McDonald’s will expand its investigation into COVID rule-breaking among staff after claims that sales competitions between restaurants are endangering health and safety. Employees across England have contacted Sky News with serious concerns about how the chain has dealt with the winter wave of the pandemic. They have now claimed that competitions, where restaurants try to
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The Bank of England has predicted a slightly quicker bounce-back for consumer spending this spring than previously thought as lockdowns are eased. Minutes of the Bank’s latest monetary policy meeting showed rate-setting officials also think that the short-term rise in unemployment will be “more moderate” than it expected just a month ago. The Bank said
The US central bank has raised expectations of a faster recovery from the coronavirus crisis, signalling it will allow the economy to run hot to drive a recovery in employment. The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate pegged to near zero following its latest policy meeting. But the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) guided,
New rules to end ‘rewards for failure’ in boardrooms are to be unveiled by ministers this week with the release of a long-awaited white paper on audit and corporate governance reform. Sky News has learnt that the consultation document, which will be published on Thursday, will propose a further review that could make it mandatory
The payments giant Visa is to hike fees for purchases made by UK-based customers from most of Europe – stoking fears of higher prices and fuelling the argument that Brexit is adding to the cost of trading with the EU. Sky News has learnt that Visa plans to inform its roughly 4000 clients later this
The energy regulator has revealed a crackdown on household suppliers to prevent them hoarding credit balances for customers who pay by direct debit. Ofgem’s examination of the issue, a bugbear of many bill-payers, found that £1.4bn of customers’ money was languishing in the hands of companies in 2018 through overpayment. It said a series of
Thorntons, the chocolate retailer, has announced plans to permanently close its entire UK store estate of 61 sites. The company said its decision, which was now the subject of consultation with employees, would affect 603 workers though it was yet to rule out the possibility of redeploying some of those affected. Thorntons said it was
Hand sanitisers are in and white chocolate bars are out as the basket of goods and services used to calculate inflation undergoes its latest reshuffle. The impact of the pandemic on consumer habits is apparent in the announcement from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which also sees casual clothing and home exercise equipment added.
An online platform that connects entrepreneurs to internationally renowned figures in fields such as business, sport and politics is seeking £20m to finance its global expansion. Sky News understands that Vintro, which counts former chancellor Lord Hammond among its advisory board members, has embarked on a funding round that is expected to close in the
Bitcoin has surged to a new all-time high – with prices breaking £44,000 for the first time. Saturday’s spike came exactly one year after the volatile cryptocurrency lost 50% of its value in the space of two days and fell to £2,873. It has risen 1,431% in the past 12 months. Bitcoin now finds itself
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways is in talks with shareholders and creditors about a further £160m support package just six months after securing a £1.2bn rescue deal. Sky News has learnt that the billionaire tycoon’s flagship company is this weekend close to finalising the new funding, which will include a £100m loan from his
Nearly 50,000 businesses have signed up for the government’s free workplace COVID tests, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced. The government claims this is a vital step towards restoring normal life after the pandemic. Tests can give a result within 30 minutes – and NHS Test and Trace analysis suggests they have a specificity of
The owner of All Bar One is facing a shareholder revolt over plans to bolster the guaranteed pay awards of its top executives amid a broader firestorm over corporate governance at the company. Sky News understands that several major institutional investors are planning to oppose Mitchells & Butlers’ (M&B) remuneration policy because it plans to
The UK economy rediscovered a reverse gear in January as renewed coronavirus lockdowns and Brexit hit activity, according to official figures. The initial estimate of a 2.9% contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the previous month, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), was better than the figure of nearer 5% expected by
Netflix is testing a feature to clamp down on people sharing passwords with other households. Some users have started to get notifications which ask them to verify they live with the account holder. The message states: “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” Users
The John Lewis Partnership has revealed it does not expect to reopen all its department stores as coronavirus lockdowns are eased. The company, which also includes the Waitrose supermarket chain in its stable, announced last year that it would not pay a bonus to its staff – known as partners – for the first time