Business

Russia’s war on Ukraine has sparked many extraordinary developments, among them the sanctions unleashed by the west on Moscow, which have been far more extensive and more rapidly mobilised than anyone could have been expected. Another is the changes it is bringing about in the energy policies of many European countries. Chief among them is

British Gas owner Centrica says it is planning to cancel its contracts with Russian gas suppliers, including Gazprom, as a matter of “urgency”. The company is attempting to do this voluntarily, as it is not required to end its agreements as part of any sanctions regime – making it an outlier as other energy companies

as many as 2,000 Sainsbury’s workers could lose their jobs as 200 instore cafes are set to close, the supermarket giant has said. It comes as part of a wider shake up by the retailer to cut back on costs and transform its dining, takeaway and home delivery services. Staff at 200 instore cafes were

Homes that are less energy efficient could cost hundreds of pounds more to heat after the energy price cap rises next month, according to new research. People living in homes with an E-rating or worse on their energy performance certificate (EPC) could see their annual heating bills rise by at least £320 more than those

Oil titan Shell has announced that it will exit all of its joint ventures with Gazprom, an energy company controlled by the Russian state, following BP’s decision to pull out of the country yesterday. “We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression

The value of Russia’s currency has plunged to an all-time low after Western nations imposed new sanctions on the country for its invasion of Ukraine. The rouble was down nearly 30% against the US dollar at one point, dropping as low as 119 per dollar in early Asian trading, passing its previous low of 90

BP is to offload its 19.75% stake in state-owned Russian oil giant Rosneft “with immediate effect” following the invasion of Ukraine. The firm’s chief executive Bernard Looney is also resigning from Rosneft’s board along with its other Rosneft director Bob Dudley, it said in a statement. The statement said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “caused us

Western allies have agreed to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system. In a joint statement, leader of the European Union, UK, US, and Canada, said the move was in response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine late last week. The group said: “We stand with the Ukrainian government and

McColl’s Retail Group, one of Britain’s biggest convenience store chains, is racing to secure new funding to stave off a collapse that could put thousands of jobs at risk. Sky News has learnt that McColl’s is working with advisers on attempts to find a buyer or third parties willing to inject fresh capital into the

British Airways has suffered a major outage, causing several flights to be cancelled and leaving passengers stuck on planes after landing at Heathrow. The airline’s website and app were down for hours on Friday evening, leaving customers unable to check in online or book flights. The airline confirmed that the outage was not due to

Asian shares have rallied slightly driven by a US rebound as some analysts said the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine were not as strong as markets had feared. Global share prices plummeted sharply on Thursday after Vladimir Putin unleashed a military assault on the neighbouring country. While the

After the damp squib that was the modest package of sanctions unveiled by Boris Johnson on Tuesday, this evening’s latest salvo certainly had a bit more weight. The intention to impose an asset freeze on Russian banks, including the country’s second largest lender VTB, is meaningful. VTB, along with its largest rival Sberbank, is a

Cutting Russia off from the SWIFT global payments system would be one of the toughest sanctions the West could impose. But it would also involve pain for foreign banks and other creditors that do business with the country. The system, which has its headquarters in Belgium, is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in

The full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has sparked a rush for safe haven assets and sent the cost of Brent crude oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since September 2014. Fears of a wider conflict, additional sanctions and higher inflation arising from president Putin’s order to attack prompted a rush

The governor of the Bank of England has warned that large wage rises and price-setting to reflect surging inflation risk embedding rising costs in the economy, resulting in “slow activity and increased unemployment”. Andrew Bailey told the Treasury committee of MPs that the so-called second round effects of the energy-led rise in living costs were

Barclays is to freeze millions of pounds in share awards to its former chief executive as he contests the findings of a regulatory probe into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Sky News has learnt that the British bank’s board has decided not to allow a chunk of shares granted to Mr Staley several years ago

Filmmaker Richard Curtis has warned that the pensions industry should be “put on red alert,” as a new report says billions of UK savers’ money is driving deforestation. In Great Britain £2 in every £10 invested in an average pension is linked to forest loss, amounting to some £300 billion of UK pension money, according

Nearly 40% of all board positions at the UK’s top companies are now held by women, up from 12.5% a decade ago, new government data shows. The UK has now progressed from fifth to second in the international rankings at FTSE 100 level, which groups the country’s top 100 public companies, leapfrogging countries such as

The average price tag for a home has shot up by almost £8,000 in the space of a month as the easing in the COVID crisis sparks renewed interest in city living, according to a report. The Rightmove website said its measure of asking prices stood at a record level of £348,804 following the jump

An American investment giant is plotting a £5bn takeover of Motor Fuel Group (MFG), Britain’s biggest independent operator of petrol forecourts. Sky News has learnt that Fortress Investment Group is drawing up plans to bid for MFG after losing out in a hotly contested auction of Wm Morrison, the supermarket chain, last year. By coincidence,