Author: SKYNEWS

Post Office chief executive Nick Read is reportedly “stepping back” from the role temporarily to prepare for the next stage of the Horizon scandal inquiry.Mr Read, who succeeded the heavily-criticised Paula Vennells after she stepped down in 2019, told staff in a note that he wanted to give his “entire attention” to the stage of the hearings in September that will examine current practice at the Post Office. His deputy, Owen Woodley, would run the day-to-day business until the end of August in his absence, it revealed.Money latest:Could best mortgage rates soon dip below 4%?Mr Read’s note, first reported by…

Water companies in England and Wales have been told they will not be allowed to impose the hikes to bills they have demanded, the industry regulator has said in an interim verdict on their business plans for the next five years.Ofwat declared that it was minded to slash, by a third, the combined increases that the 16 companies had submitted. It left the average bill, the watchdog said, set to rise by £19 a year or 21% over the period.Ofwat chief executive David Black said: “Customers want to see radical change in the way water companies care for the environment.Money…

The appearance of finer weather helped the economy recover some lost ground in May, according to official figures that were better than expected.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded gross domestic product growth of 0.4% in the month following zero growth during April. A poll of economists by Reuters had pointed to a 0.2% increase in May.In April, conditions more akin to a monsoon than April showers dented consumer sentiment and hurt construction.Money latest:Policy tweak could save you £295 on car insurance ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said: “The economy grew strongly in May with all the main…

Ofwat’s determination that customer bills must rise 21% on average to keep the water industry afloat amounts to an admission of a torrent of failures; of regulation, of foresight, and the management of regional monopolies that at times appear to be competing only to prove that the 35-year privatisation regime has been a mistake.The fact that bills will increase is not the problem. It is unrealistic for consumers to expect a complex utility to expand to meet the demands of climate change without its primary customers contributing.Money latest:Policy tweak could save you £295 on car insuranceIt’s equally delusional however not…

Ryan Reynolds says it’s a dream come true to finally get the chance to work alongside best friend Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.The Deadpool actor penned multiple scripts and versions of the film and pitched them to Marvel Studios chief executive Kevin Feige. On his last attempt of getting it over the line and a phone call from Jackman, Deadpool & Wolverine was created.”It’s a dream come true for me. I mean, it’s something, right? Since day one of playing this character in this way, I want it to be, you know, standing next to this guy. And for so long,…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given the green light to the biggest shake-up of the rules it uses to govern Britain’s listed companies in three decades.The leading financial regulator hopes the reforms, due to come into effect on 29 July, will reverse the recent downturn in the UK stock market’s fortunes. There has been a dearth of companies floating on the London Stock Exchange while, at the same time, a string of companies have moved their main stock market listing from the UK to the US.The latest of these is Flutter Entertainment, the parent of Paddy Power, Betfair and…

Card payments at major high street shops like Asda, Sainsbury’s, and petrol stations across the UK appeared to crash this morning.Shoppers reported being unable to pay for their groceries and petrol. “I’ve just been turned away at Sainsbury’s as they can’t accept card payments,” said Vanessa Meehan, in Twickenham.”Petrol station also coned off. The car is running on fumes and I need to get supplies.”The supermarket confirmed contactless payments were “briefly unavailable” this morning but the issue has been resolved. “This was due to an issue with our third-party payment provider,” said a Sainsbury’s spokesperson to Sky News.”We’re accepting all…

The GDP figures were not the only encouraging piece of news to cross the desk of Rachel Reeves, the new chancellor, on Thursday.There was also news that the UK has retained its crown as the number one destination in Europe for investment by venture capital in the tech sector. Money latest: People with coeliac disease ‘paying up to 35% more on food shop’Data published by Dealroom, the global provider of data and intelligence on start-ups and tech ecosystems, revealed that UK start-ups and scale-ups raised £7.4bn during the first six months of the year.That was up 16% on the same…

One pound now buys more dollars than at any point in almost a year. Sterling’s value rose against the dollar on Thursday afternoon with a pound equalling $1.29 for the first time since late July 2023. It’s good news for any Britons travelling to the US – their pound will now go further than it had done in the past 11 and a half months.Consumers generally may benefit if the rate remains good for sterling, as the price of importing goods bought with dollars could come down.Money latest – Tesco to close stores early on Sunday If costs remain lower…

Women’s brains, blood, hormones and bones change drastically during pregnancy, research suggests.We are only just discovering the full extent of what is going on with women’s bodies during pregnancy and beyond after decades of only studying male bodies, say scientists. BonesBiologists have revealed that a new hormone protects bone density during breast-feeding.The new research, which studied mice, solves a long-standing puzzle over how the bones of breastfeeding women stay strong even as they lose calcium to milk, say researchers at the University of California San Francisco and UC Davis. The hormone, CCN3, works by blocking certain oestrogen receptors in the…