Author: SKYNEWS

Kate Bush has been announced as the official ambassador for this year’s Record Store Day – and is set to release a special edition single.The annual event, which started in 2007, aims to celebrate vinyl and highlight the work and culture of record shops across the UK. Bush, whose famous 1985 track Running Up That Hill topped the charts for the first time in 2022 thanks to its inclusion in the hit sci-fi series Stranger Things, follows in the footsteps of the likes of Noel Gallagher, Taylor Swift and Sir Elton John in becoming an ambassador. Image: Kate Bush has…

Labour will inherit the worst economic situation of any incoming government since the Second World War, Rachel Reeves warned today, accusing the Conservative Party of “burning the house down” during its time in government.Talking in the run-up to next week’s budget, the shadow chancellor said that while George Osborne had promised to “fix the roof while the sun was shining” – a reference to his plans to reduce public spending and cut the deficit – in reality he had done the opposite.Follow latest: Tax cuts and child benefit change – budget speculation “This is the worst inheritance any incoming government…

Kanye West is being sued by the estate of the late US singer Donna Summer for allegedly “stealing” parts of her music for his new album.It comes after Ozzy Osbourne said earlier this month he refused West permission to use a Black Sabbath sample because he’s an “antisemite” – but claims the rapper used it anyway. The lawsuit says West asked for permission to sample from Summer’s hit song I Feel Love – and engaged in “blatant theft” after Summer’s estate “explicitly denied” the request.Ty Dolla $ign – real name Tyrone Griffin – is also named in the lawsuit filed…

How many pairs of cufflinks could £1bn buy?That was the question being asked by City wags after that sum of money was wiped from the stock market value of St James’s Place (SJP) this morning. It was a knowing reference to the most famous of the gifts with which the UK’s biggest wealth manager used to reward its most successful advisers that came to light in a Sunday Times expose back in 2017.The paper revealed that SJP’s best-performing advisers were benefiting from what the paper referred to as a “cruises-and-cufflinks bonus scheme” – with a key perk being cufflinks, in…

Bitcoin has hit $60,000 for the first time since November 2021 – putting the cryptocurrency in touching distance of a new record high.One Bitcoin cost $60,650 at one point early on Wednesday afternoon, after days of huge rises. Money latest: Tax cuts and child benefit change – budget speculation round-upIt’s close to the all time high of $67,707 recorded on 9 November 2021 when many people turned to the digital asset in the pandemic.After a collapse in price in late 2022, it has witnessed a resurgence – in large part due to new products in the US that allow people…

US rapper Ja Rule says he is “devastated” after being denied entry to the UK – days before his tour begins.The Livin’ It Up star, whose real name is Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Senior, is due to kick off his Sunrise tour in Cardiff on Friday before further gigs in Liverpool, Nottingham, Leeds, Birmingham and London. But he says he won’t be on stage because he is not allowed to enter the country due to his criminal record, having previously served two years in prison on gun and tax evasion charges.”I’m so devastated. I can’t believe the UK won’t let me…

A cabal of senior public and private sector figures is proposing a new funding solution to help local authority planning departments unblock the logjam in planning applications across the UK.Sky News has learnt that a report to be published on Thursday by the Purposeful Finance Commission (PFC) will outline plans for a so-called ‘Pipeline Fund’ of private sector cash to increase capacity in local authority planning departments. Sources said that Michael Gove, the levelling-up secretary, and officials at his department had been briefed on the proposal.The Pipeline Fund would be independently administered and supplement the government’s Skills and Delivery Fund,…

An independent gun expert has cast new doubt on Alec Baldwin’s account of what happened when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot on the set of the western film Rust.Firearms expert Lucien Haag gave evidence in court on Tuesday during the trial of the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Ms Hutchins died after a gun held by Baldwin went off during rehearsals on the film set on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021. Image: Alec Baldwin, pictured on the set of Rust following the shooting, has not appeared…

MPs have raised concerns over the treatment of small businesses by major banks after figures showed more than 140,000 accounts were shut down by lenders over the past year.As part of an inquiry into access to finance, the Treasury Committee gathered information from eight banks, including the so-called big four, on how many business accounts had been shut down. The data showed that out of about 5.3 million accounts held by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 141,620 were forcibly closed by banks – 2.7% of the total.The banks – Barclays, HSBC, TSB, Lloyds, Santander, NatWest, Metro Bank and Handelsbanken -…

Mobile phone customers face either a “huge” mid-contract price rise or a “crippling” exit fee from April, according to a watchdog.Which? says Virgin Media and O2 are expected to hike prices by up to 8.8% in April – the highest increase in percentage terms among major providers. The alternative is a potentially “exorbitant” exit fee, with its analysis suggesting their customers could face a combined cost of up to £692.37 if 12 months were remaining on their contracts.Money latest: Bitcoin spikes 10% in a single day as rare event looms Image: Pic: iStock Which? calculations suggest an in-contract Virgin Media…