Elon Musk has said his dog has replaced him as Twitter’s chief executive after appearing to back away from a pledge to step down. The billionaire SpaceX boss took over the day-to-day running of the social media platform after buying it for $44bn (£38bn) last October. After a tumultuous start to his tenure, which included
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You can actually get more of a sense of the mood at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from looking not at their latest forecasts, but at the kind of vocabulary they’re using around them. Words like “ominous”, “perilous” and “significant vulnerabilities” rather sum it up. The IMF is getting very nervous about the state of
Alibaba has become the latest Chinese technology giant to unveil its own ChatGPT-like AI model. Tongyi Qianwen, which translates to “truth from a thousand questions”, will be added to the firm’s existing apps, including workplace messaging and a voice assistant. Like OpenAI’s GPT tech, which has been added to websites from Microsoft’s Bing to travel
The BBC has objected to being labelled as “government-funded media” on Twitter. The corporation said it had contacted Twitter after the label was added to the main BBC account. Twitter owner Elon Musk responded to the complaint, asking: “Is the Twitter label accurate?” Musk later emailed the BBC, saying: “We are aiming for maximum transparency
Atom Bank, the app-based lender, has picked advisers to secure a further £100m in capital in what is expected to be its final fundraising before an attempt to list its shares publicly. Sky News understands the Durham-based company is working with bankers at Jefferies on a share sale that will take place in the coming
Illegal immigrants will have their bank accounts shut down in a new crackdown by the Home Office – who have been accused of “demonising” asylum seekers. The Home Office announced it began sharing data with the financial sector on Thursday so it can refuse to open new bank accounts and close existing accounts of people
The average house price continued to rise in March – but at a slower rate than the previous month, according to a closely-watched index. The Halifax House Price Index shows that average prices rose by 0.8% in March – following a 1.2% rise in February, with the typical UK property now costing £287,880. The annual
Nintendo will now fix faulty Joy-Con controllers for its Switch console for free after years of complaints. The Japanese gaming company has been criticised since shortly after the system launched in 2017 over a fault that saw its analogue sticks register movement when not being used. It was dubbed “Joy-Con drift” and can impact players
Full-size self-driving buses will hit the road next month in what is believed to be a world first. Stagecoach has announced the ground-breaking service over Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge will start on May 15. It will cover a 14-mile route between the Ferrytoll park and ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram
One of Britain’s biggest online jewellery retailers has hired bankers to explore a sale after a string of unsolicited takeover approaches. Sky News understands that The Diamond Store, which was founded in 2006, has appointed finnCap Cavendish to oversee talks with prospective buyers. City sources said financial and strategic buyers were expected to look at
Oil prices are up almost 5% after Saudi Arabia and other major producers vowed to cut production. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was up 4.85% early on Monday to $83.77 per barrel after it was announced that production would be cut by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the
House prices fell by 3.1% year-on-year in March, marking the biggest annual decline since July 2009, Nationwide Building Society said. The figures also showed a monthly price fall of 0.8% – the seventh consecutive fall – which leaves prices 4.6% below their August peak. Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “The housing market reached a
Three energy suppliers have lost a High Court challenge over the government’s handling of the sale of rival Bulb. Bulb was placed in special administration in November 2021 and, almost a year later, Octopus Energy announced it had reached a deal to buy the firm and take on its 1.6 million customers. It was later
The grocery chain Planet Organic has put insolvency practitioners on standby as it races to find new backers in a bid to secure its future. Sky News has learnt that the company filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Thursday – a move which provides it with breathing space from creditors as it
Ian King is joined by Steve Scrimshaw, vice president of Siemens Energy UK & Ireland, to discuss the government’s plans to drive what it hopes will be a revolution in the UK’s energy sector. The chief executive and co-founder of BrewDog James Watt speaks to Ian about an investment competition being launched. And Jeremy de
Quantexa, a British data analytics company, is bucking the recent trend of technology company valuations by raising a new round of funding that will hand it coveted ‘unicorn’ status. Sky News has learnt that Quantexa has secured backing from a syndicate of investors including a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund. An industry source said the fundraising
TalkTalk, the broadband provider, has hired bankers to oversee a sale of its business-to-business division in a deal that analysts believe could fetch more than £200m. Sky News has learnt that the company, which is privately owned, is in the early stages of a process to sell TalkTalk Business Direct, which serves more than 80,000
Manchester United received a fresh Qatari bid overnight – as the battle to purchase the Premier League giants intensifies. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani made the offer after asking for a deadline extension on Wednesday. He joins Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, who made his own second formal bid for the club, and comes after
Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally dropped concerns that Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard would damage the UK console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month warned the £56.7bn deal could result in higher prices, fewer choices or less innovation for UK gamers. However, it said its latest findings have now indicated
Many verified Twitter users are set to lose their blue ticks at the beginning of next month. The social media platform has said that on 1 April it will start removing its “legacy” verified checkmarks. These cover most blue-tick accounts that are not government officials or organisations – meaning many musicians, actors, journalists, authors, among