Business

Only 1 in 25 of CEOs in Britain’s largest publicly companies are women, according to a new report. Analysis of senior leadership in the FTSE 350 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange showed 96% of CEOs are men. This is despite the entry level recruitment often being close to 50:50, according to analysis

The energy regulator has warned the UK is facing a “significant risk” of gas shortages this winter. The information, which was revealed in a letter sent from Ofgem last week and first revealed by The Times, spoke of the possibility of “gas supply emergency” measures to help preserve stocks due to the impact of Russia’s

Leaves on the line disrupting train services promise to be a thing of the past for many more travellers with new technology being introduced by a major train operator. Northern, which runs nearly 2,000 daily services, is fitting a system to 16 passenger trains which will combat slippery rails by spraying water onto them. The

The owners of Britain’s second-biggest steel producer are seeking an urgent package of financial support from taxpayers amid renewed fears for thousands of industrial jobs in the north of England. Sky News has learnt that Jingye Group, which bought British Steel out of insolvency in 2020, has told ministers that the company’s two blast furnaces

Rail passengers have been urged to only travel if “absolutely necessary” today as members of four trade unions stage a 24-hour walkout. The latest strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Unite and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) is expected to cause the worst rail disruption of the year

Liz Truss has for the first time acknowledged that “there has been disruption” to the UK economy following last week’s mini budget. Since the chancellor’s announcement of £45bn in tax cuts the value of the pound has plummeted, nearly half of mortgages have been pulled and the Bank of England launched a £65bn bail-out to

Gas and electricity bills are going up as the new energy price cap takes effect. You may have read that from 1 October the price cap will mean average energy bills will increase by 27% from £1,971 a year to £2,500. But it isn’t as simple as that. House prices warning as growth slows to

Britain’s economy grew by 0.2% in the three months to June, reversing the initial estimate of a 0.1% contraction, official figures show. The upward revision of the second quarter GDP by the Office for National Statistics implies the UK is not in recession, as predicted by the Bank of England earlier this month. Quarter of

Liz Truss will meet the head of the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog today after a powerful group of cross-party MPs demanded the chancellor release a full economic forecast by the end of October – a month earlier than planned. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will join the prime minister as they meet the Office for Budget Responsibility’s

Shares in companies that depend on consumer spending have plunged after Next, the fashion to homewares retailer, cut its sales forecast for the second half of its financial year and annual profit guidance. The company used the publication of its half-year results to the end of July to say that there were too many variables

The government has ruled out a U-turn on the costly tax-cutting mini-budget and the chancellor will not resign despite mounting pressure. It comes after a day in which the Bank of England was forced to launch a temporary bond-buying programme as it took emergency action to prevent “material risk” to UK financial stability. Bank’s ‘nearly

The Bank of England has launched a temporary bond-buying programme as it takes emergency action to prevent “material risk” to UK financial stability. It revealed that it would buy as many long-dated government bonds as needed between now and 14th October in a bid to stabilise financial markets in the wake of the mayhem that

Shoppers are paying a record 10.6% more for food than they were a year ago, figures show. Overall shop price inflation accelerated to 5.7% in September, up from 5.1% in August, in another record since the British Retail Consortium-Nielson IQ index began in 2005. Food price inflation rocketed past last month’s 9.3% to 10.6%, driven

The market turmoil caused by Friday’s seismic mini-budget has hit mortgage offerings as providers withdrew partial and entire lending ranges. Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society have temporarily withdrawn their entire mortgage product range, while Halifax, the country’s largest mortgage lender, said it is to remove fee-paying mortgages. Fee-paying mortgages allow borrowers to pay a

A former executive at the owner of Boots is in discussions about joining the board of the Russia-linked vehicle which owns Holland & Barrett. Sky News has learnt that Alex Gourlay, who stepped down as co-chief operating officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance earlier this year, is in advanced talks to become a non-executive director of

The overnight fall in the value of the pound, descending to its lowest level against the dollar since decimalisation in 1971, matters because of what it says about global market confidence in the UK economy. The plunge in sterling’s value, against a backdrop of a strong dollar globally, gathered speed on Friday following the publication

Pendragon, the London-listed car dealer behind brands including Evans Halshaw and Stratstone, has received a fresh £400m takeover approach from its largest shareholder. Sky News has learnt that Hedin Group, which owns roughly 26% of Pendragon, has tabled a 29p-a-share offer for the company. The approach is expected to be confirmed in a stock exchange

GSK, the FTSE-100 pharmaceuticals giant, has poached Burberry Group’s finance chief to create a rare all-female executive leadership team in London’s blue-chip share index. Sky News has learnt that GSK could announce as soon as Monday morning that it has recruited Julie Brown to replace Iain Mackay, who has served as its chief financial officer

The owner of Hoseasons and some of Europe’s biggest holiday rental operations has hired banks to oversee a sale that could value it at up to £2bn. Sky News has learnt that Platinum Equity, a US-based private equity firm, has appointed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to oversee a strategic review of Awaze, which it

Drivers are paying an extra £5 per tank of petrol due to the fall in the value of the pound, according to new analysis. Pump price savings from the cost of oil dropping back to where it was before Russia invaded Ukraine are being “severely undermined” by the weakness of sterling, the AA said. This