Articles

The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 0.5% and slashed its forecast for economic growth this year, but warned that borrowing costs may still have to rise in the coming months.  Until a few weeks ago the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee had been widely expected …

One of Britain’s best-known restaurant groups is poised to be added to an accelerating deluge of high street closures as Gaucho examines plans which could put more than 700 jobs at risk. Sky News has learnt that the Argentine steak chain has drafted in one of the “big four” …

BT is to cut 13,000 jobs over the next three years as part of a restructuring plan to invest in ultrafast broadband and the next generation of mobile networks. Britain’s biggest telecoms operator, which announced 4,000 job cuts a year ago, said middle management and back office roles would …

Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to pay $4.9bn (£3.62bn) to settle a US Department of Justice probe into its packaging and sale of mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis The tentative agreement means the government-owned bank would need to take a $1.44bn charge in the second quarter to pay the …

Almost 500 UK companies that have failed to disclose details of their gender pay gaps will face legal action. Companies that did not comply with the new requirement to report pay gap details between their male and female staff are breaking the law, the Equality and Human Rights Commission …

Funding Circle, the UK’s biggest peer-to-peer lender, will this week take another step towards a £2bn London flotation by naming its first female non-executive director. Sky News understands that the company, which is targeting a listing soon after the summer, will announce that former O2 executive Cath Keers is …

Walmart is entering the Indian online market by paying $16bn (£11.8bn) for a majority stake in one of the country’s leading web-based retailers. Walmart will buy a 77% stake in Flipkart, the US retailer’s largest-ever acquisition, as it attempts to shore up its international online sales ambitions against the …

BMW has confirmed a second recall of thousands of vehicles from UK roads in just over a year, due to problems with the cars’ power supply. The German car giant said it had recalled 312,000 vehicles, including BMW 1 Series, 3 Series, the Z4 and its X1 petrol and …

The controversial former owner of Comet, the electrical goods retailer which collapsed in 2012, is among a pack of prospective buyers of Homebase, the struggling DIY chain. Sky News has learnt that Opcapita has tabled an offer for Homebase, which has been put up for sale by its Australian …

Vodafone has agreed to buy Liberty Global’s operations in four European countries in a deal worth €18.4bn (£16.1bn). The deal sees the UK-based telecoms giant take control of cable operators in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. Shares rose 1% in early trading. Vodafone said the “transformative” purchase, …