Business

Getty Images By Dearbail Jordan & Faisal Islam Business reporter and economics editor, BBC News People spending less, doctors’ strikes and a fall in school attendance dragged the UK into recession at the end of last year, official figures show. The economy shrunk by a larger than expected 0.3% between October and December, after it

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Body Shop’s UK business has entered administration, potentially putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk. The retailer’s shops will remain open as usual while efforts are made to try to save the UK firm. Restructuring firm

Getty Images By Dearbail Jordan Business reporter, BBC News The Body Shop’s UK business is set to appoint administrators this week, in a move likely to result in shop closures and job losses. The owner of the company, set up in 1976 by the late Dame Anita Roddick, is expected to appoint experts to significantly

Getty Images By Theo Leggett Business correspondent, BBC News Barclays has announced it will no longer provide direct funding for new oil and gas projects. The banking giant also says it will restrict lending to energy businesses that plan to expand their fossil fuel production. Barclays is a major lender to the fossil fuel industry,

Getty Images By Kevin Peachey Cost of living correspondent A single person will need £31,300 a year for a moderate income in retirement, according to a pensions industry body. The rising cost of living and an expectation to offer financial support to grandchildren had pushed up the income required by £8,000, it said. The Pensions

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Simon Jack & Michael Race Business editor and business reporter, BBC News The CBI business group has settled legal action brought by its former boss Tony Danker for wrongful dismissal. Mr Danker was sacked with immediate

By Dan Whitworth and Jess Quayle Money Box, BBC Radio 4 Nearly 12,000 unmarried parents whose partners have died risk missing out on an estimated £175m of benefit payments, according to figures seen by the BBC. If a couple with children are married or in a civil partnership and one of them dies, the surviving

Reuters By Dearbail Jordan & Faisal Islam BBC News The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% but indicated it is edging towards cutting borrowing costs. At its latest meeting, the Bank said it had discussed cutting rates, with inflation – the pace of price rises – set to fall quickly this year.

PA Media By Faisal Islam & Jonathan Josephs Economics editor & Business reporter The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has “advised the UK against further tax cuts”, as it launched its latest assessment of the world economy. It said preserving public services and investment implied higher spending than was reflected in the government’s current plans. The

By Harrison Jones BBC News The Post Office chairman had to leave his role because it “just wasn’t working”, the business secretary says. Kemi Badenoch told the BBC that Henry Staunton’s departure was about more than just the Horizon scandal, in the wake of public outcry over the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters. Ms Badenoch said

By Theo Leggett & Sam Gruet BBC News Assets controlled by former Tory peer Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman have been frozen by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), according to the couple’s spokesperson. PPE Medro, a company led by Mr Barrowman, is under investigation by authorities. It was awarded contracts worth more than

Getty Images By Vishala Sri-Pathma Business reporter Unavoidable hidden charges for online customers, or “drip pricing”, is set to be banned under new law proposals. Fake reviews will also be banned and firms will have to be clearer with price labels on supermarket shelves. It follows a government consultation on consumer transparency that found some

Getty Images By Kevin Peachey Cost of living correspondent Domestic energy prices will fall by 16% in April, according to a prediction by consultancy Cornwall Insight, bringing some relief to billpayers. It said the annual household bill when using a typical amount of gas and electricity was expected to drop from £1,928 to £1,620. Households

Getty Images By Lora Jones Business reporter, BBC News The boss of Fujitsu’s European arm says it has “clearly let society down, and the sub-postmasters down” for its role in the Post Office scandal. Paul Patterson admitted there were “bugs, errors and defects” with the Horizon software “right from the very start”. Mr Patterson also

Getty Images By Dearbail Jordan Business reporter, BBC News Fujitsu has told the government it will not bid for public contracts while the inquiry into the Post Office scandal continues. Minister Alex Burghart said the technology firm had written to the Cabinet Office to inform it of the decision. Fujitsu developed the Horizon software used

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News A boss of Fujitsu has said the company has a “moral obligation” to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software. Paul Patterson,