Two of Britain's biggest high street banks have quit a body dedicated to enhancing industry lending practices, sparking a furious row and casting doubt over its future. Sky News has learnt that HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group have terminated their membership of the Lending Standards Board (LSB). Their resignations - alongside that of Santander UK

Cineworld says it is closing another six cinemas, bringing the total of closed sites to 11. The cinema chain already closed sites in Glasgow Parkhead, Bedford, Loughborough, Yate and Swindon Regent Circus earlier this year as part of its restructuring programme . Now it has confirmed it will also shut down its branches in the

A police unit launched to crack down on the surge in shoplifting has arrested 93 members of 28 organised crime gangs behind more than £4m worth of thefts. The national team has also identified 228 previously unknown offenders and 70 vehicles involved in retail crime in the seven months since it was launched, according to

A $10bn-plus takeover bid for one of America's biggest pharmacy chains is set to trigger a fresh auction of Boots the Chemist after a string of aborted attempts to sell the British retail giant. Sky News understands that Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm, is expected to seek separate ownership for Boots if it succeeds

Google has unveiled a computing chip capable of solving problems in minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete. As well as being extremely fast, the experimental quantum chip, called Willow, can reduce errors exponentially. That's important because currently, quantum computers exponentially create errors, according to Google. Hartmut Neven

Flights could be affected over the festive season at Scotland's busiest airport due to strike action. North Air fuel tanker drivers based at Edinburgh Airport are planning to walk out for almost three weeks in a dispute over pay. The industrial action led by Unite union will begin at 5am on 18 December and end at

Baroness Hodge, former chair of one of Westminster's most influential select committees, is being lined up to lead a review of Arts Council England's use of public money amid a growing backlash in the cultural sector over the direction of its funding. Sky News has learnt that the Labour peer, who chaired the public accounts

Almost a third of goods at supermarkets are on promotion, according to industry data as a big question mark hangs over the sector heading into 2025. Kantar Worldpanel, which monitors sales and prices among chains, reported that 30% of products were discounted ahead of the key shopping season. Supermarkets traditionally attempt to lock in customer

One of Britain's leading financial mutuals is in talks to buy Dalmore Capital, the infrastructure investor which owns a stake in the Thames 'super sewer'. Sky News has learnt that Royal London is among the suitors circling Dalmore, which began exploring a sale earlier in the autumn. Royal London's interest is serious but has yet

Eliminating all pollution incidents in the Thames Water network will be "almost impossible" and a public debate is needed about the real cost of ending all sewage outflows, chief executive Chris Weston has said.  Speaking as the company's interim results revealed pollution incidents were up 40% , Mr Weston said "rising expectations" from customers about