Business

Donald Trump’s White House has fuelled tensions with Beijing by banning US investment in firms it says have ties to the Chinese military. The executive order, due to come into force on 11 January, is designed to stop American businesses, pension funds and others from buying stocks in 31 companies designated by the Pentagon earlier

The boss of the British company supplying a crucial ingredient of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has warned that avoiding Brexit border disruption will be “a crucial step” in ensuring it is available to millions of people. Yorkshire-based Croda International has provided a key chemical element of the vaccine to Pfizer in the trial phase, and

The UK economy grew by a record 15.5% in the third quarter but remains 8.2% smaller than before the pandemic, official figures show. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product (GDP) bounced back strongly in the July-September period after the pandemic-driven recession in the first half of the year. But

People earning more than £19,500 a year would pay more under a £40bn tax hike plan to boost the public finances in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The Resolution Foundation makes the case for a range of tax changes by the middle of the decade to avoid a return to austerity and tackle the

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has notched up sales of more than £42bn for its annual Singles’ Day sales event – but the extravaganza threatened to be overshadowed by plans for new regulation. The running total announced by the company shortly after midnight showed the event was already 16 times bigger than US online retailer Amazon’s

Supermarket bosses have launched a fresh lobbying drive to extend Sunday trading hours ahead of a Christmas shopping rush that they are warning ministers could put customers’ safety at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sky News has learnt that major grocers including J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison have been urging the government in recent weeks

A record 314,000 redundancies were recorded in the three months to September as the coronavirus took a further toll on jobs. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.8%, its highest level since November 2016 and up from 4.5% the month before. ONS data for October also

Stock markets have responded very strongly to news from the US drugs giant Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech that their COVID-19 vaccine has proved to be more than 90% effective in late stage clinical trials. The positive outcome to the trials, which to date have involved almost 44,000 people globally, have raised hopes

Stock markets in Asia have rallied after Joe Biden’s US election victory. Japan’s Nikkei was the most notable gainer, hitting a 29-year high after the confirmation of the result over the weekend. Mr Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump has eased fears about a continuation of a damaging trade war between the US and China, the

One of Britain’s fastest-growing genomics companies is selling a stake to Tencent, the giant Chinese technology investor, as part of a funding round that also includes a major UK pensions provider. Sky News has learnt that Cambridge-based Congenica will on Monday announce that it has secured $50m (£39m) in a Series C fundraising. Legal &

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is plotting an overhaul of the UK’s public company listings regime in a bid to lure more technology ‘unicorns’ to London. Sky News has learnt that Mr Sunak is preparing to announce a review aimed at helping the City compete more robustly with New York’s vast capital markets in a post-Brexit

Deloitte is kicking off talks with potential buyers of its British restructuring business amid expectations of a surge in activity triggered by swathes of coronavirus-inspired insolvencies. Sky News has learnt that Daniel Butters, who heads the big four audit firm’s UK restructuring operations, briefed hundreds of staff this week that he had been given a

Darktrace, the fast-growing British cyber security company, is targeting a blockbuster $5bn (£3.8bn) valuation as it lines up investment banks to work on a London stock market flotation. Sky News has learnt that Darktrace is close to appointing UBS and Berenberg as part of a syndicate of advisers which will aim to launch an initial

Hovis, the 134-year old British bread brand, has been bought by a UK private equity firm following a bidding war. Joint owners Premier Foods, of Mr Kipling fame, and US-based Gores Group sold the brand to Endless for an undisclosed sum days after Sky News revealed that it was close to seeing off competition from

Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell has been jailed for six years for evading £584,000 in taxes. Chappell failed to pay the tax on £2.2m in income he received after buying the chain for £1 in 2015 from retail tycoon Sir Philip Green. Meanwhile he splashed out on a luxury lifestyle which included a £90,000 yacht,

The furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March, the chancellor has announced. Rishi Sunak made the announcement in a statement to MPs, telling them that the payments would remain at 80% of people’s wages. The policy will be reviewed in January, he told the Commons, to “decide whether economic circumstances are improving