Business

Former business secretary and staunch Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg will receive about £500,000 in annual dividends from his stake in Somerset Capital Management, the investment fund he co-founded in 2007. However, the prospect of Rees-Mogg collecting an even bigger multimillion-pound windfall appears to be on ice, as the Guardian understands Somerset …

Tesla shares started 2023 where they left off last year, plunging more than 14% on Tuesday on growing worries about weakening demand and logistical problems that have hampered deliveries for the world’s most valuable automaker. Once worth more than $1tn, Tesla lost more than 65% in market value in a …

As we head towards the new year, striking workers are squaring up for a long battle with the government. Increasingly under the spotlight in these disputes are the nine independent review bodies that make recommendations on how much to pay 2.5 million staff across the public sector, from prison officers …

Soldiers and sailors covering for striking Border Force staff at passport control do not have the power to detain people they suspect of criminal activity, leaked documents show. Emails reveal that people suspected of crimes such as carrying a false passport, drug smuggling, people trafficking and victims of modern slavery …

A freeze on alcohol duty is to be extended for a further six months as the government seeks to help pubs, restaurants, brewers and distilleries weather the looming recession. The Treasury minister James Cartlidge told MPs there would be no increases in duty on beers, wine, cider and spirits until …

The Bank of England is poised to increase the cost of borrowing for households and businesses at its interest meeting today, as fears mount that the UK economy is about to enter a long recession. Financial markets expect a 0.5 percentage point increase in the central bank’s base rate to …

China’s scaling back of its zero-Covid regime has left its population reeling. Some are embracing their new freedoms, while others are struggling to overcome their fears of being infected after three years of tough restrictions. Frustration at protracted lockdowns and mass testing boiled over in late November into widespread protests, …

The head of Sky News is set to quit after 16 years in the job, as the news outlet faces up to long-term challenges in adapting to a post-television future. John Ryley has been in charge of Sky News since 2006, taking over at a time when the outlet was …

A Tory-led council has admitted a series of disastrous investments in risky commercial projects caused it to run up an unprecedented deficit of nearly £500m and brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. The staggering scale of the catastrophe at Thurrock council in Essex – one of the biggest ever …

Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, the RMT union’s general secretary said scheduled rail strikes would go ahead after what he said was a ‘positive meeting’ with the transport secretary, Mark Harper. ‘If we called off the strikes, we’d never get a settlement,’ said Lynch, adding: ‘We did that two …