Business

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned of “bumps on our road to recovery” as new figures showed growth stalled even before the arrival of the Omicron variant. GDP grew by just 0.1% in October, well short of the 0.4% expected by economists and a big slowdown on September’s 0.6% expansion, the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The first intensive short courses designed to help more people become HGV drivers are under way, as the country continues to battle a big shortage of delivery professionals. The scheme comes under the government’s Skills Bootcamps programme, designed to support employment in key areas of the economy. A major theme of the supply chain crisis

The government is facing increasing calls to step in and support businesses affected by new “plan B” COVID measures – which include working from home guidance and vaccine passports for some venues. Trade union GMB said it backed the reintroduction of a furlough scheme if the new measures threaten jobs. Industry body UK Hospitality has

The prospect of new Plan B COVID-19 restrictions has sent the pound to a one-year low and stirred dismay in the leisure and travel sectors. Sterling dropped below $1.32 against the US dollar to its lowest level since December last year while the UK currency also slid against the euro. In stock markets, travel and

The Mercedes Formula One team, which includes Sir Lewis Hamilton in its driver line-up, has confirmed it has ended its controversial tie-up with a company that made some of the insulation used in Grenfell Tower. In a statement, it said: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Kingspan today announced that they have mutually agreed to

Asda has joined Tesco, its biggest rival, in facing the prospect of strike action ahead of the key Christmas trading season. The GMB union said it was launching a consultative ballot – due to close on 20 December – over the supermarket chain’s decision not to give distribution staff a “meaningful” pay offer. It added

The head of a select committee has reacted with incredulity after an energy boss blamed the way the wind blew for exacerbating problems caused by a devastating storm that cut off supplies to parts of the UK. Paul McGimpsey, director of regulation at the Energy Networks Association (ENA), told MPs on the business energy and

Inflation looks set to “comfortably exceed 5%” next spring as a likely energy bill hike for millions of households takes effect, the Bank of England’s deputy governor has said. Ben Broadbent made the remarks amid questions about whether the Bank may act soon to tackle rising prices with an interest rate hike – or be

Warehouse workers and and drivers at Tesco are to hold a series of strikes over pay which their trade union says could result in shortages in stores. Unite said more than 1,000 of its members – based at depots in Antrim, Belfast, Didcot and Doncaster, would take industrial action. The union said it meant “shoppers

Paul Pester, the former TSB Bank chief executive, is joining Britain’s fintech frenzy by launching the first UK-based social networking app enabling friends and family members to share money. Sky News has learnt that Mr Pester has teamed up with Anthony Thomson, the Metro Bank and Atom Bank founder, and former CompareTheMarket chief Matthew Donaldson

Airline operators have said the return of pre-departure coronavirus tests for all international arrivals to the UK will be a “devastating blow for aviation and tourism”. The rule is being introduced to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant and applies to all travellers over the age of 12 visiting the UK or returning from

Jan du Plessis, the former chairman of BT Group and a host of other FTSE-100 companies, is a leading candidate to chair Britain’s audit watchdog as it prepares for a radical shift in its oversight of corporate Britain. Sky News has learnt that Mr du Plessis, who stepped down as BT’s chairman this week after

The parent company of Boots, Britain’s biggest high street chemist, is to explore a sale of the business next year that could value it at well over £5bn. Sky News has learnt that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is lining up Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street bank, to advise it on a review of options that

A member of the Bank of England committee which sets interest rates has backtracked on his support for a hike, saying he wants to see data on how the new Omicron COVID variant affects the UK’s economic recovery. Michael Saunders warned that a delay in raising rates could result in a more painful tightening being

America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing to block the $40bn takeover of UK chip designer Arm Holdings by America’s Nvidia. The US watchdog said the deal would give Nvidia, one of the world’s largest chip companies, control over technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop their own chips. It is the

The EU has fined banks, including Barclays, NatWest and HSBC, a total of €344m (£293m) for roles in an alleged foreign exchange spot trading cartel on a chatroom named “Sterling Lads”. The European Commission said the UK-based banks agreed to settle the case, alongside UBS which avoided a penalty because it had blown the whistle

Travel stocks have led a FTSE 100 rally as the latest swing in sentiment over the Omicron variant saw global markets bounce higher. British Airways owner International Airlines Group, which suffered the steepest decline when stocks suffered a big sell-off last Friday, was the biggest riser in the London blue-chip index on Wednesday, up more

Business owners across the hospitality industry say COVID rule changes are already having a “chilling” impact on bookings. Many who have survived 20 months of lockdowns and restrictions as well as a “lost” Christmas last year, say a strong festive period this year is essential to their survival. Data from reservations website OpenTable also suggests

Facebook’s owner Meta has been issued a legally binding order to sell the GIF library Giphy after an investigation found the takeover “could harm social media users and UK advertisers”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth investigation into the deal in April after raising a number of concerns. It subsequently warned of

EasyJet has told investors it is expecting passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels next summer despite uncertainty over the winter months ahead as coronavirus restrictions grow across Europe. The no-frills carrier said it had seen early signs of a softening of bookings since the emergence of the omicron variant but it was too early