Author: SKYNEWS

The UK’s largest building society is dropping its cheapest mortgage rate to an eight-month low and significantly under the Bank of England’s base interest rate. From Wednesday, Nationwide will offer new remortgaging customers a 3.84% rate on a five-year fixed deal. Existing mortgage holders can get the low rate on additional borrowing and switcher deals, also on five-year offers.New members and first-time buyers can get a slightly higher five-year fixed rate of 3.85%.Money latest: Woolworths could return to UK high street As well as being below the Bank of England’s 5.25% base rate, such an offer is also below the…

Actor Gary Graham, best known for his roles in TV series Alien Nation and Star Trek: Enterprise, has died “suddenly” at the age of 73, his ex-wife has announced.Susan Lavelle shared the news on Facebook, where she called Graham an “amazing actor and father” to their daughter, Haylee. She said his wife Becky Hopkins was by his side when he died.”It is with deep profound sadness to say that Gary Graham, my ex-husband, amazing actor and father of our beautiful only child together, Haylee Graham, has passed away today,” Ms Lavelle said.”We are completely devastated, especially our daughter… this was…

On today’s show, we’ve got the latest reports about potential cutbacks at fund manager abrdn.Ian King speaks to Carina Namih, partner at Plural, about a new €400m (£342m) fund to back the next generation of start-ups. Yoko Spirig, co-founder and chief executive of Ledgy, discusses research showing almost three-quarters of UK tech companies would prefer to launch their initial public offerings in the UK over any other destination.Plus there’s the latest on UK public borrowing figures, and trading updates from Primark’s owner Associated British Foods.:: Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here. Source link

Measles cases are surging, prompting a warning to parents to make sure children are fully vaccinated against the potentially deadly disease. Measles is highly infectious and can result in “life-changing complications”, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Despite the seriousness of the illness, vaccination rates have been falling.If that trend isn’t reversed, outbreaks of the virus are likely to spread, the UKHSA warns.What are the symptoms of the virus, what threat does it pose – and why are some people hesitant to get the vaccine? What are the symptoms of measles?The first symptoms of measles include:• A high…

Home Alone actor Devin Ratray has been treated in hospital – delaying a domestic assault trial, according to US media.The 47-year-old child star, who played older brother Buzz alongside Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister in the hit 1990s films, had been due to stand trial on Monday. Ahead of the planned start date in Oklahoma, his lawyers spoke with the judge overseeing the case, as well as the district attorney’s office, and said Ratray was in hospital, NBC Montana reported. Image: Ratray played Buzz in the Home Alone films. Pic: ©20th Century Fox/Landmark Media/Alamy The trial has been delayed indefinitely, the…

Wales’s first minister has said he was “genuinely baffled” Rishi Sunak did not call him to discuss plans to support people affected by job losses in Port Talbot.Last week, Tata Steel said it would cut up to 2,800 jobs in the UK. The majority of those will be in the UK’s largest steelworks in the South Wales town as the company replaces its blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces.During first minister’s questions on Tuesday, Mark Drakeford told the Senedd he contacted the prime minister’s office last Thursday, when it became clear Tata would announce the closure of both blast furnaces…

The Doomsday Clock has been reviewed after inching 10 seconds closer to midnight in 2023 – the closest it has ever been to a global catastrophe.The clock’s new time was announced on Tuesday 23 January and remains at 90 seconds to midnight. But what does it actually mean?A metaphor for the dangers facing humanity, the clock is updated based on perceptions about how close humans are to destroying the world – with midnight symbolising that point.The countdown is agreed on by experts at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Last year the clock moved forward due to the “mounting dangers…

Legendary disco producer Frank Farian – founder and mastermind behind the hit 1970s band Boney M – has died at the age of 82, according to his family.The German producer formed the group in 1976, and was their primary writer as they recorded a string of disco hits including Daddy Cool, Rasputin, and a popular remake of the Christmas song, Mary’s Boy Child. He later founded the pop duo Milli Vanilli, and worked with music legends including Meat Loaf and Stevie Wonder.Farian passed away at his home in Miami, according to a statement released by his agency on behalf of…

An arm of one of China’s largest municipal governments is in talks to buy Stemcor, the historic British steel trading company.Sky News has learnt that a new company connected to Guangzhou Aerotropolis, which is located in the province of Guangdong, is in detailed negotiations with Stemcor’s lenders about a deal to take control of the company. The transaction would displace GR Life Style, a Hong Kong-listed property company with no obvious link to the steel trading industry, as Stemcor’s buyer.Founded in 1951 by Hans Oppenheimer, a German immigrant to the UK who built it into an international powerhouse, it has…

A blood test could be just as good at detecting the signs of Alzheimer’s disease as painful and invasive lumbar punctures, research suggests.Measuring levels of a protein called p-tau217 in the blood could be just as accurate at detecting signs of the progressive condition, experts say. The protein is a marker for biological changes in the brain for people with Alzheimer’s disease, which is a form of dementia.The new findings have the potential to “revolutionise” diagnosis for people who are suspected to have Alzheimer’s, experts say.It could also be better than a range of other tests currently under development. In…