Author: SKYNEWS

Plans by Amazon and vacuum cleaner maker iRobot to merge have been abandoned following concerns that the move would harm competition.The $1.4bn (£1.1bn) deal, which was first announced in August 2022, had previously been approved by UK regulators. But in November the European Commission expressed concerns the online retailer might give iRobot’s products preferential treatment on its website – ahead of rival vacuum companies – if the merger went ahead.Amazon confirmed on Monday that the deal had now collapsed after it failed to find a way forward with EU officials during talks.The merger had also been facing scrutiny from regulators…

Gogglebox star Pat Webb has died after a long illness, the TV show has confirmed.The 75-year-old appeared with son Stephen Lustig-Webb, from Brighton, during series 10 to 12. He posted on Instagram: “Mummy Pat, you were one in a million, took everyone at face value, would share your last fiver with a stranger, the salt of the earth and the absolute centre of our world! Rest in peace mum.”Posting on X, the Channel 4 show also paid tribute.”Mummy Pat will be remembered and missed by her children Stephen, Denise, Sharon, Beverley and the extended family,” it said. “Our thoughts are…

Lloyds has confirmed it is axing its mobile banking vans – just days after it announced plans to cut 1,600 jobs as it increasingly shifts services online.The banking giant said visits to the branches had fallen by 90% since 2018, with as few as two people regularly using the service in some locations. The fleet of vans visit more than 120 towns and villages at least once a month, providing cash and cheque services, account enquiries and other help for people who are not able to easily visit a high street branch.The banking group said it has already been in…

Five people in the UK are believed to have developed Alzheimer’s Disease as a result of medical treatment decades earlier, doctors have revealed.The world-first research suggests the individuals acquired a rogue protein that causes the form of dementia from growth hormone taken from the brains of deceased people. The doctors say Alzheimer’s itself is not transmissible and there is no ongoing public health risk because growth hormone given to children is now made synthetically.At least 1,848 people in the UK were treated with cadaver-derived human growth hormone (c-hGH), between 1959 and 1985, most commonly to increase their height. Growth hormone…

Joni Mitchell will perform at the Grammy Awards for the first time in her five-decade music career this weekend.The 80-year-old singer-songwriter, who’s best known for her hit Big Yellow Taxi, is up for best folk album. Image: Mitchell in 1969. Pic: PA The Canadian star’s previously won nine Grammys and a lifetime achievement award, and has inspired artists including Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan and Prince.Mitchell was forced to re-learn how to walk, talk and play guitar after suffering a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2015.Nominated for her album Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live], the record marked her first headline show in…

The slow-motion collapse of Evergrande, the world’s most indebted company, entered what is likely to be its final stage on Monday when a Hong Kong court ordered its liquidation.The property developer, which has more than $300bn worth of liabilities, has been approaching this point ever since, in December 2021, it first missed a bond payment and was declared to be in default. Since then, various attempts at a restructuring have been made, none of which have even come close to passing muster with Evergrande’s creditors.So today was the day the authorities finally lost patience.Follow live: Money blog Under the court’s…

Inchcape, the London-listed car dealer, is exploring a sale of its UK retail business – a deal that would herald another phase in the industry’s ownership shake-up.Sky News has learnt that Inchcape has begun sounding out prospective buyers of its domestic operations in recent weeks. Bankers at Rothschild have been hired to oversee talks with bidders, with analysts suggesting on Monday that the UK retail arm would be valued at several hundred million pounds.The division consists of 70 sites, employing 3,700 people, and works with car manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Toyota and Volkswagen.Money latest: London ‘could be turning seven-year…

Neighbours star Kym Valentine has thanked her co-star Troy Beckwith for “all the memories” as she announced his death on social media.Beckwith played Michael Martin in the long-running Australian soap opera from 1992 to 1998.His family later confirmed the 48-year-old actor had passed away following “a tough battle with cancer”.In her Facebook post, Valentine, who played Libby Kennedy in the show, wrote: “It pains me so much to have to say this. Our dear old friend Troy Beckwith has passed away.”Another member of our TV family gone way too soon.”She said there would be no funeral, in accordance with Beckwith’s…

The Labour Party will this week back a report calling for the British Business Bank to be given an expanded role as it hopes to take a decisive step in its efforts to be perceived as the most pro-business force in British politics.Sky News has learnt that a review commissioned by shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq and aided by nearly a dozen City grandees will say that the state-owned bank should be allowed to more actively finance fast-growing British companies. The review, in which Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has also been heavily involved, will underline the Labour party’s conviction…

Britney Spears has appeared to apologise to Justin Timberlake for things she wrote about him in her autobiography.The 42-year-old singer shared a post on Instagram saying she was sorry if she had “offended any of the people I genuinely care about” along with a clip of Justin Timberlake singing on Saturday Night Live. Spears published her book, The Woman In Me, in October, in which she revealed she had an abortion while dating the former NSYNC star. Image: Pic: AP In her post, Spears wrote: “I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book. If…