The parent firm of British Airways has called for the introduction of digital health passes to help reopen the skies while revealing a €7.4bn (£6.5bn) annual loss as a result of coronavirus pandemic disruption. International Airlines Group (IAG) demanded a global approach, with common testing standards, as the travel industry reels from a disastrous 12
Business
Asda has warned that 3,000 workers in its stores are at risk of losing their jobs as the chain plans to ramp up investment in online sales. The UK’s third-largest supermarket chain said the shake-up was driven by the shift in demand towards grocery deliveries which charged forward for the sector as a whole at
There were an estimated 4.7 million employees furloughed at the end of January with women accounting for the majority of the number, according to provisional Treasury figures. They showed a leap in demand for the Job Retention Scheme, which provides up to 80% of salaries, during the month as England entered its third COVID-19 lockdown.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned Brussels against creating a “serious escalation” by forcing firms to relocate euro clearing business away from the UK. Mr Bailey told MPs Britain should “resist very firmly” any attempt by the EU to try to dismantle by “dubious” means the dominance of London in clearing euro-denominated derivatives
Lloyds Banking Group says it is to expand its insurance and wealth businesses as rock bottom interest rates and bad loan provisions take their toll on profitability. The bank, which returned to private hands in 2017 following its taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis, revealed a 72% slump in pre-tax profits for 2020. Much of
The number of foreign-born workers in the UK saw its largest fall on record last year, official figures suggest. Employment data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there were 795,000 fewer such workers in Britain in the last quarter of 2020 than a year earlier. The figures suggested that the number of
Rates of pay growth are running at their highest level since 2008, according to official figures which also show the first rise in payrolled employment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported average weekly earnings up by 4.7% on an annual basis during the three months to December.
Retailers could be allowed to open their businesses again as early as 12 April, the government has announced. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the news to the House of Commons, saying that the reopening of retail would be part of the second step out of England’s lockdown. Progress on the next steps out of lockdown
A restaurant chain has announced plans to almost double its interests in the UK, buoyed by a leap in delivery and takeaway sales during the coronavirus crisis. German Doner Kebab (GDK), which operates a franchise-based model, said it would open 47 new restaurants by the end of this year – building on its current 52
Saga, the over-50s travel and insurance specialist, is in talks about a £170m debt package as it seeks to chart a course through the remainder of the coronavirus pandemic. Sky News has learnt that the company, which rebuffed a takeover approach last year, has kicked off talks with a group of debt funds about refinancing
A specialist finance provider advised by David Cameron, the former prime minister, is in talks with the giant American investment firm Apollo Global Management about a multibillion dollar deal. Sky News has learnt that Apollo is among a number of parties in discussions with Greensill Capital, a London-based firm set up by Lex Greensill a
Tech giant Google has fired the head of its artificial intelligence (AI) ethics programme, claiming she had broken the rules on moving files outside of the company. Margaret Mitchell tweeted the she had been let go by the firm on Friday, with the move coming a month after she had publicly vented about the way
The boss of LloydsPharmacy is facing questions from a prominent MP about its treatment of employees as its American owner plots a £400m sale of the chain. Sky News has seen a letter from Robert Halfon, a member of the Conservatives’ 1922 Committee, to Toby Anderson, chief executive of McKesson UK, querying prospective changes to
The pound passed US$1.40 on Friday for the first time in nearly three years. Just after 1.30pm, the pound was up 0.4% on the day but earlier it hit $1.4024 – its highest since 20 April, 2018. The UK’s rapid COVID-19 vaccination programme has sparked hopes that there might be a sharp economic recovery after
Public sector net borrowing was £8.8bn last month – the first January deficit since 2011. The figure was £18.4bn more than in January 2020 and was also the highest January borrowing amount since monthly records began in 1993. Public sector net debt has now risen by £316.4bn over the 10 months since the start of
The chief executive of Robinhood has dismissed suggestions the zero-commission trading platform tried to stop its own users profiting at the expense of hedge funds during the GameStop saga. Vladimir Tenev was among prominent figures involved in the share trading frenzy last month to give evidence to a House of Representatives’ committee investigating any wrongdoing