Business

Elon Musk will head to Downing Street for talks with Rishi Sunak today following the prime minister’s AI safety summit. The billionaire owner of SpaceX and Tesla jetted in for the event at Bletchley Park, which began on Wednesday with attending countries backing an agreement on the need to manage risks posed by the technology.

Oil and gas giant Shell has continued its retreat from renewables as it is set to cut 200 low-carbon jobs and review another 130. Next year 200 roles are to be slashed in the low carbon solution and hydrogen divisions, while a further 130 positions are under review in an effort to reduce headcount and

Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than most countries, according to a new report on its damaging environmental impact. Mining is the process by which transactions are added to and validated on the blockchain, the public ledger for cryptocurrencies. Competing miners race to use computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles using extremely powerful hardware – receiving

Bitcoin shot up 6% on Tuesday to its highest value in nearly a year-and-a-half. The price rose as high as $35,198 (£28,844) at one point amid speculation US regulators could soon approve an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on its market price. This would allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without owning the cryptocurrency directly

Emma Crosby is joined by Olivia Gallarati, who’s an oil markets analyst at Energy Aspects. Chris Noice from the Association of Convenience Stores speaks to Emma about the problem of shoplifting. And Vistry announces job cuts after a slump in demand. :: Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here. Advertisement

Meta has apologised after Instagram inserted the word “terrorist” into some Palestinian users’ profile bios. Some bios containing the word “Palestinian” followed by the Palestinian flag emoji and the Arabic phrase “Alhamdulillah,” which means “Praise be to God”, were being auto-translated to: “Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.” The issue

Nokia has revealed plans to shed up to 14,000 jobs following a slump in sales. The Finland-based telecoms technology firm, which has 86,000 staff worldwide, said it was launching a cost-saving drive across the business in a bid to boost its margins. Nokia reported a 20% fall in sales during its third quarter. Comparable net

The rate of inflation remaining unchanged at 6.7% features on today’s episode of the Ian King Business podcast, where the chief executive of Saxo UK, Charlie White-Thomson, discusses its potential impact on the next interest rate decision. Premier Inn owner Whitbread continues to see strong demand and remains confident about the outlook, in its figures

The energy regulator has revealed new rules for household suppliers that include priority help for vulnerable customers struggling to pay their bills. Ofgem said that from December, gas and electricity providers had a duty to put those customers first when contacted with an enquiry about their payments. The new requirements also force companies to contact

Last month’s inflation data release completely changed the outlook for Britain’s economic policy. The number came in far below what economists had expected, prompting the Bank of England to pause its rises in interest rates, with wider implications for the state of the British economy. This month’s inflation release – covering the rise in prices

As the conflict in the Middle East enters its second week, we hear from the US treasury secretary Janet Yellen about military support for Israel. Lisa Hooker from PWC talks about consumer confidence in the run-up to Christmas with Ian. And, Andrew Noble, from Par Equity, discusses venture capital investments. :: Listen and subscribe to

Janet Yellen has told Sky News the United States can “certainly” afford wars on two fronts, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas threatens stability in the Middle East and the US continues to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Talking exclusively to Wilfred Frost ahead of a meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg, the US

As the UK competition watchdog gives the green light for Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard, Ian King is joined by Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority. Sky’s economics and data editor Ed Conway interviews Jeremy Hunt as the chancellor attends the IMF-World Bank meeting in Marrakesh. Sophie Lund-Yates, from financial service

Households could face a one-off charge of £17 a year to help prevent energy suppliers from going bust. Ofgem says rising prices and the cost of living crisis meant consumers were £2.6bn in debt over the summer – a record high – piling pressure on businesses. The energy regulator argued that consumers could end up

As Israel strikes back at Hamas, Ian King looks at what the economic effects of the war might be for the region. Lucile Cornet, partner at Eight Roads Ventures Europe, joins Ian to discuss why the rapid advance of Artificial Intelligence is being embraced by young workers. And Ian speaks to Gwenaelle Avice Huet, Executive

Elon Musk has told an EU chief to send him a list of the “violations” he is accused of – after the bloc told him to tackle the spread of disinformation about the conflict between Israel and Hamas on his X messaging platform. X, formerly known as Twitter, says it is trying to take action

A new free phone line has been created by the UK’s food safety watchdog to help people report suspected food fraud. Food fraud is a blanket term used by governing agencies to describe all types of food-related crime. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says this often involves selling food or drink that isn’t what it

Ian King talks to George Lagarias from Mazars about the economic risks from the unrest in the Middle East. He also discusses the fall in grocery price inflation with Tom Steel from Kantar. We also hear all the latest market analysis from Investec’s John Wyn-Evans. Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here.

The price of oil and shares in weapons makers have risen while a growing number of airlines are adjusting flight schedules over fears related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Ryanair was the latest carrier to reveal its plans, saying it would not fly in or out of Tel Aviv until Thursday at the earliest. The scale

Ian King speaks to the head of UK Residential Research at the real estate consultancy, Knight Frank, about house prices – which have fallen for a sixth month in a row. Plus, hear from the boss of Merlin Entertainments about its plans to launch augmented reality games at its attractions – based on hit TV