Author: SKYNEWS

A small number of suitors have served up initial bids for Costa Coffee as the chain’s owner, The Coca-Cola Company, prepares to retain ownership of the brand’s ready-to-drink portfolio.Sky News understands that Coca-Cola and its advisers set a deadline last week for indicative offers for Costa. City sources said on Monday that Apollo Global Management, the investment giant which had expressed an interest in the business, decided not to submit an offer.Other reported bidders include TDR Capital, the owner of Asda, although banking insiders said there had been a small number of proposals than expected. Money latest: Lifetime ISA savers…

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs. “I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going…

Broadcaster John Stapleton – a familiar face on news and current affairs shows for decades – has died.The 79-year-old, who had Parkinson’s disease, died peacefully in hospital this morning.Stapleton appeared on well-known programmes such as Watchdog, Nationwide, Newsnight, Good Morning Britain, Panorama, and GMTV’s News Hour.He was also among the first Sky News presenters.Stapleton’s agent, Jackie Gill, said his Parkinson’s had been “complicated by pneumonia”.”His son Nick and daughter-in-law Lisa have been constantly at his side and John died peacefully in hospital this morning,” she said in a statement.Former colleagues paid tribute to Stapleton’s warmth and professionalism.Sky News’ Mark Austin…

TalkTalk Group has picked advisers to spearhead a break-up that will lead to the sale of one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers.Sky News has learnt that PJT Partners, the investment bank, is being lined up to handle a strategic review aimed at assessing the optimal timing for a disposal of TalkTalk’s remaining businesses. PJT’s appointment is expected to be finalised shortly, City sources said this weekend.Founded by Sir Charles Dunstone, the entrepreneur who also helped establish The Carphone Warehouse, TalkTalk has 3.2 million residential broadband customers across the UK.That scale makes it one of the largest broadband suppliers in the…

Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children. Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are…

American Senator Ted Cruz has broken ranks with fellow US conservatives and hit out at talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, saying it was “mafioso” behaviour.Disney-owned ABC has been widely criticised after it pulled the long-standing host of Jimmy Kimmel Live following comments in his show about the alleged gunman charged with right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder. Kimmel implied the suspect was a Maga Republican, despite the man’s mother telling police he had “started to lean more to the left”.As a result, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened Disney and local broadcasters with investigations and regulatory action if they…

One of Britain’s biggest estate agency groups is drawing up plans for an £800m sale amid speculation that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is plotting a fresh tax raid on homeowners in her autumn Budget.Sky News has learnt that LRG, which is owned by the American buyout firm Platinum Equity, is being groomed for an auction that would take place during the coming months. Bankers at Rothschild have been appointed by Platinum to oversee talks with potential bidders.Platinum acquired LRG, which owns brands including Acorn, Chancellors and Stirling Ackroyd, in January 2022.The estate agency group, which handles residential sales and lettings,…

The world’s first AI-generated government “minister” has been introduced to the Albanian parliament to a mixed reception.The so-called state minister for artificial intelligence, named Diella, appeared in front of parliament with a three-minute address delivered on two screens on Thursday, almost a week after Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed it would be part of his cabinet. Mr Rama said he was presenting Diella – the female form of the word for ‘sun’ in the Albanian language – as a symbol of his government’s push for transparency and innovation, assigning it the task of addressing corruption concerns.The avatar, which was depicted…

Penn & Teller have finally been inducted into the Magic Circle – after 50 years of being denied membership.Rock stars of magic, Penn & Teller found fame in the mid-1980s, earning them fans on both sides of the pond, but their habit of explaining their tricks to the audience also earned them magical disapproval. The duo were famously barred from the Magic Circle for exposing their tricks as part of their act, flying in the face of the organisation’s belief in keeping magical secrets from the public.Formed in 1905, the Magic Circle currently has around 1,750 members from around the…

Government borrowing last month was the highest in five years, official figures show, exacerbating the challenge facing Chancellor Rachel Reeves.Not since 2020, in the early days of the COVID pandemic with the furlough scheme ongoing, was the August borrowing figure so high, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Money blog: Borrowers warned of wider market risk Tax and national insurance receipts were “noticeably” higher than last year, but those rises were offset by higher spending on public services, benefits and interest payments on debt, the ONS said.It meant there was an £18bn gap between government spending…