Business

For this week’s Savings Guide, Anna Bowes, personal finance expert from The Private Office, explains what the Help to Save scheme is… The Help to Save Scheme is essentially a programme that incentivises people claiming certain benefits to save money. It gives savers a generous government bonus if they put away between £1 and £50…

A buy now, pay later specialist which helps motorists spread the cost of repairing their cars has landed millions of pounds from the venture arms of Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and other leading automotive groups. Sky News understands that Bumper, which is based in London and Sheffield, will announce later this week that it has…

The owner of Legoland and Madame Tussauds has abandoned plans to sell some of its British aquariums after failing to reel in sufficiently attractive bids. Sky News has learnt that Merlin Entertainments has decided to call off an auction of more than half a dozen Sea Life visitor attractions in locations including Blackpool, Brighton, Loch…

Around nine in 10 pharmacies experienced shoplifting and an increase in aggressive behaviour in the last year, a survey has found. Of 476 pharmacies in England polled by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), 88% said they have experienced a rise in shoplifting incidents. About 87% reported a surge in aggressive or intimidating behaviour towards pharmacy…

For around 700,000 teenagers on the treadmill that is the English education system, the A and T-level results that drop this week may be the most important step of all. They matter because they open the door to higher education, and a crucial life decision based on an unwritten contract that has stood since the…

Every week, our Money blog team finds the answer to a reader’s financial problem or consumer dispute. Here’s our latest… My husband is freelance and the breadwinner of the family. He is in hospital for an unknown length of time. Is there any support for us in the short term, so we can keep our…

The rate of wage rises in the UK continued to slow as the number of job vacancies and people in work fell, according to new figures. Average weekly earnings slowed to 4.6% down from 5%, while pay excluding bonuses continued to grow 5%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the…

The world’s two largest economies, the US and China, have again extended the deadline for tariffs to come into effect. A last-minute executive order from US President Donald Trump will prevent taxes on Chinese imports to the US from rising to 30%. Beijing also announced the extension of the tariff pause at the same time,…

At a community food table in Staffordshire, produce is being handed out for free. “I need to come here otherwise we’d be living on bread,” Rebecca Flynn told Sky News. The 51-year-old said: “I’m earning pretty decent money, but it’s not enough.” Image: Rebecca Flynn It gives you an insight into just how deeply the…

The UK’s biggest independent toy retailer is being taken from private ownership and will be owned by its employees, who will share in the company’s profits. The founder of The Entertainer chain, Gary Grant, is putting the future of the business in the control of its 1,900 employees. The company operates more than 160 shops…