Author: SKYNEWS

The UK’s flagship stock index has broken the symbolic 10,000 points mark for the first time.The new high was reached within a half hour of the first day of trading in the new year. The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 comprises the hundred most valuable companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.Notable constituents include lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s. The index is also largely made up of mining and international oil and gas companies.”This is a historic moment and already makes 2026 one of the most significant…

A chickenpox vaccine is being rolled out on the NHS for the first time.It will be offered to youngsters alongside the MMR jab, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. It’s a combo that’s long been available to children in other countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia, and the move has been welcomed by health experts.The UK rollout was recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in 2023, and in England alone hundreds of thousands of kids will be eligible from today.Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it will “make a real difference for children and families”.…

A trailer has been released for a landmark documentary on King Charles’ lifelong effort to bring nature and humanity into harmony.Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision will be released on 6 February on Prime Video. The 90-minute documentary will be narrated by Oscar-winner Kate Winslet, with the monarch aiming to encourage a new audience to embrace his environmental philosophy. YouTube This content is provided by YouTube, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable YouTube cookies or…

The London-listed company behind the Revolution bars chain has set a deadline for bids next week after warning shareholders that they face being wiped out as part of a deal.Sky News understands that The Revel Collective, which also owns 22 Peach Pubs and bars trading under the Revolucion de Cuba name, has told bidders to submit offers by January 9 as it races to conclude a deal. City sources said that Neos Hospitality, one of Britain’s leading operators of late-night drinking venues, was among the parties which had expressed interest in buying some of The Revel Collective’s sites.In total, the…

Isiah Whitlock Jr., who was best known for his role on The Wire, has died aged 71.”It is with tremendous sadness that I share the passing of my dear friend and client Isiah Whitlock Jr.,” his manager said in a statement. “If you knew him – you loved him”. Whitlock Jr. portrayed openly corrupt city councilman Clay Davis on 25 episodes over five seasons of The Wire from 2002 to 2008.The fan-favourite character was known for his trademark expression – “sheee-it” -, which was first delivered on the show in 2002.The profanity inspired the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and…

A millionaires’ playground, Poole in Dorset boasts some of the most expensive properties in the UK, and has been called Britain’s Palm Beach.Away from the yachts and the mansions of Sandbanks, however, Poole is also a beer drinkers’ paradise, with 58 pubs in the parliamentary constituency alone. But now many of Dorset’s pub landlords have joined a bitter backlash against rises in business rates of up to £30,000 in Rachel Reeves’s November budget.Across the UK, it is claimed up to 1,000 publicans have even banned Labour MPs from their pubs, after the chancellor axed a 40% rates discount, introduced during…

Idris Elba, ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, as well as England’s victorious women’s football and rugby teams, are among 1,157 people recognised in the New Year Honours list.Sir Idris, 53, who is known for his roles in The Wire and Luther, is knighted for services to young people, having founded the Elba Hope Foundation. He said: “I receive this honour on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition and resilience has driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation.”I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young…

Octopus Energy Group is on the brink of selling a big stake in its software arm, Kraken Technologies, at a valuation that will cement its status as one of Britain’s biggest private companies.Sky News has learnt that Octopus Energy has lined up a syndicate of investors to buy between 10% and 20% of Kraken. Sources said an investment was likely to value Kraken at between $9bn (£6.67bn) and $10bn (£7.4bn).D1 Capital Partners, a leading investor in technology businesses, the fund management giant Fidelity and an arm of Canada’s Ontario Teachers Pension Plan are said to be among those participating in…

The guitarist and keyboard player for The Cure, Perry Bamonte, has died.The band said Bamonte died aged 65 “after a short illness at home”, in a statement on their website, which they said was posted with “enormous sadness”. The statement said: “Quiet, intensive, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of The Cure story.”Looking after the band from 1984 through 1989, he became a full member of The Cure in 1990, playing guitar, six string bass and keyboard on the Wish (1992), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Bloodflowers (2000), Acoustic Hits (2001), and The Cure…

The UK economy grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter of this year, weaker than the 0.2% growth in GDP for the previous three months, new official figures reveal.The 0.2% figure, for April to June, was itself revised down by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), from its earlier estimate for the period of 0.3 per cent. The cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover, which halted production for weeks, appears to have played a part in the July to September slowdown.”Today’s updated figures paint the same picture as our initial estimate, with growth continuing to slow in the third quarter,”…