Business

UK car production has returned to growth, although it is still well below pre-pandemic levels, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says. Some 69,524 cars were built in October, up 7.4% on the same month a year ago. September had seen a fall in numbers, after four consecutive months of growth, illustrating how supply

A pound could buy $1.21 on Thursday morning, the highest amount since mid-August, making imports cheaper for UK companies and consumers. The 20 cents rise in sterling buying power from an all-time low in the days following the September mini-budget and the associated market upset, is due to dollar weakness rather than pound strength. The

Private parking firms are issuing 50% more fines this year with an average of nearly 30,000 per day being dished out, analysis suggests. A record 2.7 million were issued between April and June, up from 1.8 million during the same period last year. The figures come from analysis of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Pay growth has only kept up with inflation in one industry, official figures show. According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), regular wages – wages excluding bonuses – have only risen as fast as prices in the professional and scientific industry. Jobs in the sector include legal services, management, engineering and scientific

Manchester United’s American owners have confirmed they could sell the club as they explore “strategic alternatives” to boost its sporting and commercial success. It comes after Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman exclusively revealed the Glazer family were preparing to announce the news and were already being advised by bankers. Fans of Manchester United have long

A fresh round of rail strikes in the run-up to Christmas and in the New Year have been announced. Workers are to stage a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union said. Over 40,000 members across Network

Shell will review £25bn of investments in British projects after the chancellor extended the windfall tax on energy companies, its UK chairman has told Sky News. David Bunch said the oil giant would re-examine each of its projects on a “case-by-case basis” after Jeremy Hunt increased the levy on “excess” oil and gas profits from

With soaring inflation, a nascent recession and the fallout from eight weeks of perilous political and economic instability there were no shortage of issues facing Rishi Sunak as he made the annual Prime Minister’s address to the CBI conference. Yet the one confronting the PM as he travelled to Birmingham is the same that faced

Immigration should be used to solve worker shortages in the UK and the government must be “practical” on the issue, the head of the CBI is expected to say. Tony Danker, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, will urge politicians to allow migrant workers to take up hard-to-fill jobs. Speaking later at the

A challenger bank specialising in green finance has poached its new finance chief from a rival as it seeks to accelerate its growth in a challenging economic environment. Sky News understands that David McCarthy, who resigned after eight years as chief financial officer of Atom in September, is joining Tandem Bank in the same role.

A multimillion-pound payout to Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, is in jeopardy amid faltering talks about a sale of the asset management business he cofounded. Sky News has learnt that negotiations between Somerset Capital Management, in which Mr Rees-Mogg is a substantial shareholder, and prospective buyer Emso Asset Management have stalled in recent weeks.

Banksy has accused US fashion retailer Guess of stealing his work, encouraging shoplifters to head to their flagship Regent Street store in central London and “help themselves” to the clothes. The anonymous graffiti artist shared an image of the shop’s front window with his 11.6 million Instagram followers, showing items of the capsule collection inspired

Brexit, slashing investment and Liz Truss’s mini-budget are among the “own goals” that have led to the UK’s dire financial straits, according to a top economist. Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), has been speaking about what left the UK in a position where yesterday’s autumn statement – that will

Civil servants at several government departments will take part in a month of sustained industrial action from mid-December. Members of the PCS union who work for the Home Office, Border Force, Department for Transport and Defra are seeking better pay and conditions. Ports, borders, and all areas of transport, including driving licences, will be affected,

Twitter employees have been told that all office buildings have been temporarily closed as more of them are estimated to be leaving the social media firm, according to reports. The managing editor of the tech site Platformer, Zoe Schiffer, tweeted that employees were not given details as to why the offices had been temporarily closed

Why energy shares didn’t suffer in response to windfall tax expansion Ian King Business presenter @iankingsky During recent days there have been suggestions in the stock market that investors were being too pessimistic about the windfall taxes likely to be lumped on electricity generators. Happily, for shareholders of those companies, that has proved to be

A Chinese-owned tech company has been told to sell the majority of its stake in a UK silicon chip factory due to security concerns. The government has said Nexperia must reduce its stake in Newport Wafer Fab by 86%, back to its previous holding of just 14% when it took over the firm in 2021,

There has been a higher than expected leap in the rate of inflation, to a 41-year high of 11.1% last month, led by the latest rise in energy bills. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the increase, from 10.1% in September, as the cost of light and heating for homes rose further despite help

The Chinese owner of Thomas Cook is exploring the sale of a stake in the famous British holiday brand three years after its ignominious collapse. Sky News has learned that Fosun Tourism Group is examining options including raising capital from an outside investor in the coming months. Industry sources said on Tuesday that Fosun was

Arms manufacturer BAE Systems has said it has seen increased orders, the benefits of which are to be felt for years to come, as global spending on defence rises in the wake of the Ukraine war. The company has taken £28bn of orders this year, a trading update published by the company said. “A key