Business

The online dentistry firm Smile Direct Club has shut down its global operations months after filing for bankruptcy in the US, leaving customers in the middle of treatment in limbo. The company founded in 2014 had been providing its customers with affordable clear aligners remotely, without the need to see a dentist. But its winding

Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI could face investigation by the UK’s competition regulator. The tech giant is a major investor and strengthened ties following the chatbot’s wildly successful launch in November 2022, committing another $10bn (£7.9bn) earlier this year. It is reported to own a 49% stake in the company, which is at

Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 are facing a “£3bn-plus” class action claim that alleges they used their market dominance to overcharge on up to 28.2 million UK mobile phone contracts. The four largest network operators are accused of penalising loyal customers – meaning they paid more than new customers for the same services. Many contracts

Google has revealed a new AI model it claims beats rivals like ChatGPT at most tasks after the company’s “largest science and engineering project ever”. Gemini is described as multimodal, meaning it can understand text, audio, video, images, and computer code. It’s been built by teams across Google, including London-based AI research unit DeepMind. DeepMind

Manchester United Football Club and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals billionaire, aim to announce within days a £1.25bn deal that will see him take a 25% stake in the Red Devils. Sky News understands that the two sides have pencilled in early next week to confirm the long-awaited transaction, which will involve Sir Jim’s Ineos

House prices recorded a second month of growth in November, according to a closely-watched report. The Nationwide House Price Index showed average values were 0.2% higher, building on the 0.9% increase it measured in October. It meant, the mortgage lender said, that prices were 2% down on an annual basis – outperforming the expectations of

Even before Northern Rock collapsed and the financial crisis exploded, Alistair Darling was already wrangling with an unenviable inheritance as chancellor of the exchequer. Not only was he having to follow in the footsteps of the longest-serving chancellor of modern times – a man who presided over an almost unprecedentedly long period of stability and

Elon Musk has launched a fiery attack on advertisers who have stopped promoting on his social media platform X, telling them to “go f*** yourself”. At the New York Times DealBook summit on Wednesday, the X CEO was asked about American firms – including Disney – who pulled ads after he apparently endorsed an antisemitic

Elon Musk has been accused of promoting a long-debunked conspiracy theory which alleged high-profile Democrats ran a paedophile abuse ring from a Washington pizza restaurant. The billionaire posted and later deleted a meme referencing “Pizzagate” on X on Tuesday, NBC News reports. It was an image from TV show The Office, with fake dialogue superimposed

The National Grid is to pay some households to cut their energy use after activating its blackout prevention scheme during the current cold snap. Eligible properties with smart meters will be offered cash and other rewards in return for cutting their usage between 5pm and 6.30pm on Wednesday evening, it has been announced. It marks

On today’s episode, Ian King discusses the news that Nissan is making a big investment in its Sunderland plant – which the prime minister has hailed as a “massive vote of confidence” in the UK. He also looks at a deal between Boots and Legal & General, and speaks to the boss of lorry maker

Nissan has announced plans to build new electric versions of its popular Juke and Qashqai models at its Sunderland plant. All models made at the site will be entirely electric cars and a battery making plant, a so-called gigafactory, will also be built as part of an overall £3bn investment in the transition away from

Ian King is joined by Economics and Data Editor, Ed Conway, to discuss yesterday’s Autumn Budget and the news that business activity has risen this month. He also speaks with Eamonn O’Hare, one of the founders of Zegona – a UK-listed business set up to invest in telecoms assets – which is buying Vodafone’s Spanish

Nissan is to commit to manufacturing electric versions of two of its bestselling models at its Sunderland plant after months of talks with the government. Sky News can reveal that the giant Japanese car manufacturer will announce on Friday that it will build the electric Qashqai and Juke at the site – a decision that

Ian King looks at the chancellor’s autumn statement. Richard Hughes, chair of the budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, or OBR, speaks about the autumn statement and the economic outlook. Dr Sai Shivareddy, chief executive of tech firm Nyobolt, also reacts to the announcements. Ian King is also joined by Steve Hare, chief executive

The electricity, phone and broadband provider arm of Shell has been fined £1.4m by the communications regulator for breaking customer protection rules. Shell Energy was hit with the fine for failing to flag contract ends and the best deals for phone and broadband customers, Ofcom said. More than 70,000 such customers were not properly prompted

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has sued the watchdog group Media Matters alleging it manufactured a report to show advertisers’ posts alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist content. Major US companies including Disney, Warner Bros and Sky News’ parent company Comcast pulled advertising from X over concerns about their ads showing up next to hate speech

Major US companies including Disney, Warner Bros and NBC parent company Comcast have pulled advertising from X (formerly Twitter) amid a row over Elon Musk’s alleged endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory. The Tesla chief on Wednesday agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the

Hotel Chocolat has agreed to a £534m takeover offer from Mars, the maker of goods from Snickers bars to Pedigree dog food. The UK specialist chocolatier retailer said the offer represented a 170% premium to its London share price of 139p and the deal would allow its brand to expand internationally This breaking news story

Manchester United has confirmed its chief executive of two years, Richard Arnold, “has decided to step down” as part of a “management transition”. The development was revealed shortly after Sky News reported that Mr Arnold would be replaced by the club’s general counsel, Patrick Stewart, on an interim basis. The change is taking place as