The Bank of England is expected to increase its base interest rate to the highest level in 13 years in a bid to tackle inflation. It is predicted to rise to 1% amid soaring food, energy and fuel prices that saw inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March. The base rate is the
Business
The American private equity firm financing the preferred bid to buy Chelsea Football Club will take a reduced stake in the Blues under a restructured deal that it wants to finalise within days. Sky News has learnt that Clearlake Capital is expected to own approximately 60% of Chelsea’s shares if the consortium spearheaded by Todd
A spike in oil and gas prices triggered by the Ukraine war could see energy giants enjoying unexpected, additional profits of £11.6bn this year from North Sea operations alone, new analysis predicts. Greenpeace and Oil Change International project that energy firms could see the money they make just from their North Sea fossil fuel operations
The business secretary has revealed that household energy suppliers are facing a crackdown on direct debit payment demands as customers grapple with record bills for gas and electricity. Kwasi Kwarteng said via Twitter that “some” companies had been increasing direct debit payments “beyond what is required” and regulator Ofgem had launched a compliance review. The
Men are much more likely to be offered the chance to own shares in their company than women, a new survey suggests. An analysis by law firm Boodle Hatfield showed that of 33,400 occasions when tax-advantaged share options were offered, 69% were to men and 31% to women. And a study of 14,260 different tax-advantaged
Travellers will be able to fly non-stop from Sydney to London after Qantas announced the world’s longest direct commercial flight. The airline said the 20-hour journey will become possible when it takes delivery of a dozen Airbus A350-1000 planes, which can do more than 10,000 miles without refuelling. A Sydney to New York route is
One in 10 women who have worked during the menopause have left a job due to their symptoms, a survey has found. The survey of more than 4,000 UK women aged 45-55, who are currently or have previously experienced the perimenopause or the menopause, also found that 14% of women had reduced their hours at
The American investment firm backing the preferred bidder for Chelsea Football Club has provided assurances about the identities of its underlying investors as it tries to win swift approval for the sport’s richest-ever takeover deal. Sky News understands that Clearlake Capital has informed the Premier League and Raine Group, which is running the sale process
North Sea oil and gas companies have come under pressure from the government to invest their profits into accelerating domestic energy production as millions of Britons continue to face soaring energy prices. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has written a letter to firms calling for them to provide a clear plan to spend their profits on
The former auditors of Mike Ashley’s high street empire are in advanced talks about a multimillion-pound fine that would bring an end to a probe into its accounts that has lasted for over five years. Sky News has learnt that the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit regulator, is preparing to hit Grant Thornton with
A Californian private equity firm has edged closer to becoming the new majority-owner of Chelsea Football Club after securing a period of exclusivity to clinch a deal. A group spearheaded by Todd Boehly, the LA Dodgers part-owner, overcame opposition from rival consortia on Friday to land preferred bidder status in the battle to replace Roman
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has tabled a last-minute £4.25bn bid to buy Chelsea. The Ineos boss is understood to have held talks with chairman Bruce Buck on Thursday, and submitted what now represents the biggest offer for the Premier League club on Friday. The 69-year-old explored in detail a possible bid for the Stamford Bridge club
Amazon shares have taken a 10% hit after the e-commerce platform-to-streaming giant admitted it was struggling under a weight of costs that would knock its performance. The company’s first quarter results included its first quarterly loss since 2015 though the $3.8bn sum was blamed on a $7.6bn writedown in the value of its investment in
The final three suitors for Chelsea Football Club have been handed an eleventh-hour demand to stump up £500m more to buy last season’s Champions League-winners – just days before the potential anointment of a preferred bidder. Sky News has learnt that the trio of billionaire-studded consortia were informed in the last 48 hours that Roman
Facebook’s parent company has reported its weakest revenue growth for a decade but witnessed a recovery in its share price following a torrid 2021 to date for the company. Meta Platforms recorded revenue of $27.9bn between January and March – slightly below what Wall St had expected. The company had warned at the time of
Russia is suspending natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Gas deliveries through the Yamal-Europe pipeline are set to come to a halt on Wednesday morning, officials in Warsaw said. Poland’s state gas company, PGNiG, said on Tuesday it had been told of the move by Russian gas giant Gazprom. Gazprom also informed Bulgarian state
Three lifeboats have been launched to help a P&O ferry that has developed a “mechanical issue” in the Irish Sea. The European Causeway “lost all power”, the RMT union said. It is currently five miles off the coast of Larne, according to tracking website Marine Traffic. P&O tweeted that tugs from Larne and Belfast had been deployed
Interest payments on the national debt rose to their highest level ever last year, as the UK’s public finances reel from the huge cost of the pandemic. The government’s statistics department said the debt pile stood at £2.3tn last month, with interest payments rising to nearly £70bn, a record amount according to the Office of
The first year of the UK’s post-Brexit trade agreement with the European Union (EU) saw firms on the continent lose a greater percentage volume of trade than exporters from the UK, according to research. The study of 1,200 products, by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics and Political Science,
Oil prices have hit near two-week lows, with analysts pointing to events in China and the US as possible reasons for a fall in demand. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down by $3.15 or 3% early on Monday, falling to $103.50 a barrel. Earlier in the session, it hit $103.41 –