators. Sky News has learnt that The Range, founded and owned by Chris Dawson, has agreed to pay in the region of £5m for the Wilko name. The deal is expected to be announced later on

Fixed mortgages rates have risen again after a brief fall, according to figures from a financial information website. The average two-year homeowner mortgage rate on the market edged back up to 6.8% on Friday from 6.79% yesterday, Moneyfactscompare.co.uk said. Five-year fixes have also risen back to 6.32%, up from 6.31% on Thursday. On Wednesday, it

Bethenny Frankel is mad as hell, and is biting back at the injustices she claims are perpetrated against reality TV stars. In a video uploaded to her TikTok and Instagram on Thursday, the 52-year-old Frankel, a former “Real Housewives of New York” reality show alum, claimed that reality stars should receive residuals like other actors. “Reality

The chief executive of NatWest Group has apologised to Nigel Farage for the closure of his bank accounts and ordered an immediate review of the processes followed by its Coutts subsidiary. In a letter to Mr Farage seen by Sky News, Dame Alison Rose said she regretted “deeply inappropriate comments” about the former UKIP leader

AMC Entertainment is dropping Sightline, a controversial variable pricing program for seating it announced earlier this year. The giant theater chain said today that after a pilot in three locations, it saw little or no increase in patronage of cheaper front row seating, despite a modest price reduction for the seats. The test did show

Average mortgage rates have fallen for the first time in months. Both two and five-year fixed-rate deals have dropped, according to data from financial information company Moneyfacts. The average rate on a two-year fixed deal is now 6.79%, down from 6.81%, while the average five-year rate dipped to 6.31%, a decrease from 6.33%. Rates haven’t

Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network production workers are attempting to unionize with The Animation Guild (TAG). A petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board today requesting a union election. The petition includes 66 staffers at Warner Bros. Animation and 22 at Cartoon Network, including roles like production manager, digital production assistant, IT

Banks will be forced to give customers three months’ notice of account closures and to provide a full explanation of the reasons under reforms that could be unveiled in the coming days. Sky News has learnt that the Treasury plans to force British lenders to be more transparent with customers amid an escalating freedom of

IATSE is holding a strike authorization vote for theater workers under the so-called Pink Contract after talks between The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical Productions failed to meet worker demands. The unanimous decision was announced Wednesday by the contract’s bargaining committee, comprised of international leadership and rank-and-file theater workers. The Pink Contract covers some 1,500

The owner of Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled plans to build an electric car battery factory in the UK. Tata Motors says it’s planning to invest more than £4bn, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declaring that the new plant will create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons across the country. The deal is the culmination

Sheryl Crow is stepping into the conversation being from a small town and calling out Jason Aldean after the country star was accused of promoting violence with the song “Try That in a Small Town.” “Jason Aldean, I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence,” Crow tweeted mentioning his

A decision by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to invest in electric vehicle battery production in the UK is “very welcome”, a Labour MP has said. Darren Jones, chair of the cross-party Business and Trade Committee, was responding to reports that Tata will establish a battery gigafactory in Somerset for its JLR operation, potentially creating thousands

EXCLUSIVE: After bringing Searchlight Pictures its strongest limited opening since 2019 Oscar winner Jojo Rabbit with the acclaimed musical comedy Theater Camp, Topic Studios has announced an expansion of its creative ranks with the appointment of Jasmine Daghighian to the newly created role of Vice President of Film. Daghighian comes to Topic from 500 Blows,

Supermarket deals have helped grocery price inflation ease for a fourth consecutive month. Closely watched data from Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks supermarket sales and prices, charted the steepest decline in checkout costs during the four weeks to 9 July since grocery inflation peaked in March. Its inflation measure fell by 1.6 percentage points to 14.9%

UPDATED with AMPTP response: Saying that “we’re fighting for the survival of our profession,” the SAG-AFTRA leaders tonight released the details of just how far they and the companies were when contract talks broke off and the performers launched their first strike against the film and scripted TV industry since 1980. “We moved on some