Business

KPMG is in advanced talks with regulators about a record fine running into tens of millions of pounds for failings in its auditing of Carillion, the construction company which collapsed in 2018 with the loss of thousands of jobs. Sky News has learnt that discussions between the accountancy firm and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC)

Wilko will close the last of its remaining high street stores next month. The collapsed homeware retailer’s final 111 sites will shut on three dates in early October. Most sites have already closed, with the latest wave closing for good yesterday. More than 10,000 jobs are expected be lost as a result of Wilko’s collapse.

Amazon Prime customers will face a choice between watching adverts or paying more to remove them when updates to the firm’s streaming service kick in at the start of next year, The company also warned that live events, such as sports, will continue to include commercials even if people have upgraded to the new ad-free

The return of summer weather last month helped retail sales recover despite a hit from weaker demand for fuel, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 0.4% rise – a figure that grew to 0.6% when the effects of fuel sales were excluded. It said stronger clothing sales drove the

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chair of Fox and News Corp. His son Lachlan will become the sole chair of News Corp – and continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation. In an announcement, Lachlan congratulated his father on a “remarkable 70-year career” – and said the 92-year-old will continue to provide

The Bank of England’s interest rate decision is on a knife edge, with the regulator considered as likely to make borrowing more expensive today as it is to maintain the current rate. The odds of a hike versus holding rates are nearly 50-50 – with money markets betting on a 46% chance that the base

Amid the gale raging both literally and figuratively around Downing Street this morning over the government’s green policies, a ray of sunshine has arrived from an unexpected source – inflation. Experts had predicted the figure for August would tick up to 7.1% from 6.8% in July – but instead, the ONS revealed it had actually

The headline numbers don’t do justice to the significance of the inflation data. On the surface, this only looks like a small fall, with the consumer price index (CPI) dropping from 6.8% in July to 6.7% in August. So what, you might ask? After all, it’s a far smaller drop than the one we heard

Avanti West Coast has had its contract renewed to operate its UK rail routes, despite issues with delays and cancellations. Both Avanti and another operator, CrossCountry, were awarded agreements lasting up to nine and eight years respectively. Avanti West Coast will continue to operate routes from Scotland, Wales, Manchester and Liverpool to London while CrossCountry

The government has announced a new fixed sum payment for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal in an effort to provide quicker compensation. An award of £600,000 is on offer to the 86 postmasters who have had their convictions over turned after faulty Horizon software made it appear they were stealing. Anyone who has

The chancellor has offered an olive branch to the CBI, the stricken business lobbying group, by agreeing to meet its boss for the first time since a sexual misconduct scandal erupted in the spring. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hunt has agreed to hold in-person talks with Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI director-general, in the

A “potent cocktail” of pressures has forced the trade body for manufacturers to cut its outlook for output this year amid a slump in new orders and hiring. Make UK’s quarterly survey said a slowdown in production since the early summer had forced it to trim its annual forecast to a fall of 0.5%. That

A former governor of the Bank of England has launched a scathing attack on Liz Truss – accusing her government of turning Britain into “Argentina on the Channel”. Mark Carney also said Brexiteers such as the former Conservative leader – who became the shortest-serving prime minister in history when she resigned last year – had

Mike Ashley, the high street billionaire, is in talks to sell the online clothing label Missguided to Shein, the giant Chinese online fashion player. Sky News has learnt that the two sides are in detailed negotiations about a deal, which would represent Shein’s first acquisition of a British fashion brand. City sources said that Shein

At the main roundabout outside Port Talbot steelworks, union reps and those on their lunch break gathered holding a banner: “British Steel – Back It or Lose It!” Some 4,000 are employed by Tata Steel here, more than 12% of the town’s entire population. One of them is Greg Coggins, who has worked for Tata

Business secretary Kemi Badenoch has had a busy week. It started on Monday with a £75m cheque to BMW to secure 4,000 jobs tied to future production of electric Minis at its Oxford plant. It ends with a £500m subsidy to sweeten the decarbonisation, by Indian industrial giant Tata, of its Port Talbot steel plant

Thousands of jobs are expected to be lost at Britain’s largest steelworks despite a £500m rescue package. The government will make the offer to assist Tata Steel employees who may face redundancy at its site in Port Talbot, as it moves from blast furnaces to greener steel production. Tata is expected to contribute £700m towards

The European Central Bank’s main interest rate has hit its highest level since the creation of the euro in 1999 amid the continuing battle against inflation. The Bank’s deposit rate was raised by 0.25 percentage points to 4% at the latest meeting of the governing council, which manages monetary policy for the 20 countries that

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has revealed its transformation plan will take two more years to complete than expected, while revealing a fall in losses over the first half of its financial year. The employee-owned company, in which staff are known as partners, said that a combination of higher costs due to inflation and a

Shares in UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings have soared after the firm made its Nasdaq debut on Thursday. The firm’s stock opened at $56.1 (£45.2) per share – 10% above the initial public offering (IPO) price of $51 (£41). Arm, which is still 90.6% owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, had earlier secured a valuation of