Business

Google has started construction on a new $1bn (£789m) data centre in the UK, it has been revealed. The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been meeting company bosses as part of a bid to “champion British excellence in tech”. The new facility is to be

The annual rate of inflation has surprisingly risen, official figures show. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation stood at 4% in the year to December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A fall, to 3.8%, had been expected by economists polled by Reuters. But instead inflation rose from 3.9% in the

A plan to boost the security of critical imports has been revealed by the government following a host of disruptions to global supply chains. The Department for Business and Trade said it had been working with key industry groups for several weeks to identify products the country could not do without and should be “safeguarded”.

A supplier of heat pumps and other domestic energy technology to European consumers has secured more than £100m of new funding, weeks after pledging to create thousands of jobs in Britain. Sky News understands that Aira Group, which was established by the founder of prominent battery start-up Northvolt, will say on Tuesday that it has

Average house prices have jumped by about £4,500 this month – but experts are still predicting that 2024 will be a “smoother year” for buyers. According to Rightmove, the typical asking price for a British property now stands at £359,748, which is 0.7% lower compared with a year ago. The number of new houses coming

In 2007, Apple was credited with revolutionising the landscape for communications when it launched the first iPhone – a mobile phone that could play music and access the internet. The product laid the foundation for 17 years of smartphones and propelled Apple to become the world’s first company to reach a valuation of more than

The City regulator is reviewing whether people could be owed compensation for being charged too much for car loans, following a high number of complaints on historic agreements. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was a reaction to rising tensions between consumers and lenders over so-called discretionary commission arrangements across the motor finance market

A sports marketing group which works with Formula One motor racing and the International Olympic Committee is in advanced talks to be sold to a British buyout firm for £250m. Sky News has learnt that Two Circles, which was founded by Gareth Balch, a former international athlete, could announce a deal to be acquired by

Apple has reportedly started making payments to US owners of certain iPhone models over claims handsets are slowed down. Complainants are due about $92 (£72) for each affected model owned as part of a maximum $500m (£394m) total payout. The sum only applies to owners in the US and covers the iPhone 6, 6 Plus,

Ian King is joined by Mark Shepherd, from the Association of British Insurers, to discuss the impact of the widespread flooding disruption. Mike Hawes, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, talks to Ian about car sales. And Randall Atkins, from Ramaco Resources, discusses a new discovery at a coal mine in Wyoming. ::

House prices have risen for the third month in a row, according to new figures from Halifax. The bank said the average cost of a UK home was £287,105 in December. The figure is up 1.1% from the month before and is also the highest level since March 2023. Halifax’s director of mortgages, Kim Kinnaird,

Mortgage approvals hit their highest level in six months near the end of last year, official data has revealed – as more lenders announce rate cuts. New figures from the Bank of England (BoE), published on Thursday, show that more than 50,000 loans for home purchases were rubber-stamped in November – the highest number since

JD Sports has lost more than a fifth of its stock market value after the retailer downgraded its full-year profit forecast. A trading update by the sportswear chain on Thursday revealed it now expects profit before tax and adjusted items of between £915m and £935m in 2023/24. The figure is down on previous estimates of

Two of the world’s largest container ship operators have extended diversions from the Red Sea following an attack on a vessel at the weekend that has been blamed for a renewed oil price volatility. Maersk had suspended, on Sunday, sailings near or via the Suez Canal after one of its giant carriers, the Maersk Hangzou,

House prices are expected to remain static or fall again next year after a drop of 1.8% since the end of 2022, according to one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders. Nationwide building society has said a rapid rebound in prices is “unlikely” in 2024 after the fall recorded from December 2022 to 2023. “It

A Tesla engineer was injured by a robot that pinned him to the wall at the company’s giant factory in Texas, according to reports. The 2021 incident came to light through an injury record filed to regulators. It noted the injury type as “laceration, cut, open wound” and recorded the “cause object” as a robot.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a 25% stake in Manchester United Football Club will be announced today, 13 months after the launch of a review initiated by the Glazer family. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport will take control of the football side of the club. This breaking news story is being updated and more details

The cost of train travel is set to rise by almost 5% next year, according to the government. In England, regulated rail fares will increase by up to 4.9% from 3 March 2024, the Department for Transport has said. The government says the new 4.9% cap is lower than the equivalent in Scotland, where prices

The website and phone app for Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) appear to have been restored after going down. Earlier, users were still able to open the service but were faced with a message reading “welcome to your timeline”, instead of the usual feed of posts. Spaces, where people can take part in voice chat

A proposed new nuclear power station in Suffolk has cleared a legal hurdle after the Court of Appeal ruled the government’s decision to approve the site was lawful. Protest group Together Against Sizewell C argues the nuclear site will cause irreparable damage to the Suffolk Coast and brought the challenge, which was dismissed on Wednesday