Business

The UK car industry has pleaded with the chancellor to help get the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) back on track when he delivers his budget next week, accusing the government of creating an own goal. The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was clear that the decision to delay the ban

The Home Office immigration system statistics for 2023 tell a different story to the one that dominates the political discourse. While government commentary and policy has focused on illegal migration via small boats, the largest driver of rising immigration is people coming to work, primarily in a health and care sector that would not function

Bitcoin has hit $60,000 for the first time since November 2021 – putting the cryptocurrency in touching distance of a new record high. One Bitcoin cost $60,519 early on Wednesday afternoon after days of huge rises. It’s close to the all time high of $60,655 recorded on 31 October 2021 when many people turned to

Mobile phone customers face either a “huge” mid-contract price rise or a “crippling” exit fee from April, according to a watchdog. Which? says Virgin Media and O2 are expected to hike prices by up to 8.8% in April – the highest increase in percentage terms among major providers. The alternative is a potentially “exorbitant” exit

Sony has revealed plans for 900 job losses across its Playstation division, with the company’s operations in the UK among those affected. The Japan-based firm notified staff in an email that the Playstation London studio was to be closed under the proposals. There would be job losses too at its Firesprite Studio in Liverpool, bought

As household energy bills are set to fall in April, Ian King talks to Sky’s business correspondent Paul Kelso. He also speaks to Bill Winters, the chief executive of Standard Chartered, about its $1bn share buyback. Erik Hirsch, co-chief executive of Hamilton Lane, a leading private markets investment firm, also joins Ian. Listen and subscribe

The energy price cap is to fall by £20 a month, the industry regulator has announced, but households are to face an additional “temporary” charge to help suppliers support struggling customers with record levels of debt. Ofgem confirmed a 12% price cap reduction will take effect from 1 April, taking the annual energy bill for

Russia has pulled out of a long-standing deal with the UK – putting fish and chips at risk. A 1956 agreement that allows British boats to fish in the Barents Sea has been ripped up, in the latest sign of growing tensions between Moscow and the West. War latest: Biden brands Putin ‘crazy SOB’ Please

The Body Shop has announced it is closing half of its stores in the UK – including seven today and cutting 40% of roles at its London-based head office. It comes after the embattled retailer entered administration last week, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk. The Body Shop has roughly 200 outlets across the

Housing minister Lee Rowley has insisted the government has “got to have targets” for building homes – despite ministers dropping the ambition. In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged to build 300,000 new houses each year by the mid-2020s if it got into power. But the figure has never been achieved, and in December

Bitcoin has returned to the $50,000 level for the first time since December 2021, riding on the coat tails of a wider rally for US stocks. The world’s largest cryptocurrency, which hit one-month highs last Friday, maintained its momentum on Monday by rising almost 5%. Rivals, such as ether, saw similar percentage moves. Analysts credited

Elon Musk has been ordered to testify for a third time in the probe into his takeover of Twitter, now known as X. US magistrate judge Laurel Beeler issued an order on Saturday night after Musk failed to appear before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the arranged date. The judge said Musk “did

The world’s largest offshore wind developer has scaled back development targets and announced hundreds of job cuts as the renewable industry struggles under the pressure of rising costs. Orsted, the company developing the Norfolk coast windfarm, Hornsea 3, also suspended shareholder payments in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet. In common with the industry

On today’s episode, Ian King speaks to the chief executive of Pandora about the jewellery firm’s latest results. He also discusses a merger between housebuilder Barratt Developments and its smaller rival Redrow. And the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering’s been awarded to two pioneers of wind power – Ian chats to the chairman of the

Videos have emerged of people driving Teslas while wearing what appear to be virtual reality headsets, with the US transport secretary issuing a warning. A video posted on X showed a Tesla driver who seemed to be gesturing with his hands while using Apple’s recently released Vision Pro headsets. The device, which was released last

Police investigating allegations of serious misconduct, including sexual assault, at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) say they are “not able to progress further criminally” with 11 claims looked at to date. Sky News has learned that City of London Police currently has just one matter that officers are continuing to examine. The business lobby

In today’s episode, Ian King speaks with Dan Ives – managing director of the brokerage and advisory firm Wedbush Securities – to discuss Microsoft’s revenues and AI. Ian Johnston, global pharmaceutical correspondent at the Financial Times, discusses sales of popular weight loss drug ‘Wegvoy’, made by Novo Nordisk – as they say their sales almost

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Jeremy Hunt should not be planning to cut taxes any time soon. In what will be seen as a bombshell intervention ahead of this year’s election, the Fund, widely regarded as the world’s most authoritative economic body, said its analysts had advised the UK Treasury not to cut

The slow-motion collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted company, entered what is likely to be its final stage on Monday when a Hong Kong court ordered its liquidation. The property developer, which has more than $300bn worth of liabilities, has been approaching this point ever since, in December 2021, it first missed a bond

A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande, the real estate firm with more than $300bn (£236.1bn) of debts, amid deepening fears for the territory’s wider corporate health. Justice Linda Chan ruled Evergrande had been unable to offer a concrete restructuring plan to creditors – more than two years after defaulting on