Business

Microsoft has announced it will shut down Skype, once the dominant video call service, in May this year. At its peak, the service boasted more than 300 million users, but that number had fallen to more than 36 million users, according to the most recent figures shared by Microsoft in 2023. The US tech giant,

The possibility of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has caused wholesale energy bills to fall in recent weeks but household bills will still be going up from April. Consumers will be paying for the winter months. Europe endured a cold and still winter, meaning demand for energy increased while countries were less able

The average annual energy bill will increase to £1,849 from April as the industry regulator Ofgem increases the price cap for the third time in a row. When compared to prices over the last three months, the new figure represents a 6.4% a year – or £9.25 per month – increase in the typical sum

Inflation is rising faster than expected but the latest data is unlikely to shift the Bank of England’s stance on interest rates. The headline rate of inflation hit 3% in January, up from 2.5% the previous month and higher than the 2.8% forecast by economists and the Bank of England. It’s expected to go even

Inflation has risen a surprising amount – to the highest in nearly a year – official figures show. This means prices are rising even more than at any time since last March, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for January. The consumer price index (CPI) ticked up steeply to 3% from

Elon Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI for $97.4bn (£78.7bn) came unsolicited on Monday night and was quickly rejected by his former friend and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. “The company is not for sale, neither is the mission,” Mr Altman said to Sky News this morning. “We’ll happily buy Twitter though.” Read more: OpenAI co-founder

The contribution to energy bills from a government deal with a biomass electricity provider will fall in the coming years as subsidies are cut under a new agreement. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) revealed consumers would save £170m per year under a new deal with Drax covering 2027-2031. That projection is

The government is spending £22bn on “unproven” technologies which will have a “very significant effect” on energy bills, according to an influential committee of MPs. There has been no assessment of whether the programme to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere is affordable for billpayers, said a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

The head of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has effectively been forced out of the role after losing the confidence of its board amid growing government pressure on economic watchdogs. Sky News understands that Abby Thomas, whose departure was announced earlier on Thursday, was at the centre of several disputes with fellow directors over issues

China has, as expected, hit back at Donald Trump’s imposition of a 10% tariff on its exports to the United States. Beijing has slapped levies of between 10-15% on a range of energy products that imports from the US. But what has surprised observers – particularly when Mr Trump kicked off the trade war over

KKR, one of the world’s biggest private equity investors, is advancing plans to play a crucial role in a rescue of Britain’s biggest water supplier. Sky News has learnt that KKR, which manages assets of more than $600bn, has hired investment bankers and lawyers to help formulate a plan to inject billions of pounds of

The boss of GB Energy has told Sky News it could take 20 years to deliver a Labour government pledge of 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen. Sir Keir Starmer promised voters his flagship green initiative, which will be headquartered in the northeast of Scotland, would cut consumer energy bills by as much as £300. It is

President Donald Trump has been threatening increased tariffs on China for months and now he says he’s delivering it. Trump has said nothing can delay these tariffs, and for China that means an extra 10% slapped on to the cost of its exports. For China’s government, this is all part of the great game of

Donald Trump has placed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on goods from China. The move, that came into effect on Saturday, raises fears of price increases for US consumers as the US president suggested he would try to blunt the impact on oil imports. He has been threatening the

A group of technology billionaires including the bosses of Google and Microsoft have triumphed in an auction of the Lords-based London Spirit team in a deal which will set a record benchmark for the sale of a sporting franchise. Sky News can exclusively reveal that the consortium led by Nikesh Arora, the chief executive of

Every Thursday, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. This week, we chat to Phil Kearsey, executive chef at the London-institution and Michelin-starred Pied à Terre. A top tip for amateur chefs is… acidity is a seasoning! Just like salt and pepper, citrus or

Marshmallow, the British insurance unicorn, is close to finalising a new capital injection valuing it at more than £1.5bn, despite the difficult funding environment facing many technology companies. Sky News has learnt that Marshmallow is in advanced talks to secure tens of millions of pounds in its first major equity fundraising in more than three

US tech firms exposed to big artificial intelligence (AI) investments are seeing their shares take a hammering over the emergence of a low-cost Chinese competitor. The likes of Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Alphabet all saw their stocks come under pressure as investors questioned whether their share prices, already widely viewed as overblown following an

Donald Trump has given TikTok 75 days to convince US officials it doesn’t threaten national security – most likely by finding a new, US owner for its American operation. He signed the executive order within hours of entering the White House and told reporters: “I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about

Secret Escapes, the online travel platform, has hired bankers to explore a sale nearly 15 years after its launch. Sky News has learnt that Secret Escapes has appointed the investment bank Arma Partners to oversee an auction of the company. Sources close to a number of potential bidders said on Monday that the process was