Business

Not all that long ago the prevailing wisdom in economic circles was that where things were made hardly mattered. What really mattered, instead, was how much something cost. But in recent years that has changed – and changed in a big way. Now countries around the world are racing to secure the minerals and materials…

A Post Office Capture victim says delays in the justice system have left him fearing he may never live to see his name cleared. Steve Marston was convicted in 1998 of stealing nearly £80,000 from his branch, based on faulty computer software called Capture that pre-dated the infamous Horizon scandal. His case has been with…

The first Post Office Capture conviction has now been formally referred to the Court of Appeal, marking a major milestone in the IT scandal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) made the decision to refer the case of sub-postmistress Patricia Owen back in July. Mrs Owen was convicted of theft by a jury in 1998,…

Diageo, the struggling owner of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky, is facing an investor backlash next month over nearly £8.5m in stock awards handed to the frontrunner to become its next chief executive. Sky News has learnt that investors in Diageo are being urged to vote against its pay report at its annual meeting in…

Britain’s hopes of becoming a critical minerals superpower have been dealt a severe blow after one of its leading companies abandoned its plans to build a rare earths refinery near Hull. Pensana had pledged to build a £250m refinery on the banks of the Humber, to process rare earths that would have then been used…

The Government has vowed to pursue a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone for millions of pounds paid for defective PPE at the height of the COVID pandemic after a High Court deadline passed without repayment. Earlier this month, the High Court ruled that PPE Medpro, a company founded by Baroness Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman…

The chancellor is weighing plans to hand hundreds of millions of pounds in tax incentives to small businesses in next month’s budget as she seeks ways to pitch the government as pro-enterprise to Britain’s private sector. Sky News has learnt that officials have drawn up proposals to lift the cap on a scheme called Enterprise…

Price rises in the UK are to be the highest among the G7 club of industrialised nations, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Inflation will be the highest among the club both this year and next, the world’s lender of last resort said in its World Economic Outlook. As a result, the body’s chief…

Six months ago the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the world economy was heading for a serious slowdown, in the face of Donald Trump’s tariffs. It slashed its forecasts for economic growth both in the US and predicted that global economic growth would slow to 2.8% this year. Today the Fund has resurfaced with…

The jobs market continued to slow, with 9,000 fewer vacancies in the three months to September, official figures show. It is the 39th consecutive period where vacancy numbers have dropped. Having fewer job openings can mean it is harder to find work. Money blog: Big retirement age surprise awaits 14% of Britons There was also…