Bitcoin has crossed the $50,000 (£36,000) barrier for the first time on the back of surging demand for the so-called crypto king among mainstream investors. The cryptocurrency, which has endured wild swings in its value during a chequered 12-year history, struck a record high above $50,100 on Tuesday, according to the CEX.IO exchange. The milestone
Business
A planned £6.5bn sale of eBay’s classified ads business Gumtree to a Norwegian rival threatens “higher prices and less choice” for consumers, a watchdog has warned. The acquisition by Adevinta, which owns the online marketplace Shpock, would give the US multinational a 33.3% voting stake and a seat on the board of its Scandinavian competitor.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak should ensure next month’s budget secures the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis to date rather than try to start fixing the public finances, according to a report. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Citi Research warns of a hit to lower-income households ahead, in particular, if the furlough
Air passenger numbers plummeted by 98% at the height the pandemic last year, official figures show. Monthly arrivals to the UK fell during the first coronavirus lockdown from 6.8 million in February to 112,300 in April 2020, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. The figures have been released as part of
Rolls-Royce Holdings, the FTSE-100 engineering group, will this week name a former Deloitte partner as its next finance chief as it tries to navigate through the headwinds of the COVID-19 crisis. Sky News has learnt that Panos Kakoullis, who spent 30 years at the accountancy giant, has been picked as the Derby-based industrial titan’s next
The shake-up of Britain’s big four audit firms is to continue in earnest when Deloitte unveils the sale of its restructuring arm to Teneo, a strategic consulting firm which advises many of the UK’s biggest companies. Sky News has learnt that Teneo, which is backed by the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, is in
The £4bn flotation of Darktrace, one of Britain’s most prominent technology companies, has been dealt a severe blow by the resignation of one of the investment banks hired to lead it. Sky News has learnt that UBS, the Swiss bank, has informed Darktrace that it is no longer able to work on the cybersecurity provider’s
The worst GDP since the invention of GDP. By now we’re mostly all familiar with the scale of the economic contraction this country has faced over the past year. We have lived the lockdowns, the furloughs, the closures. Even so, the scale of the fall in economic output still takes the breath away. Image: Bank
The coronavirus crisis meant the UK economy endured its deepest annual slump last year since the Great Frost in 1709, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said early estimates, subject to revision, showed that gross domestic product (GDP) tumbled by 9.9% in 2020. It was a consequence of large parts of
Food exports to the European Union fell by as much as 60% at the start of the year as traders and officials struggled to adapt to post-Brexit arrangements, MPs have been told. Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said changes since Britain’s trade deal with Europe came into force on
Royal Dutch Shell has revealed a new set of targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, with carbon intensity reductions to include third party oil and gas the company sells as products. The energy company, which has received criticism from institutional investors over the power behind its earlier climate ambitions, said a “comprehensive carbon
The chairman of a City accountancy firm has resigned following a backlash over remarks made to staff which dismissed concerns about COVID crisis fatigue. Bill Michael, the chairman of KPMG UK, reportedly told the online gathering involving hundreds of workers on Monday that they should stop “moaning” and “playing the victim card”. It was an
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has urged the EU not to pick a fight over post-Brexit access for financial services and accused it of demanding tougher standards of the UK than other countries. Brussels has been slow to grant “equivalence” status allowing UK firms access to the bloc in the way that has already
Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, is to cut 8,000 jobs including some in the UK under a scramble to save cash as the coronavirus crisis takes a toll on sales. The Dutch company, which counts Heineken lager and the Tiger and Sol brands among its stable of products, said an “EverGreen” plan would see it
Twitter has revealed that changes to the platform designed to combat misinformation ahead of the US election had resulted in a “small but measurable” hit to user numbers. The social media company made the disclosure as it published results showing better than expected quarterly sales and profits for the three months to the end of
Ocado has reported a leap in annual sales and core profitability as wider retail figures highlight the sharpest drop in business since May amid continuing coronavirus lockdowns. Ocado, best-known as an online grocer but also a provider of robotic warehouse technology, was the latest supermarket-style business to confirm a boost from its status as an