US economy grew strongly in third quarter, GDP report says

The US economy surged over the summer, the commerce department announced on Tuesday in one of the final snapshots of the nation’s finances to be released in 2025.Gross domestic product (GDP) – a broad measure of the value of goods and services – rose at an annualized rate of 4.3% over the third quarter, far higher than expected and its fastest rate in two years.The surprisingly strong growth “reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment”, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.Economists had been expecting the growth rate to slow to 3

Ryanair fined €256m over ‘abusive strategy’ to limit ticket sales by online travel agencies

Ryanair has been fined €256m (£223m) by Italy’s competition authority for abusing its dominant market position to limit sales of tickets by online travel agents.The authority said Europe’s largest airline had “implemented an abusive strategy to hinder travel agencies” via an “elaborate strategy” of technical obstacles for agents and passengers to make it difficult for online travel agents to sell Ryanair tickets and instead force sales through its own website.The fine related to Ryanair’s conduct between April 2023 and at least until April 2025, the authority said on Tuesday. It said Ryanair had prevented online travel agents from selling tickets on its flights in combination with other airlines and services, weakening competition.Ryanair said it would immediately appeal against the “legally flawed” ruling

Four-day week may be considered a sign of failure, England councils told

The secretary for local government has written to all councils to warn that adopting a four-day week for staff puts them at risk of being declared a failing authority, according to reports.Twenty-five councils have discussed a four-day week policy and one, South Cambridgeshire district council, has already moved to the pattern.While councils are free to set their own policies, the government has the power to take control if an authority is deemed to be failing.In a letter to councils seen by the Daily Telegraph, Steve Reed said that staff doing “part-time work for full-time pay” could be an indicator of “failure”.He said: “The provision the current guidance makes in relation to the four-day week remains in force … I take this issue very seriously, in particular that ‘council staff undertaking part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification’ would be considered an indicator, among a wide range of factors, of potential failure

Tesla’s EU sales slump continues as Chinese rivals thrive

Tesla continued a run of weak sales in the EU in November, with new car registrations of Elon Musk’s brand down a third, while Chinese carmakers’ sales soared.Tesla sold 12,130 new cars across the EU last month, down from 18,430 in November 2024, shrinking its market share from 2.1% to 1.4%, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (Acea), a lobby group.The Chinese carmaker BYD recorded by far the fastest sales growth, with registrations across Europe almost tripling year on year up to November, to 42,500

‘We’ve seen it decimate areas’: Somerset town’s traders oppose parking charges

The shop windows are decked out in their festive finery, there are carols on the stereos and the tills are ringing. The independent stores, cafes and restaurants lining Hill Road in the Somerset seaside town of Clevedon are hoping to take advantage of the crucial pre-Christmas period.The street’s colourful shops, along with the town’s Victorian pier, are among Clevedon’s best-known landmarks, making Hill Road popular with locals and visitors. It even stood in for the high street in the ITV drama Broadchurch.However, Hill Road’s traders are looking ahead to the new year with concern after proposals by North Somerset council to introduce car parking charges on local streets

Larry Ellison gives personal guarantee for Paramount takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

The tech billionaire Larry Ellison has agreed to provide a personal guarantee of more than $40bn for Paramount Skydance’s fight to gain control of Warner Bros Discovery, amid an extraordinary corporate battle over the entertainment giant.WBD urged shareholders to reject a $108.4bn hostile takeover bid from Paramount – which is controlled by the Ellisons – last week, having agreed to sell its storied movie studios, HBO cable network and streaming service to Netflix in a $82.7bn deal earlier this month.WBD also accused Paramount of having “consistently misled” investors by claiming its offer had a “full backstop” – a safety net to ensure it has sufficient funds – from the Ellisons

Paramount sweetens bid for Warner Brothers with Ellison guarantee; UK economy growth downgraded – as it happened

Media news: Paramount has improved its hostile takeover offer for Warner Brothers, as it wrestles with Netflix to take control of the movie studio, streaming and cable operator.Paramount is now offering a personal financial guarantee worth more than $40bn from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. This guarantee is designed to resolve doubts about the financing of Paramount’s offer.It is alaso beefing up its reverse break-up fee (payable if Paramount can’t get the deal past regulators) to $5.8bn, to match Netflix’s

UK consumers saving less as taxes squeeze incomes, data shows

UK consumers saved less money during the third quarter of the year as higher taxes squeezed disposable incomes.The households’ saving ratio – which estimates the percentage of disposable income Britons save rather than spend – dropped 0.7 percentage points to 9.5%, the Office for National Statistics said. That is the lowest rate for more than a year

Bosses at City & Guilds handed million-pound bonuses after training firm is privatised

A pair of City & Guilds executives have each been awarded million-pound bonuses and sizeable salary increases after the skills charity’s business was acquired by an international company in October, the Guardian understands.The payments – which are understood to include a £1.7m award for the chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and £1.2m to the finance director, Abid Ismail – have emerged at a sensitive time for the training and qualifications business, as it navigates its first few months in the private sector.Last week it was revealed how City & Guilds has embarked on a £22m cost-cutting drive and is shrinking its UK workforce after being sold by its charity owner to PeopleCert, an international certification company

US farmers say Trump’s $12bn package not enough to undo damage from tariffs

Donald Trump, having promised to “NEVER LET OUR FARMERS DOWN”, appeared to come through for them this month when he unveiled a $12bn aid package. Industry leaders say thousands of farms will still go bust this year.While the US president has vowed to increase domestic farm production, and even claimed this formed a “big part” of his plan to lower grocery prices for Americans, many US farmers are grappling with mounting financial issues – compounded by Trump’s agenda.Grain farmers, in particular, have been hit by trade disruptions caused by tariff hikes, and $11bn of the US Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will go to row-crop farmers. Trump’s trade war with China has hit soya bean farmers the hardest, as China bought 54% of US soya bean exports last year, according to the American Soybean Association

Bourbon maker Jim Beam stops production at Kentucky site for 2026

The maker of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey will halt production at its main site in Kentucky for all of 2026.The company said in a statement it would close its distillery in Clermont until it took the “opportunity to invest in site enhancements”.“We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026,” it said.It comes as whiskey distillers in the US face uncertainty around Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, as well as declining rates of alcohol consumption.In October, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) trade body said there was a record amount of bourbon in warehouses across the state – more than 16m barrels

Toy touts, random spins and frantic bidding: the murky side of live auction site Whatnot

Christmas is fast approaching, the shopping days are ebbing away, and in one corner of the internet, the rush to grab highly prized Pokémon trading cards is boiling over into a competitive frenzy.“Got any cheap Mew?” asks one buyer, deploying the frantic tone of an addict, albeit one craving a rectangle depicting a creature from the all-conquering Japanese media franchise.Yet more buyers are gathering for a “break” – a session in which they can bid for merchandise such as cards featuring Pokémon or elite footballers, drawn at random from a real or virtual box.This is the little-known but fast-growing empire of Whatnot, a “live auction” website and app startup that might best be described as a cross between eBay and the time-honoured cable TV shopping channel.Its stated mission, aside from profit, is to enable anyone to “turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce”

A meat-free Christmas: Chantelle Nicholson’s French mushroom pie, caramelised pear pud and more

Christmas for me began as a summertime celebration in New Zealand, with long days and warm evenings. Twenty-plus years on, the wintry cosiness of a UK Christmas has taken hold. Now, my essentials include perfectly crisp roast potatoes with plenty of gravy, and sprouts (non-negotiable). Even my young niece and nephew love them, which is a small victory I’m quietly proud of.Warm gougerès fresh from the oven are a pretty tricky thing to beat

10 of the best Australian sparkling wines for every budget

If my Spotify Wrapped is anything to go by, I’ve spent a suspicious amount of time with Phil Collins this year. While I’ve been listening to Another Day in Paradise, champagne prices have been climbing, and finding quaffable Australian traditional method sparkling under $30 is becoming more challenging, as local bubbles float up with their imported counterparts.Against all odds, there are still a few affordable, excellent Australian sparkling wines out there, along with many worth splashing out for. While I can’t promise these wines come with the same 80s flair as Phil Collins, they’re bottles I’ll be putting on high rotation over the festive season.1

Cosmopolitan Christmas: Stosie Madi’s French-African-Lebanese Christmas lunch – recipes

I was born in west Africa, and brought up between there, France and the UK in a French-Lebanese-British family. Unsurprisingly, then, our Christmas lunch was more than a bit diverse: my father always insisted on some British and Lebanese elements, while my mother contributed French dishes and technique; west African produce was also a must, because the house would be full of all nationalities, including our African family. Not only that, but our Christmas would invariably start with a guest list of about 20, and another 20 or so waifs and strays would always then turn up in need of feeding and watering. Today’s dishes were part of our regular seasonal festivities, as good in the sunshine as they are robust enough for a chilly British winter.Lebanese feasts always feature some form of pie, and sambouseks are tiny little ones with various fillings

From a showstopping pavlova to a £7 sherry: what top chefs bring to Christmas dinner

Looking for a great supermarket champagne? Need an easy recipe to take to a party? Or just some really good cheese… Yotam Ottolenghi, Giorgio Locatelli, Ixta Belfrage and others reveal the best snacks, drinks and desserts to make and buy for the big dayThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Christmas is a time of overwhelming choice, especially when it comes to food. So, to help you navigate the festive feasting, we asked 16 top chefs and cooks to tell us what they buy or make to give to the people brave enough to invite them over

A fresh take on wine pairings for Christmas dessert

It may well be that you already have a drink that you traditionally like to sip on after dinner (or lunch), and who am I to tell you that needs to change? Even so, I have a few ideas for drinks you might like to try instead.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Let’s start with the classics

How to eat, drink and be merry – while pregnant – at Christmas

For a festival with childbirth at its religious heart, it is perverse how much of our traditional Christmas spread isn’t recommended for pregnant women. Pre-pregnancy, this was not something I’d clocked. I was the soft cheese supremo, canape queen – at my happiest with a smoked trout blini in one hand and a champagne flute in the other. Then one day in October, two blue lines appeared on a test result and everything started to change: my body, my future and most pressingly my Christmas.The Guardian’s journalism is independent

Jeremy Lee’s recipe for almond, chocolate and prune tart

A recipe box was rifled through, but, alas, much like shopping for a present last minute, nothing leapt to the fore. Out of the corner of an eye I spied an old folder of pudding menus, all stained and tattered. A wonder at how this might have escaped notice was soon dispelled – unsurprising, really, given the usual state of my desk and shelves – and the page on which it fell open revealed the scribbles for a midwinter pudding menu. And, just like that, as if the scent rose from the page itself, came a memory of an almond, chocolate, walnut and prune tart being lifted from the oven, all mahogany hued and with a few bubbles bursting from the pieces of chocolate among the prunes peeking out.My appetite for almond tart has never waned; be it in a restaurant kitchen or at home, an almond tart is nigh-on inevitable

Creme brulee and chocolate bundt cake: Nicola Lamb’s Christmas crowdpleasers – recipes

Even though our to-do lists are longer and our homes busier than ever, there’s something about Christmas that gives us the extra chutzpah to bake. And not just any baking, but baking for a crowd. So, with this in mind, here are two crowdpleasing recipes – a rich hazelnut “Nutcracker” creme brulee and a resplendent chocolate fondant bundt cake – with a few make-ahead and shortcut secrets to give you a head start.Serve this rich, decadent dessert warm from the oven in the centre of the table, piled with ice-cream (and perhaps pouring cream, too – why not? It’s Christmas!). The batter can be made and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then baked from chilled; add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time if you do so, though

How to turn excess yoghurt into a silky-smooth dessert – recipe | Waste not

A delicious, gelatine-free panna cotta that saves yoghurt from the waste binI was really shocked to learn from environmental action NGO Wrap that, of the 51,000 tonnes of yoghurt that’s wasted in the UK every year, half of it is in unopened pots! The reason is our old arch enemy, date labels, which can cause confusion and trick us into thinking that perfectly safe yoghurt is not OK to eat. That’s one reason many supermarkets have scrapped use-by dates on the likes of yoghurt, but they still use best-before dates. Remember, if a product doesn’t have a use-by date, always do the sniff test before throwing it away.Today’s recipe is a light, gelatine-free version of panna cotta that’s instead set with agar agar (a type of seaweed), which gives it a soft-set texture. It’s refreshing, deliciously sour and simple to make

Benjamina Ebuehi’s pistachio and cherry meringue cake recipe | The sweet spot

I’m switching up my usual Christmas pavlova this year for a slightly different but equally delicious meringue-based dessert. Discs of pistachio meringue are baked until crisp, then layered with pistachio cream and cherry compote. The meringue softens a little under the cream as it sits, giving it a pleasingly chewy, cake-like texture. A very good option if you’re after a Christmas dessert without chocolate, alcohol or dried fruit.Thanks to the viral Dubai chocolate bar, pistachio creme is quite easy to come by in most supermarkets these days; it’s already sweetened and brings a lovely, soft green colour

Australian supermarket canned peaches taste test: the winner has an ‘absurdly low price’

In a blind taste test, Nicholas Jordan tastes 14 peaches in cans and plastic jars, in juice and syrup – but only one brand is worthy of decorating a pavlovaIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailBefore this taste test, it had probably been 20 years since I last ate a canned peach. But unlike most things that happened 20 years ago, I have a strong memory of the experience. Canned, tinned or any packaged peaches weren’t a staple of my childhood (neither were fresh peaches – I was too fussy to like much except plain carbs, sausages, apples and ice-cream). But somehow I remember not only eating tinned peaches but loving them, soft like panna cotta and as syrupy as a gulab jamun. Not quite the same as a fresh peach but delicious in a different way

All about the baby cheeses: how to curate a festive cheeseboard to remember

What should I serve on my Christmas cheeseboard?David, via emailIt will come as no surprise that Mathew Carver, founder of Pick & Cheese, The Cheese Barge and Rind, eats a lot of cheese, so in an effort to keep his festive selection interesting, he usually focuses on a specific area or region: “Last year, for instance, I spent Christmas in Scotland and served only local cheese.” Wales is up later this month. “I’m a creature of habit and tend always to go back to the cheeses I love, so this strategy makes me try new ones,” he explains – plus there’s nothing to stop you slipping in a classic such as comté in there too, because, well, Christmas.Unless you’re going for “the baller move” of just serving one glorious cheese, Bronwen Percival, technical director of Neal’s Yard Dairy, would punt for three or four “handsome wedges, rather than slivers of too many options”. After all, few have “the time or attention for a board that needs a lot of explaining”