Great British Railways flies the flag as logo goes back to the future

No matter how much train fares cost under Great British Railways, no one can accuse the government of wasting money on an expensive redesign.The logo, branding and livery for the impending renationalised and reformed railway will be unveiled by ministers at London Bridge on Tuesday. It is red, white and, yes, blue.The Department for Transport said passengers will get their “first look at the future” of Britain’s railways – a future that may ring a few bells. Designed in-house at the DfT, the logo is the GBR name in rail typeface accompanied by the double arrow symbol – what the DfT describes as a “nod to Britain’s proud railway heritage”, rather than a direct lift from British Rail

Why has Paramount Skydance launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery – and what happens now?

Warner Bros Discovery, the entertainment giant behind the storied Hollywood movie studios, HBO, CNN and an array of other media businesses, is at the center of one of the most of extraordinary corporate takeover fights in recent memory.After Netflix unveiled a $82.7bn deal on Friday to acquire WBD’s studio and HBO, David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance and son of tech billionaire Larry, announced a rival $108.4bn hostile bid to take over the entire company.Here’s what we know so far – and what could happen next

Paramount launches $108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is not giving up in its aggressive campaign to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), launching a hostile bid for the entertainment company despite the announcement on Friday that Netflix had agreed to buy its studio and streaming operation.Netflix’s bid for WBD’s storied Hollywood movie studio, as well as its premier HBO cable network, valued the company at $82.7bn. But it did not agree to acquire WBD’s traditional television assets, including the news network CNN and the Discovery channel.Paramount’s all-cash tender offer sent directly to shareholders on Monday morning would be for the entire company, and puts a total enterprise value of $108

Anglo American’s merger bonus was a pay wheeze too far | Nils Pratley

Shareholder rebellions over executive pay aren’t what they used to be. In the past 18 months, bumper incentive arrangements for the bosses have been approved at AstraZeneca, the London Stock Exchange Group and Smith & Nephew. All those companies have managed to argue successfully that, since the bulk of their revenues are made on the other side of the Atlantic, the executives should be paid like Americans.Perhaps it was such favourable votes (for the executives) that persuaded the remuneration committee of FTSE 100 miner Anglo American that its cheeky “resolution 2” within the proposed $50bn all-share merger with the Canadian group Teck Resources wouldn’t cause a fuss.This resolution would have created, in effect, a £8

Paramount Skydance makes $108.4bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery, challenging Netflix’s offer – as it happened

Newsflash: Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros Discovery, in an attempt to derail Netflix’s bid for the movie studio and streaming network.Paramount claims that its offer “provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion to WBD shareholders” than the Netflix offer, which has led to a backlash since it was announced last Friday.Paramount are offering to pay $30.00 per share in cash for Warner Brothers Discovery, which equates to an enterprise value of $108.4bn – ahead of Netflix’s offer which was worth $83bn

Bank of England cutting jobs as part of overhaul after critical Bernanke review

The Bank of England has said it is cutting jobs amid sweeping changes at Threadneedle Street after a highly critical review into its failure to forecast surging inflation.Under budget pressures as it responded to the report from the former US Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, the Bank has opened a voluntary scheme last week as part of an efficiency drive to find savings.The process, which will run until mid-January, with staff expected to leave in March, was first reported by Bloomberg. The Bank said it was “a mutually agreed, time-limited scheme for staff to choose to apply to leave.“We are now implementing a significant, multiyear transformation of our operations and this will condition our decisions

Divided Fed ponders US interest-rate cut at end of tumultuous year

A divided Federal Reserve meets this week to decide whether to cut interest rates, the US central bank’s last meeting before the end of a tumultuous year.The US central bank faces a number of unique challenges as it weighs its latest interest-rate decision.After the six-week government shutdown briefly shuttered the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency that collects economic data on prices and employment, Fed officials have less data to make their decision.Making matters more complicated is what appears to be growing internal division among the committee’s voting members, who are split on whether there should be a third rate cut before the end of the year. Rates currently sit at a range of 3

Anglo American drops plan to pay bosses millions in bonuses after $50bn Teck merger backlash

London-listed miner Anglo American has dropped plans to award its bosses multimillion-pound bonuses if its planned $50bn mega-merger with a Canadian rival goes through, after a backlash from its investors.The FTSE 100 miner had sought shareholder approval for a plan to award its chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, a share bonus worth £8.5m if the deal to buy Teck Resources to create a copper producing giant was completed.Other senior executives were also incentivised through the plan, which would have updated long-term awards made in 2024 and 2025 to hand them a minimum of 62.5% of share awards when the merger was completed

‘We’ll never be able to rebuild’: despair of ex-Vodafone franchisees and pressures on their mental health

Experiences raise questions about how telecoms firm treated small business owners, whose commission it cutWhen Adrian Howe drowned in August 2018, his family found some solace in the support of his longtime employer.The bond between the 58-year-old and Vodafone – the multinational mobile phone group for which Howe had worked for 20 years – was so tight that his funeral featured a wreath shaped like the company’s speech mark brand.Meanwhile, his widow was paid the equivalent of a death-in-service benefit, even though Howe had left the company weeks earlier. “I was reassured that Dad would be ‘reinstated’ back into Vodafone as if he had never actually left,” recalls daughter Kirsty-Anne Holmes. “He had [left] in order to open [Vodafone] stores as a franchise

Extracting hangovers from beer: inside Budweiser owner’s ‘nolo’ brewery in south Wales

A “de-alcoholisation facility” sounds like somewhere to check in after a boozy Christmas, but in the new annexe of a brewery in south Wales they are extracting hangovers from beer.With demand for no-alcohol and low-alcohol (“nolo”) beer taking off in the UK, the hi-tech brewing apparatus enables the plant at Magor, which produces more than 1bn pints of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois a year, to make the increasingly popular teetotal versions too.The new unit is part of AB InBev’s global brewing empire and at its official opening on Friday, Brian Perkins, whose wider management responsibilities include running the drinks group’s UK arm, acknowledged that in the early days alcohol-free beer tasted “lousy”.Alcohol gives beer a sweet, warming, full-bodied taste, as well as affecting how other flavour compounds evaporate, resulting in its distinctive flavour. So removing it and being left with a drink that still tastes good has been a huge challenge for the industry

‘Zombie’ electricity projects in Britain face axe to ease quicker grid connections

Britain’s energy system operator is pulling the plug on hundreds of electricity generation projects to clear a huge backlog that is stopping “shovel-ready” schemes from connecting to the power grid.Developers will be told on Monday whether their plans will be dismissed by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) – or whether they will be prioritised to connect by either the end of the decade or 2035.More than half of the energy projects in the queue will be removed to make way for about £40bn-worth of schemes considered the most likely to help meet the government’s goal to build a virtually zero-carbon power system by 2030.The milestone marks the end of a two-year process to clear the gridlock of laggard “zombie” projects awaiting connection that meant many workable proposals were facing a 15-year wait to plug into Britain’s transmission lines.Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, said: “We inherited a broken system where zombie projects were allowed to hold up grid connections for viable projects that will bring investment, jobs and economic growth

Keir Starmer to make Iceland boss Richard Walker a Labour peer

The formerly Conservative-supporting boss of the supermarket Iceland is to be made a Labour peer when the party appoints another 25 representatives to parliament’s upper house later this month.Keir Starmer will appoint Richard Walker to the House of Lords, the Guardian understands, the culmination of an unusual and rapid political transformation for someone named as a prospective Tory MP candidate a little over three years ago.It was only February this year when Iceland’s executive chair was rating Starmer’s government six out of 10, saying that Labour needed to focus on “inclusive growth and everyday growth” that could “trickle down in everyday people’s lives”.As a Labour peer, Walker will get the chance to push for policies close to his heart including closer relations with the EU and also for a more positive message on the economy.He took over the leadership of Iceland in 2023 after his father, Malcolm Walker, stepped down from the frozen foods chain he had founded in 1973

Christmas dinner in a restaurant or kitchen carnage at home?

Christmas dinner? At home or in a restaurant? It’s at this juncture of the year, with Christmas dinner hurtling towards us, that you may well find yourself muttering: “Well, we could always go out!” Who could blame any home cook for wanting to shove this great burden on to someone else’s back, especially since every culinary TV show, magazine article and advertising break since mid-November has hammered home what a colossal faff Christmas dinner actually is. No, it’s not just a slightly posh Sunday roast with a few more guests.Christmas dinner in the UK these days is more like a cross between dinner at Balmoral and 4 July at Mar-a-Lago. The table has to be heaving with holly-embossed crockery, the carrots must be bejewelled in star anise and Himalayan pink pepper, the turkey has to be brined in aromatic salt water and your roasties shaken in polenta and smothered in duck fat. If you’re the designated martyr organising proceedings, field-marshalling everything and cooking this tinsel-strewn palaver, it is common to try instead to divert it all to the local pub, where they’re doing “turkey and all the trimmings” for £79 a head (and including a cracker and a pre-dinner “glass of something sparkly”)

Christmas mixers: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for fire cider and spiced cocktail syrup

Despite being known for shaking a cocktail on Instagram now and again, very little will induce me to last-minute cocktailery if I am entertaining a serious number of guests. However, a good drinks recipe that you can prep in advance is a lovely thing to dazzle your friends with and to gift over Christmas. With or without alcohol, this pair look good and taste delicious, and should help everyone ease into the December festivities.This makes a delicious base to which you can add soda, juice, tonic or any other mixer for a thirst-quenching and delicious alternative to an alcoholic drink in the evening. Prep 15 minInfuse 1 week+ Makes 500ml bottleFor the fire cider2 jalapeños, finely sliced seeds and all1 large thumb of ginger, peeled and finely sliced2 branches fresh rosemary1 cinnamon stick3 heaped tbsp honey2 garlic cloves, peeled1 thumb turmeric, peeled and finely sliced (optional)350ml apple cider vinegarFor the cranberry fizz (serves 1)30ml fire cider 75ml cranberry juice1 wedge of orange Sparkling water, to topMix all the ingredients for the fire cider in a sterilised 500ml jar, then put in the fridge for at least week, and preferably three to extract the most goodness from the ingredients

Jamie Oliver to relaunch Italian restaurant chain in UK six years after collapse

Jamie Oliver is to revive his Jamie’s Italian restaurant chain in the UK, more than six years after the celebrity chef’s brand collapsed.Jamie’s Italian is poised to be relaunched in the spring, starting with a restaurant in London’s Leicester Square.Oliver’s return to the UK restaurant scene is being backed by Brava Hospitality Group – the private equity-backed group that runs the Prezzo chain – which intends to relaunch the brand across the UK.“As a chef, having the chance to return to the high street is incredibly important to me,” he said. “I will drive the menus, make sure the sourcing is right, the staff training, and ensure the look and feel of the restaurant is brought to life in the right way

Maximum protein, minimal carbs: why gym bros are flocking to Australia’s charcoal chicken shops

From El Jannah’s webpage dedicated to ‘health-conscious individuals’ to Habibi Chicken’s ‘Gym Bro’ pack, businesses are catering to the post-leg day crowdGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailPopularised in Australia by Balkan and Lebanese immigrants, charcoal chicken has long been part of our comfort-food canon. But recently, the humble chicken shop has had a renaissance – driven by fresh takes on the classics, the expansion of longstanding chains and a surge of protein-conscious gym goers.In June, charcoal chicken chain El Jannah, which has more than 50 stores, launched a page on its website dedicated to protein and macros – complete with recommendations for the best post-leg day order – a clear nod to the fitness crowd.In Wagga Wagga, Habibi Chicken has a “Gym Bro” pack – a half or quarter chicken, tabbouleh, pita and toum, no chips. Co-owner Mariam Rehman says it’s a top seller, designed to maximise protein and reduce carbs

Helen Goh’s recipe for edible Christmas baubles | The sweet spot

These edible baubles make a joyful addition to the Christmas table or tree. Soft, chewy, marshmallow-coated Rice Krispies are studded with pistachios and cranberries, chocolate and ginger, or peppermint candy cane; they’re as fun to make as they are to eat, and they make a perfect little gift. To add a ribbon for hanging, cut small lengths of ribbon, then loop and knot the ends. Push the knotted end gently into the top of each ball while it’s still pliable, then reshape around it, so it holds the knot securely as it sets. Alternatively, wrap each bauble in cellophane, then gather at the top and tie with a ribbon, leaving a long loop for hanging

A gentle trade in edible gifts binds communities together

A guest at our restaurant recently told me about her mother’s seasonal side hustle, though no one would have dared call it that out loud: in the weeks before Christmas, she became a quiet merchant of puddings. The proper kind of pudding, too: all dense but not leaden, heavy with prunes and warm with careful spicing.As December crept in, forgotten cousins and semi-estranged uncles seemed to find reasons to drop by her place. She never advertised the fact, of course, but everyone knew that if you came bearing even a modest offering, you might just leave with a pudding wrapped in waxed paper and still warm with possibility. The exchanges were subtle

Chocolate tart and zabaglione: Angela Hartnett’s easy make-ahead Christmas desserts – recipes

When you’re the cook of the house, you spend quite enough time in the kitchen on Christmas Day as it is. And, after those time-consuming nibbles, the smoked salmon starter and the turkey-with-all-the-trimmings main event, the last thing you want is a pudding that demands even more hands-on time at the culinary coalface. For me, the main requirement of any Christmas dessert is that it can be made well in advance, not least because, by the time the pudding stage comes around, I’ll be completely knackered and more than ready to put up my feet and finally relax (or, more likely, fall asleep on the sofa).Prep 15 minRest 3 hr+Cook 40 minServes 6-8For the sweet pastry500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 150g caster sugar 250g cold butter, diced2-3 eggs, lightly beatenFor the filling640g 70%-cocoa dark chocolate, broken into small pieces800ml double cream 64g glucose syrup 64g cold butter, cubed 100g roasted hazelnuts, lightly choppedPut the flour and sugar in a large bowl, stir to combine, then add the diced butter and work it in with your fingertips until the mix takes on the consistency of rough breadcrumbs. Add two of the beaten eggs, then mix until the dough comes together into a ball; if need be, add the third beaten egg, but take great care not to overwork the dough

I called my recipe book Sabzi – vegetables. But the name was trademarked. And my legal ordeal began

Vegetables, in my experience, rarely cause controversy. Yet last month I found myself in the middle of a legal storm over who gets to own the word sabzi – the Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Dari and Pashto word for cooked veg or fresh greens. It was a story as absurd as it was stressful, a chain of delis threatened me with legal action over the title of a book I had spent years creating. But what began as a personal legal headache soon morphed into something bigger, a story about how power and privilege still dominate conversations about cultural ownership in the UK.When the email first landed in my inbox, I assumed it must be a wind-up

Goodbye avocado, hello ssamjang: here is the new posh nosh

Name: Posh nosh.Age: We’re talking new food trends here, so – new.Avocado? Hummus? Old news, keep up!Who with? The Joneses? Only if you make that “with whom”, and if the Joneses shop at Waitrose. Every year the famously upmarket supermarket publishes a report that gives some indication of middle-class eating trends.And? No one’s talking about avocados or hummus any more

Choice taste test: the best Australian supermarket Christmas ham is also ‘one of the cheapest’

Consumer advocacy group Choice has found when it comes to supermarket Christmas hams, pork price is not necessarily an indicator of quality.In a blind taste test of 12 Christmas hams from Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths, the best and worst-ranked pork products retail at almost identical prices.The best-scoring product was the Coles Christmas Beechwood Smoked Half Leg Ham, with a price per unit of $8/kg. Judges awarded it a score of 80% and described it as a “good overall ham” for its “mild but pleasant” aroma with “a nice balance between sweet and smoky flavours”.The worst-performing product, the Aldi Festive Selection Australian Half Leg Ham On-The-Bone, is similarly priced at $7

How to turn excess nuts and seeds into a barnstoming festive pudding – recipe | Waste not

Last Christmas we visited my in-laws in Cape Town, where, at over 30C, a traditional Christmas pudding just didn’t feel quite right. But my mother-in-law and her friend created the most delicious feast: a South African braai (barbecue) followed by an incredible ice-cream Christmas pudding made by mashing vanilla ice-cream with a mix of tutti frutti, candied peel, raisins and cherries. This semifreddo is a take on that dessert: a light frozen custard that still carries all the festive flavours.Tutti frutti semifreddo Christmas puddingWe stopped using clingfilm in our kitchen 15 years ago now, because it’s not easily recycled and because of health concerns about the possible transfer of microplastics into our food. Most semifreddo recipes tell you to line the freezer container with clingfilm, but I suggest using no liner at all, or silicone-free, unbleached baking paper instead

The great Christmas taste test: I tried seven fast food offerings. Which will make me feel festive?

From a cranberry katsu curry to a dozen thickly glazed doughnuts, the biggest chains are getting Christmassy. I found out which seasonal meals will leave you carolling and carousing – and which will leave you coldBy now, most major fast food outlets will have launched their festive special. There is no established framework for what “festive” means, and no recognised metrics of Christmassyness. It could be indicated by a lurid green/angry red colour in a place you’re not expecting it (McDonald’s Grumble Pie, I’m looking at you); or an existing thing, made into a more seasonal shape, or the introduction of a quintessential Christmas ingredient, such as a brussels sprout (though seriously, food giants, get over yourself if you think it’s cinnamon – this is an autumn spice).I am not here to critique the essentials of fast food (I love it)