Author: SKYNEWS

A Hong Kong court has ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande, the real estate firm with more than $300bn (£236.1bn) of debts, amid deepening fears for the territory’s wider corporate health.Justice Linda Chan ruled Evergrande had been unable to offer a concrete restructuring plan to creditors – more than two years after defaulting on a bond repayment and after several court hearings over the lack of a restructuring plan. “It is time for the court to say enough is enough,” she said, citing the company’s perilous financial position.Trading of shares in China Evergrande Group, and two subsidiaries, was suspended in…

A German company is set to use the Shetland Islands to send rockets into space – with plans to launch at least one a month.Rocket Factory Augsburg’s (RFA) chief commercial officer said excitement is building ahead of their “Olympic gold medal” moment this summer. If everything goes to plan, it will be Europe’s first-ever launch delivering satellites into orbit.Jorn Spurmann told the PA news agency the RFA One launcher – a 30m-tall three-stage rocket – is capable of delivering a 1,300kg payload to a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth.Read more from Sky News:SaxaVord granted the UK’s first vertical launch spaceport licenceJapan’s…

England and Manchester City star Kyle Walker has apologised to his wife after fathering a second child with another woman.The 33-year-old defender said he had made “idiot choices” and needed to “own up to my mistakes”. “What I’ve done is horrible and I take full responsibility,” he told The Sun newspaper.”The only person to blame is me. I have roles and responsibilities that I’m aware of, and I’ve made stupid choices.”But I need to own up to my mistakes – I owe it to everyone.” Walker, an England international, is married to Annie Kilner. The couple have three children, with…

Taylor Swift sealed Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs’ huge win on Sunday with a kiss.Kelce, 34, scored a touchdown to help see off the Baltimore Ravens and send the Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl. After the game, Swift, also 34, rushed down to the field at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, to greet Kelce.The couple, flanked by Kelce’s mum and dad, then shared a tender moment and kissed.After the couple embraced, the Chiefs’ tight end got on stage and shouted the lyrics to the Beastie Boys’ iconic song: “You’ve got to fight for your right…

Ryanair has reported a slump in quarterly profits and narrowed its expectations for annual earnings after some online travel sites stopped selling its flights.The no-frills carrier said it made profit after tax of €15m (£12.8m) over the final three months of 2023, its third quarter, compared to the £211m it achieved in the same period a year previously. A poll of analysts had expected a figure of €49m.The sum came in lower despite a 7% rise in passenger numbers and fares being 13% higher.Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers blamed the decision by some booking sites, including booking.com and Kayak,…

A £650m fraud settlement agreed by former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone made him the second-biggest taxpayer in the UK last year, according to The Sunday Times Tax List.The 93-year-old billionaire businessman was spared jail last after admitting failing to declare more than £400m held in a trust in Singapore to the government. Money latest: How we made almost £1,000 in three months switching banksHe agreed to settle £652.6m over tax he was meant to pay to HM Revenue & Customs during 18 years starting in 1994.As a result, the tax list researchers said Mr Ecclestone was the second-highest individual…

First-time mothers battling apocalyptic flooding – it’s a storyline we’d like to confine to the realms of fantasy drama – but the author of The End We Start From says it’s a case of fiction becoming reality.Megan Hunter tells Sky News: “It was the dystopian future novel. But now when people talk about the film, they talk about the present moment. It doesn’t really feel so future-orientated anymore unfortunately, it feels more relevant in a directly contemporary way.” The novel, which she wrote in 2017, has been made into a film starring Jodie Comer as the nameless female protagonist fighting…

A promise by the incoming National Lottery operator to slash the price of a ticket from £2 to £1 is under review.Allwyn has also said delayed plans for new draw-based games will impact sales and the amount of money it can give to good causes in the early part of its 10-year licence. The holdup has been blamed on legal wrangling over the handover.Money latest: Hint UK rental market is about to changeIt comes as Allwyn prepares to take over the running of the lottery on 1 February, replacing Camelot. The firm’s recently appointed UK boss Andria Vidler has said…

A Gustav Klimt painting thought to have vanished for almost a century has been found in Vienna.The painting, titled Portrait of Fraulein Lieser, is one of the last works by the world-renowned artist. The painting was considered lost for about 100 years – until it resurfaced in the private collection of an Austrian.According to Austrian media reports, the artwork was last seen in public in 1925 and was previously only known to experts through a black and white photograph.Its whereabouts had remained a mystery since then – until it was discovered on the wall of a family villa near Vienna.…

A US-based buyout firm has made a takeover approach for Serco, the FTSE-250 company that ranks among the British government’s most significant contractors.Sky News has learnt that American Industrial Partners (AIP) contacted Serco late last year about a potential bid for the company. The two sides are said to have engaged with one another, although it was unclear whether AIP had lodged a firm takeover proposal during their discussions.Money latest: £1 lottery ticket promise in doubtA person close to Serco insisted on Friday that there were no longer any active talks between them. Serco, which has a market capitalisation of…