Author: SKYNEWS

The prospects for an interest rate cut next month have not been helped by the latest wage growth figures which have come in higher than expected.Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed regular wage growth, excluding the effects of bonuses, was 6% higher over the three months to March compared with a year earlier. That was no lower than the sum reported the previous month.Money latest: The rise of Michelin starred ‘fast food’The ONS reported that total pay was also static, at an upwardly revised 5.7% for the period. Economists had been expecting declines in both readings.The data…

Returning to Treloar’s School brings back many bittersweet memories for Gary Webster, Steve Nicholls, Richard Warwick and Ade Goodyear.This life-transforming school in the Hampshire countryside is where these men were sent as haemophiliac children to live and learn among other kids who needed the best round-the-clock medical care. The school, with its on-site NHS clinic, was designed to help these boys live as near a normal childhood as possible.Instead what happened here saw 75 of their schoolmates die of AIDs and Hepatitis. Only 58 pupils survived.Unknown to the boys or their parents the haemophiliac children here were included in secret…

Top Boy, Happy Valley and The Sixth Commandment were the big winners at this year’s BAFTA TV Awards, taking home two prizes apiece.The final season of the critically acclaimed Netflix series Top Boy was named best drama, with star Jasmine Jobson also named best supporting actress for her portrayal of Jaq Lawrence. Happy Valley picked up the award for most memorable moment, the only prize voted for by the public, while star Sarah Lancashire was named best actress once again for her portrayal of no-nonsense police sergeant Catherine Cawood – after first winning the prize for the role in 2017.The…

Ultimate Performance, an upmarket health and fitness platform, has struck a deal to fuel its expansion by selling a stake to Inflexion, the private equity firm.Sky News understands that the Manchester-based personal wellbeing business, which was founded in 2009, has agreed a transaction after weeks of talks. Ultimate Performance delivers personalised training and nutrition programmes to its clients across 24 sites.Founded by Nick Mitchell, it employs 450 people, including 350 personal trainers, in the UK, US, Middle East, Asia and Australia.Money latest: My employer wants to pay me by the minute – what can I do? Inflexion, which is an…

The “disgust factor” must be overcome if insect-based foods are to become mainstream, according to a study.Insects can be high in protein and making them more acceptable could help cut the high greenhouse gas emissions that come from farming cattle. There are also potential benefits for cutting obesity and researchers say the idea of farming insects is gaining more attention.Hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America are estimated to already eat insects to some degree.There are hopes Western attitudes could shift over time, perhaps in a similar way that food such as sushi has become mainstream.…

The winners of this year’s BAFTA TV Awards have been revealed.Shows including Happy Valley, Top Boy and The Sixth Commandment were the big winners on the night. This is the second BAFTA TV ceremony to take place this year, with the craft awards for behind-the-camera roles held in April.Here is the full list of winners and nominees in each category announced on Sunday. Image: Top Boy star Jasmine Jobson. Pic: PA Best supporting actress – Jasmine Jobson, Top Boy, Netflix Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown – NetflixHarriet Walter, Succession – HBO/ Sky AtlanticLesley Manville, The Crown – NetflixNico Parker, The Last…

A Highland port set to become an “offshore wind hub” has secured a £100m credit boost from UK and Scottish government-backed banks.Haventus, owner of Ardersier Port in the Moray Firth, is currently redeveloping the 450-acre site between Inverness and Nairn. It is hoped the transformation of the former McDermott construction yard will support future offshore wind projects across the UK and Europe in the transition to net zero, as well as enable the domestic decommissioning of aged North Sea oil and gas assets.The development, part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport site, is expected to open in 2025…

The largest and longest study of the obesity drug Wegovy has shown people maintain significant weight loss for at least four years, with fewer serious adverse events than those given placebo ‘dummy’ treatment.Doctors say the finding will add pressure on UK health authorities, which currently limit treatment to just two years. Results revealed at an international obesity conference show those given weekly injections of the drug shed pounds for the first 65 weeks of treatment, and then sustained a stable body weight over the longer term.On average they lost 10.2% of their body weight and 7.7cm from their waist size…

The swimmer who was the first victim in the 1975 blockbuster Jaws has died. Susan Backlinie died in her home in California at the age of 77, according to her agent. Her death was first reported by The Daily Jaws website. The opening scene of Steven Spielberg’s classic features Ms Backlinie running along the beach and before diving into the water and skinny dipping. Image: The poster for the film Jaws. Pic: HA/THA/Shutterstock Her character Chrissie Watkins is then suddenly pulled under the water and she screams as she is violently attacked by an unseen great white shark.Ms Backlinie had been…

You may like your smashed avocado on toast but a new report has revealed climate change is having a “terrible impact” on the popular fruit.The superfood, which is high in fibre and healthy fats, guzzles vast amounts of water as it grows, making it especially vulnerable in a hotter, drier world. The fruit boomed globally in the 2010s, becoming associated with millennials and expensive brunch menus.But as its popularity grows, productivity in key growing countries, including Burundi, Chile, Peru, Spain, South Africa and Mexico, is shrinking due to more volatile conditions, according to a report by the charity Christian Aid.There…