Author: SKYNEWS

House prices are now growing at the fastest annual rate in nearly two years, the UK’s largest building society has said, with rises expected to continue.In the year up to August, houses became 2.4% more valuable with the average property costing £265,375, according to Nationwide. But prices are still below the all-time highs recorded in the summer of 2022 by about 3%.Money blog:NatWest customers unable to make paymentsDuring that time people were spending lockdown savings as COVID-19 restrictions were unwinding and borrowing rates had not reached the current highs. The annual increase and associated increase in buying demand is still…

The first-ever open world Star Wars video game, the highly-anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, launches today.The third-person role play game (RPG) focuses on a Han Solo-inspired scoundrel, Kay Vess, and is set between the events of the 1980 hit The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return Of The Jedi. The game encourages fighting, stealing, and even gambling despite being set in a franchise widely perceived as being child-friendly. Image: Star Wars Outlaws. Pic: Ubisoft/Disney Disney will be anxious for a hit, following news last week that the House of Mouse had already cancelled its latest Star Wars live-action show, The Acolyte.Despite a mostly positive…

Oasis have announced three extra concert dates in the UK for their reunion tour next year.The band said they were adding the extra gigs due to “unprecedented demand” following registration for a ticket pre-sale. They have also extended the deadline to confirm entries to the pre-sale, to 10am UK time on Friday, after worry from some social media users that they had not received responses. Fans who are successful in the ballot will be contacted by 5pm tomorrow with access information.Noel and Liam Gallagher confirmed the band’s reunion on Tuesday morning, following weeks of speculation. The comeback comes 15 years…

The government will not defend the legal challenges brought against plans to develop the UK’s largest untapped oil and gas field and a second North Sea site. Rosebank, 80 miles west of Shetland, contains around 300 million barrels of oil and is the UK’s last major undeveloped oil site. It is twice the size of the controversial Cambo oil field.Jackdaw, another untapped gas site, is 150 miles east of Aberdeen.Legal claims against developing the sites for oil had been brought by environmental campaign groups Greenpeace and Uplift. Policy changingOn Thursday, the government confirmed it would now not contest these legal…

Champions League organisers have assured clubs and fans there is no possibility of the new AI-assisted draw for the men’s UEFA competition being manipulated tomorrow, with extra security in place to guard against cyber attacks.The traditional manual draw can no longer be solely relied on to determine fixtures as the competition has expanded from 32 to 36 teams with a more complex format. It is the biggest transformation to European men’s football in more than three decades since the introduction of a group stage that gave entry to multiple clubs from countries – rather than just their domestic league champions.The…

A hotel chain in Manchester has been accused of cancelling a booking after the Oasis reunion was announced – and relisting the room for a higher price.Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, wrote on X last night that he’d been contacted by “several people” who were told their rooms had been cancelled by Maldron Hotels after a “computer error”. He claimed they were later “back up for three times the price”.Several users have replied saying they have been affected by the issue. Image: Maldron hotel in Manchester Oasis fan Mark Slinger, 36, who lives on the Isle…

The long-awaited Oasis reunion tour would represent a big boost to not only Liam and Noel Gallagher’s respective bank balances but the UK economy as a whole, according to experts.Confirmation on Tuesday that the warring brothers had put aside their differences to plan 14 dates – with two of those in Dublin – prompted a frenzy of interest in the British Isles and also overseas. An investment analyst at AJ Bell said the 2025 stadium shows had the “potential” to bring as much as the £1bn cash injection a report by Barclays said the economy had enjoyed from Taylor Swift’s…

The owner of Ted Baker will on Wednesday announce that it has struck a deal with an American group to re-establish an online presence in the UK, days after its remaining retail stores were shut for good.Sky News has learnt that Authentic, which has owned Ted Baker since 2022, has struck a deal with United Legwear and Apparel Co (ULAC) to operate an e-commerce presence for the brand in Britain and Europe. ULAC, which has partnerships of varying kinds with clothing brands including Skechers, Puma North American, Scotch & Soda and DKNY, is already Authentic’s operating partner for Ted Baker…

Kirstie Allsopp has hit out at the “absurd” reports made to social services about her 15-year-old son’s interrailing trip across Europe.The TV presenter has come under significant criticism after she revealed her son went travelling to several European cities with a 16-year-old friend this summer. After he returned, she was contacted by a social worker who informed her that a file had been opened because child protection concerns had been raised. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:25 Allsopp reported to social services She later issued a defence saying he was almost 16 years old and…

Shop prices have come down for the first time in nearly two years, according to industry data.Goods in UK shops cost 0.3% less in August than a year ago, figures from industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed. The price fall is due to discounts on summer clothing and other seasonal household goods. Wet weather and the cost of living crisis prompted retailers to sell reduced items to shift stock, the BRC said.Trading had been difficult for shops due to those factors, it added.Money blog: The hidden refund that could save you hundreds Prices had been rising but at…