Business

Royal Mail workers are set to stage four days of strikes in the coming weeks in a dispute over pay. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said over 115,000 staff will form the biggest strike of the summer so far to demand a “dignified, proper pay rise”. Walkouts will take place on Friday 26 and Wednesday

An eight-day strike at the UK’s biggest container port will go ahead after talks between bosses and unions broke down. More than 1,900 members of Unite will strike from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August, unhappy with the 7% pay rise offered by Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company following a 1.4% increase last year.

Campaigners have demanded a 25p cut in fuel prices to help reduce the cost of living. FairFuelUK said fuel duty should be cut by 20 to 25p per litre in a similar manner to cuts seen in Europe. The campaign organisation said the price of a barrel of Brent Oil was now below £80 a

Petrol and diesel prices are slowly but steadily falling in the UK, latest figures show. The average price for a litre of unleaded on Saturday, the latest figure available, was 177.46p, according to the RAC, while diesel cost an average of 188.23p. On Thursday, the prices had been 178.93p and 189.3p respectively. It comes as

Arcadia Group’s pension schemes are closing in on a deal to offload retirement funding promises made by the retail empire, owned by Sir Philip Green, prior to its collapse two years ago. Sky News has learnt that the trustees of its executive and staff schemes are in detailed discussions with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), the

Water companies across the UK are being “strongly urged” to enforce a hosepipe ban. Environment Secretary George Eustice says some local providers “have rightly taken action to mitigate the effects of this prolonged dry weather” – but other utility companies are yet to follow suit. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Eustice warned the “very

The high street giant Next is in talks to take a big stake in Joules, the struggling fashion and lifestyle products chain. Sky News has learnt that Next has been negotiating for several weeks to acquire up to 25% of the smaller London-listed retailer. City sources said this weekend that the discussions were not certain

Workers at the UK’s biggest container port will go on strike for more than a week later this month in a dispute over pay. More than 1,900 members of Unite union at Felixstowe will strike for eight days from Sunday 21 August until Monday 29 August. The union said that employer Felixstowe Dock and Railway

The US hiring boom continued last month, as employers added 528,000 jobs – more than double the number expected. The government data showed a labour market continuing to defy surging inflation and back-to-back quarters of contraction in GDP, which have raised fears of a recession. It marked the 19th consecutive month of payrolls expansion, and

Just a day after the Bank of England warned of a 15-month recession, there are signs in housing and recruitment that the slowdown is already well under way. Figures out on Friday showed that house prices fell in July (in monthly terms) for the first time in more than a year, with warnings that the

Next says warm weather and demand for formal clothing have helped boost its sales in recent months. The British retailer said that full price sales were 4.7% stronger than expected in the second financial quarter, saying this was likely the result of “unusually warm and dry weather”. The return to formal dressing “perhaps driven by

The Bank of England has hiked interest rates by half a percentage point – the sixth rise since December and the biggest rise since 1995. This means the bank rate now stands at 1.75% – its highest level since late 2008 at the beginning of the global financial crisis. It will increase borrowing costs for

Hope of a meaningful drop in global oil prices have been dashed after a major group of oil-producing nations, including Russia, agreed to increase volumes by a much lower rate than requested. The United States had called on the OPEC+ cartel to raise output by at least 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to help ease

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey will give most of its employees £1,000 on top of their salaries to help them cope with rising fuel costs this winter. The payments will be given to workers on salaries of up to £70,000, meaning that about 90% of the workforce is eligible. Money will be paid in monthly instalments from

The energy price cap will remain above £3,500 a year throughout most of 2023, according to the latest dire forecast for household bills. The prediction, from energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, comes as families gear up for what is set to be the toughest winter for decades amid mounting costs on almost every front as inflation

BP has reported a second-quarter profit of £6.9bn ($8.45bn) – its highest in 14 years – at a time when consumer fuel prices have been at record highs. BP’s underlying replacement cost profit, the company’s definition of net earnings, was the strongest since 2008 and far exceeded analysts’ expectations of £5.6bn ($6.8bn). That compares to

The UK’s largest sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion is to sell its Footasylum chain following a long battle with the country’s competition watchdog. The business will be sold to German asset management firm Aurelius for £37.5m – a substantial loss on the £90m JD Sports paid for it three years ago. The news confirms a

The Financial Conduct Authority has finalised tougher rules for the marketing of high-risk investments. Under the new rules, firms approving and issuing marketing must have the right expertise and those marketing some types of high-risk investments will have to do better checks to make sure those investments are well matched to consumers. Some incentives such

A London-based commodities broker controlled by a group of former Lehman Brothers executives will this week clinch a takeover of a major industry peer. Sky News has learnt that Marex Group will announce on Monday that it has reached an agreement to buy ED&F Man Capital Markets from ED&F Man Holdings. The purchase price is

Octopus Energy has asked the government for a £1bn taxpayer funding package to seal a takeover of Bulb, its stricken rival. Sky News has learnt that privately owned Octopus is nearing a deal with ministers to acquire its smaller competitor, which collapsed late last year. City sources said this weekend that a deal would involve