Europe’s economy is geared towards a disappearing world, says ECB’s Lagarde

Europe’s economy is “geared towards a world that is gradually disappearing”, according to a warning from Christine Lagarde that the EU needs reforms to spur growth.The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) said the EU’s dependence on international trade had left it vulnerable, as major partners had turned away from the trade that made the bloc’s exporters wealthy.Donald Trump has led a global turn towards protectionism and against globalisation, with steep tariffs imposed on almost every trading partner. At the same time, China has used its dominance of production of certain critical materials and products to exert pressure.Lagarde argued that Europe was vulnerable because of a “dependency on third countries for our security and the supply of critical raw materials”

UK government borrows more than expected in setback before budget

Rachel Reeves was urged to use next week’s budget to create significantly more headroom against her fiscal rules, after official figures showed the UK government borrowed almost £10bn more than forecast in the year to October.In the final snapshot of the public finances before the chancellor’s crunch budget, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing – the difference between public spending and income – was £17.4bn last month.That was lower than the same month last year, but still the third-highest October deficit on record.In the fiscal year so far, borrowing was running at £116

Wetherspoon to open first pub in Spain – offering garlic prawns and beer from 6am

Wetherspoon’s is to open its first pub outside the UK and Ireland, serving alcohol from 6am every day to sun-seeking Britons waiting for their plane in the departure lounge at Alicante airport.The opening in Spain, scheduled for January, will be the first foray on to continental European soil for the pub chain, which said it expects to pursue more footholds on the continent in the coming years.The expansion into mainland Europe comes nearly a decade after the outspoken Wetherspoon’s founder and chair, Tim Martin, celebrated Britain’s vote to leave the EU, a policy he vocally backed.The airport pub, named Castell de Santa Bàrbera after a culturally significant medieval coastal fortress in Alicante, expects to cater to holidaymakers travelling home from Spain’s Costa Blanca tourist hotspot.Alongside its usual dining fare, such as fry-ups, burgers and pizzas, the departure lounge pub will also serve traditional local dishes such as garlic prawns and Spanish omelette

Asos turns to AI stylists to win back shoppers after sales slide 12%

Asos has turned to online stylists powered by artificial intelligence as it attempts to win back customers and reverse a fall in sales.The online fashion retailer said sales had fallen 12% in the year to 31 August, and City analysts predicted another year of declining sales ahead.The company is testing “Styled for You”, which uses AI trained on its database of 100,000 curated outfits to suggest items that could go together with those a shopper has already bought or has searched.If a shopper signed up to its loyalty programme is seeking advice on buying a dress, for example, the AI stylist on the Asos app may suggest how the item can be complemented with a jacket and heels or given a more casual look with a sweater and trainers.The choices offered up are picked from Asos ranges based on consumer trends, and the shopper’s history and preferences are expressed when they sign up to its app

UK retail sales drop unexpectedly as shoppers await Black Friday and budget

Sales at UK retailers slumped unexpectedly last month as shoppers waited for Black Friday deals, and uncertainty over the upcoming budget dampened consumer confidence.Retail sales fell 1.1% month on month in October, the first fall since May, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists had been expecting sales growth to be flat on the previous month.Supermarkets, clothing stores and online mail order companies suffered sales declines, which some retailers said was due to consumers delaying purchases in the run-up to the annual Black Friday sales, according to the ONS

AI bubble fears return as Wall Street falls back from short-lived rally

Fears of a growing bubble around the artificial intelligence frenzy resurfaced on Thursday as leading US stock markets fell, less than 24 hours after strong results from the chipmaker Nvidia sparked a rally.Wall Street initially rose after Nvidia, the world’s largest public company, reassured investors of strong demand for its advanced datacenter chips. But the relief dissipated, and technology stocks at the heart of the AI boom came under pressure.The benchmark S&P 500 closed down 1.6%, and the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0

Serious Fraud Office arrests two men over suspected £20m crypto fraud

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has arrested two men as it launched an investigation into a suspected £20m cryptocurrency fraud.The law enforcement agency raided two sites in West Yorkshire and London as it appealed for information about $28m (£21.4m) invested into a cryptocurrency scheme called Basis Markets.Two men, one in his 30s and another in his 40s, were arrested on suspicion of multiple fraud and money-laundering offences, the agency said.Basis Markets, which the SFO described as a “suspected fraudulent scheme” and is not a company, is said to have raised millions of pounds via two public fundraisers in November and December 2021, stating it would use the cash to create a “crypto hedge fund”

Industry can’t wait any longer for a fix to its energy crisis. Ministers should get a move on | Nils Pratley

In the long list of budget submissions from the business world, here’s one the chancellor is probably disinclined to smile upon.Make UK, the body representing manufacturers, would like the government to expand its energy support scheme – the one unveiled in June as part of the shiny new industrial strategy – from 7,000 firms to 115,000 businesses. And it would like the promised savings in electricity bills to be backdated to April this year; as scheduled, the so-called British industrial competitiveness scheme, or BICS, is due to arrive only in April 2027.One doubts Rachel Reeves will go there for three reasons. First, these things never get backdated

‘No contract, no coffee’: what to know about the Starbucks workers’ strike in 65 US cities

Unionized Starbucks workers are threatening to expand a US strike against the world’s biggest coffee chain into “the largest and longest” in the company’s history – and urging customers to steer clear.Starbucks has said the vast majority of its cafes remain open, and expressed disappointment that Starbucks Workers United launched the strike.Negotiations over the first ever union contract for Starbucks workers in the US broke down in recent months. Both sides have blamed the other.Prominent politicians including Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, have backed the striking workers

UK is worst-performing market for JD Sports as youth unemployment hits sales

Unemployment among young people in the UK is hitting sales growth and profits at JD Sports, the owner of the trainer and sportwear chain has said, amid warnings about the high number of under-25s not in work, education or training.The UK was the worst-performing market for JD Group, which also owns Blacks, Go Outdoors and a number of US and European sports chains.Régis Schultz, the chief executive, said JD was experiencing “pressures on our core customer demographic, including rising unemployment levels, as well as near-term volatility around consumer sentiment”.His comments came as official figures on Thursday showed the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) remains stubbornly close to the highest level in a decade.Despite a modest decline in the three months to September to 946,000, down from 948,000 in the previous quarter, campaigners said the figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Britain was at risk of failing a whole generation of young people

US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, after shock losses in August – as it happened

Newsflash: The US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, as America’s jobs market picked up after a summer lull.September’s official employment report, delayed since the start of October by the US government shutdown, shows that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 119,000 in September.That’s more than twice as many jobs as expected, thanks to gains in health care, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. Job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing and in federal government, though.But there’s bad news too

Asda to raise £568m in store sell-off as sales continue to fall

Asda is selling off 24 stores and a distribution centre – and leasing them back – to raise £568m in what has been called a “sign of weakness” as sales at the heavily indebted retailer continue to fall.The Leeds-based supermarket group, which is expected to release its quarterly results next week, has continued to lose market share to rivals as sales have gone backwards, despite an effort to win over shoppers with price cuts and improved stores.Sales fell 3.9% in the three months to 2 November, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar), which indicated a one percentage point drop in market share from a year before.Asda’s parent group slumped to a near-£600m loss last year as sales fell and the cost of servicing its debt pile increased

Tell us about a recipe that has stood the test of time

Recipes carry stories, and often when they have been passed down from generation to generation, these tales have a chapter added to them each time they are made. Family members concoct elaborate treats and seasoning mixes, which in some cases travel across oceans to end up on our dinner tables.We would like to hear about the recipes that have stood the test of time for you, and never fail to impress. Who first made it for you? Did you stick to the recipe that was passed down or have you improvised? What are the stories you associate with your favourite family recipe?Let us know and we will feature some of the best in Feast.Tell us about the recipe that has been handed down through generations in the form below

Alice Zaslavsky’s recipe for garlic red peppers with a creamy white bean dip, AKA papula

This week, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on an interview I recorded with legendary Australian cheesemaker Richard Thomas, the inventor of an ingredient you may not even realise is Australian: marinated feta, AKA “Persian fetta”. An unexpected stop on a trip to Iran in the 1970s gifted Thomas a chance meeting with a Persian doctor and his breakfast: fresh labneh with soft, still-warm lavash. It was a revelation. On his return, Thomas got to work creating a fresh cheese from goat’s milk (similar to chèvre) and from cow’s milk, marinated and preserved in oil, with an extra “t” to avert confusion with the Greek-style feta, that’s still being utilised by cooks and chefs right across the world.Persian fetta is a shapeshifter, capable of remaining both firm and steadfast when crumbled across the top of a platter or salad, and of yielding to a soft, velvety cream, enhancing all manner of dishes from pasta to pesto to whipped dips and schmears – and, of course, as a topping for that Aussie cafe staple, avocado toast

How to turn hazelnuts into a brilliant flour for cakes – recipe | Waste not

Each recipe in my cookbook Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet includes optional whole food ingredients such as rapadura sugar, emmer wheat and flaxseeds to boost nutrients and flavour, while also keeping things adaptable so you can use up what you already have in the cupboards. Writing a plant-based cookbook taught me new ways to save waste, and confirmed my belief that zero-waste cooking is whole food cooking. Aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas or other beans), for example, is a powerful emulsifier that can replace eggs, especially when whisked with ground flaxseeds or chia. It’s a brilliant way of turning what we’d usually pour down the sink into cakes with remarkable lift and texture.When I was writing the dessert chapter of my cookbook, I wanted every recipe to offer new ways of making cakes more nourishing

Fish, cheese or chicken? Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for warming winter pies

When the temperature takes a nosedive, few things compete with a just-baked pie. Don’t be daunted by social media images of perfect, artistic ones; a pie will taste just as good whether it’s rustically homespun or exactingly decorated and carved. Ultimately, what is more important is the integrity of the ingredients (both the casing and the filling). As pastry or potatoes are such a large part of the equation, invest in the best, and make sure puff pastry is all butter and filo is generously lubricated with melted butter. And, if you’re serving your pie with mash, you want it lump-free, properly seasoned and enriched with butter and cream

I’m vegetarian, he’s a carnivore: what can I cook that we’ll both like? | Kitchen aide

I’m a lifelong vegetarian, but my boyfriend is a dedicated carnivore. How can I cook to please us both? Victoria, by email “I have three words for you, Victoria,” says Anna Ansari, author of Silk Roads, who grew up in a predominantly vegetarian household: “Di si xian.” Typical of northern China, this stir-fry of aubergine, potato and peppers (otherwise known as the “three treasures”) is laced with soy, Shoaxing wine, white pepper, sugar, cornflour and, in Ansari’s case, doubanjiang. She also adds tofu (the fourth treasure, if you will) for “a rounded, one-pot/wok dinner” to eat with steamed rice. “It reminds me of being a teenager in Beijing, far from home and in need of warmth and comfort,” she says, and we could all do with some of that right now

José Pizarro’s recipe for braised lamb and kale cazuela with beans

My mum, Isabel, has always cooked slowly. Life on the family farm was busy, so a pot of lamb would often be bubbling away while she worked and, by the time we all sat down for lunch, the whole house smelled incredible. November takes me straight back there. It is the month for food that warms you, dishes made to sit in the centre of the table and to bring everyone close. Lamb shoulder loves a slow cook, turning soft and rich, especially when cooked with alubias blancas (white beans) to soak up the sauce, while a good splash of oloroso gives it a deeper, rounder flavour than any red wine ever could

Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for roast hake with caper anchovy butter | Quick and easy

I love this one-tray dinner; it feels elegant but easy, and worthy of both a midweek meal and if you are entertaining. The punchy anchovy and garlic butter does all the hard work, and gives the impression of more effort than was actually exerted. But what to serve it with, I hear you ask? Well, it wouldn’t be out of place with creamy mashed potato, buttery polenta or a salad. Just make sure to baste the fish halfway through cooking, to get all the flavour and juices back into it.Prep 10 min Cook 30 min Serves 42 garlic cloves, peeled5 anchovies 4 tbsp capers ½ bunch chives 1 lemon 90g unsalted butter, cut into cubesSea salt and black pepper250g sweet heart cabbage, or other greens2 onions, peeled and halved2 tbsp olive oil4 150g hake or cod fillets, skinned and, if need be, pin-bonedHeat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7

Sami Tamimi’s recipes for prawn and tomato stew with fregola, and herby quick-pickled vegetable salad

Hearty and warming, this prawn and tomato stew with fregola is a comforting bowl, with the fresh pesto brightening every bite. It pairs beautifully with a crisp, fragrant, quick-pickled vegetable salad; the freshness cuts through the richness of the stew perfectly. I’ve always loved leafy, lively salads, and I could honestly eat one with every meal, every day.Prep 20 min Cook 50 min Serves 4220g cherry tomatoes 60ml olive oil 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped (180g)3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (15g)1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all1½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar6 cardamom pods, lightly bashed 15g dill, finely chopped2 tsp tomato paste400g tinned chopped tomatoes Salt and black pepper 120g fregola 400g frozen king prawns, defrosted, or fresh, peeled and deveinedFor the coriander pesto20g coriander, roughly chopped1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all35g pine nuts, lightly toasted 3 tbsp olive oil1 lemon, zest finely grated to get 1½ tsp, then cut into wedges, to servePut a large saute pan on a high heat. Toss the tomatoes with a teaspoon of oil and, once the pan is very hot, add the tomatoes and cook, shaking the pan a few times, for about five minutes, until blistered and deeply charred all over

How to make risotto alla milanese – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Risotto alla milanese is, like the city it calls home, elegantly simple, but very rich. The saffron that gives the dish its striking colour is rightly expensive (it takes about 150 flowers to produce a mere gram), but you don’t need much and, though it’s often served alongside osso buco, I think it makes a fine meal on its own with a bitter-leaf salad.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Serves 41 onion 75g butter, or 15g butter plus 60g bone marrow350g risotto rice (carnaroli, arborio, vialone nano)1 litre beef stock, or chicken or vegetable stock75ml dry white wine (see step 4)1 level tsp saffron threads75g finely grated parmesan, or grana padano or a vegetarian alternativePeel and finely chop the onion; the aim is for it almost to disappear into the dish, rather than remaining as distinct chunks, so take your time over doing this (you could substitute two shallots, if you prefer – their sweetness works particularly well with the flavour of the wine and cheese).Melt a generous tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan set over a medium-low heat, then fry the chopped onion until soft, golden and limp, but not coloured.Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the rice and fry, stirring constantly, until the grains are hot and starting to turn translucent around their edges

2210 By Natty Can Cook, London SE24: ‘Much more than just posh jerk chicken at fancy prices’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

There’s an attention to detail in every dish that makes this place more than fit for a special occasionIt’s 6pm in Herne Hill, south-east London, and I’ve popped out for some Caribbean food wearing fancy athleisure wear. Yoga trousers and a smart hoodie, but PE kit nonetheless. And, once I arrive at 2210 By Natty Can Cook, I realise I am severely underdressed.When chef Nathaniel Mortley announced that he was opening a restaurant that aimed to celebrate Caribbean culture “in style” and to win a Michelin star, his loyal Instagram following, as well as their families and friends, took the brief and dressed accordingly. As fancily plated ackee and saltfish spring rolls passed by, as well as a lot of rum punch, I rustled in my handbag for some bigger earrings and more makeup

‘Simple, well-crafted and excellent’: supermarket chutneys, tasted and rated | The food filter

Our resident taster dipped, spread and dolloped his way through 10 chutneys in time for Christmas, so you don’t get in a pickle choosing one for yourself The fair price for 14 everyday items, from cleaning spray to olive oilThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Chutney is a heritage recipe that’s been largely unchanged for a century, and some of the best versions are the simplest and most traditional. That said, even when it’s made on an industrial scale, chutney usually features just fruit, sugar, vinegar and perhaps some pectin

It’s not all about roasting on an open fire – there’s so much more you can do with chestnuts

If I’d ever spared a thought for how chestnuts – the sweet, edible kind, not the combative horsey sort – were harvested, I would probably have conjured rosy-cheeked peasants bent low in ancient forests and filling rough-hewn hessian sacks by hand. Back-breaking labour, sure, but so picturesque!I was delighted, therefore, while on a writing retreat in Umbria last month, to get the opportunity to watch an elderly couple manoeuvre a giant vacuum around their haphazard orchard, followed by their furious sheepdog. The fallen crop was sucked into a giant fan that spat their bristly jackets back out on to the ground, and the nuts then went to be sorted by other family members on a conveyor belt in the barn – the good ones to be sold in the shell, the less perfect specimens swiftly dropped into a bucket for processing.Later in the week, a lorry turned up in the village square to pick up bags from other small local producers, and that evening I roasted a pan of chestnuts on the fire with new appreciation, while loudly bemoaning the disappearance from the streets of London of the chestnut sellers of my childhood (though this makes me sound positively Dickensian, I can confirm that I’m talking about this century. Note also that Nigel Slater is less starry-eyed on the subject