Author: SKYNEWS

It’s difficult not to be impressed by today’s annual results from Marks & Spencer (M&S).The numbers were not only appreciably ahead of City expectations but were also the best the retailer has delivered for a decade. M&S reported a pre-tax profit, before adjustments related to its pension scheme, of £716.4m for the year to the end of March. That was up 58% on the previous 12 months.The share price, up by almost 80% during the last year, rose by nearly 8% at one point before giving back earlier gains.Money latest: June interest rate cut blow after inflation data Stuart Machin,…

BT has been fined £2.8m after EE and Plusnet failed to provide clear and simple contract information to more than a million customers.Since June 2022, BT’s EE and Plusnet businesses made more than 1.3 million sales without providing customers with a contract summary and information documents, which affected at least 1.1 million customers, according to industry watchdog, Ofcom. This meant that BT broke consumer protection rules which came into effect in 2022. They are designed to ensure customers get clear, comparable information about the services they are considering buying.”It’s unacceptable that BT couldn’t get its act together in time, and…

Let’s start with the good news.After nearly three years in which inflation was well above the Bank of England’s 2% target, it is finally back into what might be considered “normal” levels. Money latest: Interest rate cut blow as inflation drops less than expectedInflation is the rate at which prices are changing over the past year, and that annual rate dropped from 3.2% in March to 2.3% in April. But while it’s down into “normal” territory, there are a few reasons for caution.Reasons for caution The first is that actually the annual rate was expected to fall even further: the…

Pedestrians may be twice as likely to be hit by an electric or hybrid car compared to petrol or diesel vehicles, according to a new study.The study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health on Tuesday analysed casualty rates on the road in the UK between 2013-2017. The researchers said their findings indicated collisions with pedestrians were twice more likely with electric and hybrid vehicles than with petrol and diesel vehicles, and three times as likely in urban areas than in rural areas.Based on data from 916,713 incidents involving casualties, the researchers calculated that between 2013 and…

Dide, the anonymous masked rapper who claims to be a Premier League footballer, has announced his first live gig.The music star, who rose to prominence on social media last year and wears a studded black rose mask to conceal his identity, will perform in London in June. Known only as Dide, the incognito rapper has sparked frenzied speculation about his identity, with Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson, Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, Fulham’s Alex Iwobi and West Ham’s Michail Antonio among the names thrown into the mix.”The main thing for me is the music rather than the football player,”…

Symprove, a leading manufacturer of probiotic supplements, is being groomed for a sale that is expected to fetch at least £250m.Sky News has learnt that bd-capital, a British-based private equity firm, has appointed investment bankers at Jefferies to prepare an auction that is expected to result in a transaction taking place in 2025 at the earliest. Symprove has benefited from growing consumer interest in gut health and its impact on their general physical and mental wellbeing.Under bd-capital’s ownership, the company has grown to become Europe’s largest subscription business of its kind, with chief executive Will Bowler overseeing annual sales growth…

Tennis star Venus Williams, Manchester City striker Mary Fowler and seven other athletes have become the latest stars to be immortalised by Barbie dolls.Gymnasts Rebeca Andrade, from Brazil, and Alexa Moreno, from Mexico, will also get their own Barbies, alongside Canadian footballer Christine Sinclair, French boxer Estelle Mossely, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, Spanish paratriathlete and doctor Susana Rodriguez, and Polish track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda. Announcing the new dolls, Mattel said it wanted to note “the impact of sports in fostering self-confidence, ambition, and empowerment among the next generation”. Image: Man City star Mary Fowler says playing sport has…

The Coventry Building Society is racing to finalise a £780m takeover of the Co-operative Bank that would catapult the mutual into the ranks of Britain’s biggest high street lenders.Sky News has learnt that the Coventry is trying to put the finishing touches to a definitive deal within the next few days to avoid it falling under the auspices of the UK Takeover Code. Sources said the two sides were keen to avoid additional financial and regulatory complexities that could arise if the transaction became subject to the code.The Coventry and the Co-operative Bank were now hopeful of ironing out residual…

A victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has told Sky News that ex-boss Paula Vennells must “come clean” in her evidence to the statutory inquiry.Chirag Sidhpura, a former sub-postmaster who became one of the public champions for justice based on his own treatment at the hands of the Post Office, said he was expecting a “culture of denial” and “lies” over Ms Vennells’ three days of scheduled evidence. Read moreThe major questions for Post Office boss Paula Vennells to answer as three days of questioning to beginShe is due before the inquiry later this morning.The 65-year-old, who was Post…

Wylfa in North Wales is the preferred site for a major new nuclear power development, the government has announced.Ministers are beginning talks with international energy firms to explore building the UK’s third mega-nuclear power station at the Anglesey site, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The department said the gigawatt nuclear power plant could provide enough clean power for six million homes for 60 years.Britain has a target of generating a quarter of all electricity – around 24GW – from home-grown nuclear power by 2050.The aim is part of the government’s plan to enhance energy…