Business

There’s a warning that “a tsunami of poverty” will hit rural communities if more help isn’t provided to the 14% of British households living without access to mains gas. Many homes in the countryside which rely on oil, bottled gas, coal and wood to heat and cook are facing rapidly rising bills, made worse due

Bidders for Chelsea Football Club have been given extra time to bid for last season’s Champions League winners after the government’s decision to sanction owner Roman Abramovich threw an already-complex firesale into disarray. Sky News has learnt that parties which have joined the process being run by Raine, the New York-based merchant bank, were informed

The AA has raised hope that the record fuel prices, being hit across the UK daily in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will soon start to ease. The motoring group reported that average pump costs for a litre of unleaded on Thursday rose from 159.57p the previous day to 161.06p. Diesel marched upwards

The UK economy grew by a better than expected 0.8% in January, according to official figures as the chancellor faces intense pressure to deliver support to businesses and families to maintain the recovery from the coronavirus crisis. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the growth was driven by a return to consumer spending

Vladimir Putin has admitted to “problems and difficulties” caused by sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but suggested they would be self-defeating for the West. The tightening squeeze on the Russian economy has prompted the rouble to plunge to record lows and ratings agencies to predict that Moscow will default on its debts. But Mr

Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned by the UK government as part of attempts to crackdown on wealthy Russians with assets in the country. The Chelsea Football Club owner is one of seven more Russian oligarchs who have had sanctions placed on them by ministers on Thursday. Last week, Mr Abramovich announced that he intends to

Rishi Sunak must choose to either borrow billions more or allow households to suffer an income squeeze that could be the worst since the 1970s, a leading think-tank has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the likely impact of the Ukraine crisis on inflation and public finances may force the chancellor to act when

The two British board members of Huawei’s UK subsidiary are to resign over the Chinese telecoms giant’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sky News has learnt that Sir Andrew Cahn and Sir Ken Olisa notified the company on Wednesday that they intend to step down from their positions as non-executive directors. City sources

Boris Johnson has announced he will set out an Energy Independence Plan in the “course of the next few days” as April price hike looms. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said his government “need to meet the long term impact of the energy price spike”. The announcement came as the prime minister was pressed

Russia has warned it could cut its gas supplies to the West if there is a ban on Russian oil imports. It has said it may stop the flow of gas through pipelines from Russia to Germany in response to Berlin’s decision last month to halt the opening of the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

British taxpayers are facing a bill for the rescue of Bulb, the collapsed energy company, that could hit £3bn or more after Russia’s war with Ukraine sent wholesale gas prices surging to unprecedented highs. Sky News has learnt that industry executives and government officials now expect Bulb’s special administrator to request hundreds of millions of

The cost of Brent crude oil has surged by 10% to its highest level since 2008 after the United States said a ban on Russian crude imports was being considered as a further sanction following president Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The international oil benchmark hit $130 a barrel early on Monday – with its US

PricewatwerhouseCoopers (PwC) is to cut its Russian firm adrift from its global network in arguably the most significant exit so far by a multinational company since the Putin government’s decision to invade Ukraine. Sky News has learnt that PwC, one of the world’s big four accountancy firms, will announce publicly on Monday that it is

Visa and Mastercard have announced they are suspending operations in Russia. Credit and debit cards issued by Russian banks will no longer work outside of the country. Russian businesses and cash machines will also be unable to accept cards issued abroad. Both companies handle 90% of all debit and credit card payments outside of China

A pack of suitors from international sport, property and finance are this weekend exploring bids to take control of Chelsea Football Club from the Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich. Sky News has learnt that the owners of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball (MLB) team have begun considering an offer for the West London club, and

Facebook and Instagram are blocking RT and Sputnik for users in the UK following a request by the British government. It follows a letter by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries in which she urged Meta, TikTok, and Twitter to restrict access to the Russian state-owned organisations which she accused of spreading “damaging propaganda into Britain”. “I

Microsoft has announced that it is suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia. In a blog post on Friday, the company said: “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and

Russia’s former deputy prime minister and a billionaire who previously held a major stake in football club Arsenal have become the latest oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK, the Foreign Office said. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Alisher Usmanov, who owned more than 30% of Arsenal before selling up to current owner Stan Kroenke,

The impact of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine on oil and gas prices is now very apparent. The price of Brent crude surged to $119.84 a barrel on Thursday – a level last seen on 1 May 2012 – while the price of wholesale gas remains close to the record highs it hit just before

The cost of Brent crude oil and natural gas have surged sharply as markets eye the chance of crucial Russian supplies being cut off – either through tighter Western sanctions or by a defiant President Vladimir Putin. As UK households already fret over wide-ranging hikes to bills, with a leap of almost £700 in the