Business and Finance

Octopus Energy is exploring a move to take control of Bulb, its rival challenger brand, amid the crisis in Britain's residential energy market that has triggered a swathe of corporate casualties.

Long queues of motorists waiting to fill up their tanks are continuing for a second day - as the government is expected to clear the way for a visa change allowing thousands of foreign lorry drivers to work in the UK.

Panicked motorists have caused lengthy queues at petrol stations and caused some pumps to run dry - the latest consequence of a shortage of HGV drivers which is causing widespread disruption in the UK.

A "human logjam" has formed at Heathrow as crowds of people struggle to get through customs after e-gates failed, with some being left stuck on their planes due to the numbers of people inside.

Significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas is inevitable unless more delivery drivers are found in the next 10 days, the retail industry has warned.

A commercial energy supplier backed by Glencore, the FTSE-100 commodities trading giant, has drafted in City advisers to undertake a strategic review amid the turmoil in Britain's gas supply market.

Boris Johnson has urged Jeff Bezos, the Amazon chairman, to use his influence over an electric vehicle (EV) company backed by the technology behemoth to build a gigantic new manufacturing plant in the UK.

America's top diplomat in the UK has told Sky News that a comprehensive UK-US free trade deal is "not the be-all and end-all" of boosting trade between the two countries.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has announced that all cryptocurrency-related financial activities are illegal, including transactions, providing pricing services, and launching new tokens.

New York has maintained its place at the top of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), while London has held on to second place as Chinese cities slipped.