The Business Secretary is due next week to hold talks with dozens of private sector bosses as the government faces a corporate backlash to Labour’s first financial event in nearly 15 years. Sky News has learned that executives have been invited to join a conference call on Monday with Jonathan Reynolds, in what will mark … Read more
The cost of government borrowing jumped, while UK stocks and the pound rose, as markets digested news of billions in borrowing and tax rises announced in the Budget. while There was no panicThere has been concern about the amount of borrowing and changes to the Chancellor Rachel ReevesWhich she imposed on herself Borrowing rules. When … Read more
First things first: Don’t panic. What you need to know is this. Budget It was not good in the financial markets. In fact, it has fallen as badly as any budget in recent years, with the exception of Liz Truss’s small budget. The pound is weaker. Government bond yields (basically the interest rate the Treasury … Read more
Reaction Engines, the British leader in supersonic aviation, has crashed into administration after weeks of talks with potential backers failed to produce a rescue deal. Sky News has learned that 173 of the company’s 208 staff were made redundant on Thursday morning by directors at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The collapse of the company that makes advanced … Read more
Small businesses have called on the government to “significantly increase” the employment allowance to prevent them having to close after the Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to raise National Insurance contributions paid by employers – despite promising not to raise taxes “for working people” – to help plug a £40bn black hole during the … Read more
TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has become China’s richest man with a fortune of around $50bn (£38bn). The 41-year-old, dubbed the “King of Short Videos”, topped China’s Hurun Rich List for the first time with $49.3bn (£37.9bn). Mr. Yiming stepped down as CEO of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, in 2021. He is the 18th person to … Read more
Britain’s four biggest supermarket chains face paying an extra £200m in National Insurance contributions between them, as the Chancellor prepares to raise tens of billions of pounds from raiding companies. Sky News understands that Tesco, Asda, J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison could be hit by an additional tax bill from a two percentage point increase … Read more
Lori Williams struggles to make ends meet. Earning a low income with little support, she says she feels like she is “living on the bare bones” and is barely getting by. She is one of a large group of people from low-income families who find themselves in a precarious position, earning too little to comfortably … Read more
Volkswagen plans to close at least three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of employees. The rest of its plants are in Germany It is also scheduled to downsize, according to the head of the company’s business council, Daniela Cavallo. Europe’s largest carmaker has spent weeks negotiating with unions over its plans … Read more
Hospitality industry bosses have urged trade unions to abandon a wave of London Underground strikes, warning they will put jobs at risk and businesses at risk of collapse. Sky News has seen a letter sent by Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, calling on City Hall and the ASLEF and RMT unions to negotiate … Read more