Sky owner Comcast in talks to buy ITV’s broadcasting arm for about £2bn

The parent company of Sky is in talks to buy ITV’s broadcasting business for about £2bn, in a move that would upend the British television landscape.The US media company Comcast, which owns assets including Universal Studios and bought Rupert Murdoch’s Sky for £30bn in 2018, is in talks to buy ITV’s broadcasting arm, which includes its TV channels and streaming service ITVX.A deal would not involve its production arm ITV Studios – the maker of shows including Love Island, I’m a Celebrity and the hit drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office – which has been the subject of separate takeover talks.It comes two decades after James Murdoch made an audacious move to become the biggest shareholder in the UK’s largest commercial free-to-air broadcaster. Rupert’s youngest son acquired a 17

US markets tumble amid Wall Street concern over job losses and AI

Fears that the US economy is slowing, with firms shedding jobs and imposing hiring freezes, sent Wall Street tumbling on Thursday.The S&P 500 index of leading firms was down 1.1% as investors also highlighted concerns about the potential for a slump in the value of businesses that have benefited from huge investments in artificial intelligence. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%

British Airways to offer free fast onboard wifi to all after Starlink deal

Passengers on British Airways flights will be able to access fast wifi onboard at no cost after the airline’s parent company signed a deal with Elon Musk’s satellite company.The carrier said the free “reliable and lightning-fast” wifi from Starlink would be available to customers flying in economy, business or first class from next month.BA’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), said it had reached agreement with Starlink to provide internet connectivity on more than 500 aircraft across its carriers, which also include Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling.BA said the rollout of the technology was part of a £7bn “transformation” and would provide lag-free internet access to passengers from boarding to landing, even when they are flying over oceans or remote regions. Passengers will be able to connect multiple devices and they will not need a special login

Ignore the howls around pay-per-mile, chancellor. We can’t afford not to tax electric cars

If you want a document to give you sleepless nights, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s biennial Fiscal Risks and Sustainability report is a go-to publication. This is the one that looks to the horizon and covers everything from demographic trends to state pension promises to the climate crisis.The headline finding in this July’s version was a true jaw-dropper. The UK’s public finances are on an unsustainable long-term trajectory because government debt would rise to a remarkable 270% of GDP by the early 2070s – up from almost 100% today – if current policies were left unchanged.The “if nothing changes” qualification is important because some of the risks to the public finances are so blindingly obvious – and have been for ages – that it is astonishing successive governments have ignored them

Bank of England opens door to December rate cut as it signals inflation has peaked

The Bank of England has opened the door to a December interest rate cut after signalling that inflation had peaked, as it kept borrowing costs unchanged before Rachel Reeves’s make-or-break budget.With less than three weeks before the chancellor’s tax and spending statement, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a narrow five-four majority to keep borrowing costs unchanged for a second consecutive meeting.However, City economists said the knife-edge decision and the Bank’s latest predictions for a fall in inflation from 3.8% would pave the way for the Bank to cut rates after the budget.Holding the casting vote, Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said he wanted to “wait and see” whether inflationary pressures would continue to fade and if Reeves’s budget would have an impact

Bank of England says UK inflation has peaked after leaving rates at 4%; US job cuts jump as firms turn to AI – as it happened

Newsflash: The Bank of England believes the recent rise in UK inflation is over.Announcing today’s decision to leave interest rates on hold, the Bank declares “CPI inflation is judged to have peaked.”UK inflation has been recorded at 3.8% in July, August and September – and the Bank is expressing confidence that the process of ‘disinflation’ isn’t over.Its latest Monetary Policy Report, just released, predicts that inflation is likely to fall to close to 3% early next year before gradually returning towards to the 2% target over the subsequent year

Sainsbury’s says shoppers are delaying spending in run-up to budget

The boss of Sainsbury’s has urged Rachel Reeves not to fuel inflation with tax rises on retailers and their suppliers and says shoppers are delaying spending in the lead-up to her budget later this month.Simon Roberts, the chief executive of the UK’s second biggest supermarket, which also owns Argos and Habitat, said his customers were “going to be cautious on discretionary spending, not least because of uncertainty out there and [household] budgets are tight”.He said Argos had launched its deals for the Black Friday promotional event earlier than last year to try to tempt out shoppers as it was seeing “some delayed spend” while households waited to see if they would have to pay more tax.Roberts said it was not clear if food price inflation had peaked, adding: “The inflationary pressures on cost base have been significant this year … What we don’t want to see [in the budget] is further impacts that may cause further inflation.“No one wants to see inflation go any higher

Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates at 4% is not all doom and gloom

There were reasons to be cheerful contained within the Bank of England’s latest verdict on the outlook for the UK economy, released alongside its decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 4%.Inflation, it said, had peaked at 3.8% and was expected to fall steadily back to the Bank’s 2% target sometime in 2027. That is an improvement on its thinking in August (the last time it published forecasts), when inflation was expected to peak at 4%.As inflation falls, economic growth picks up from 1

NHS won’t get cutting-edge drugs unless it pays more, says AstraZeneca boss

The boss of AstraZeneca has said that unless the UK ramps up spending on new drugs, it could be on a trajectory to only being able to afford cheap, generic medicines rather than cutting-edge treatments.Pascal Soriot made the remarks amid an acrimonious standoff between the pharmaceutical industry and the government over drug pricing, which has been blamed for drugmakers pausing or ditching nearly £2bn of investments in the UK this year.Britain has been heavily criticised by pharma executives, as well as high-profile scientists such as Sir John Bell, for not spending more on medicines, putting it out of line with other countries.“To say that countries will only be able to afford generics [drugs] is only an extreme case,” Soriot said on Thursday, emphasising that “it’s not the case today of course, but if things continue to deteriorate the way they do … it is actually possible that it happens over time, if the ongoing trend that has been in place for 15-20 years doesn’t change.”Soriot noted that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) cost-effectiveness thresholds for new drugs had not changed for two decades, “and we’ve had a lot of inflation in the last five years”

Banks poised to escape tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s budget

The chancellor has decided against increasing taxes on banks in this month’s budget, according to reports, which sent UK bank shares higher on Thursday.Shares in the high street banks NatWest and Lloyds rose by about 2%, putting them among the top risers on London’s FTSE 100.Despite speculation in the run-up to the 26 November budget, Rachel Reeves has reportedly told colleagues that she does not intend to impose further taxes on the UK banking sector, as she wants it to remain competitive to help support economic growth, according to the Financial Times.Banks currently pay a corporation tax rate of 28%, which includes a 3% surcharge on top of the standard corporation tax rate of 25%.Fresh calls for a new tax raid on lenders were raised in August in a paper by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, which calculated such a move could raise as much as £8bn

Illegal tobacco burns $3.3bn hole in Australia’s tax revenue, crime agency says

The illegal tobacco market has left a $3.3bn hole in the federal government’s finances, with Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency warning organised crime’s dominance of the market is continuing to grow.The Australian Taxation Office believes the illegal trade now accounts for one in five tobacco sales, which has led to reduced tax revenues despite the government’s excise on legal cigarettes reaching almost $30 for a pack of 20 sticks in September. The excise has increased almost eightfold since 2006, when it was $4.65

Pollution from Ineos’s Antwerp plastic plant ‘could cause more deaths than jobs created’

The deaths from pollution caused by Europe’s biggest plastic plant, which is being built in Antwerp, will outstrip the number of permanent jobs it will create, lawyers will argue in a court challenge issued on Thursday.In documents submitted to the court, research suggests the air pollution from Ineos’s €4bn petrochemical plant would cause 410 deaths once operational, compared with the 300 permanent jobs the company says will be created.Lawyers, community members and financial experts are taking court action in Belgium’s council for permit disputes to stop the plastics facility.The chemical plant would transform ethane from fracked US shale gas into ethylene – the raw material used to make plastic – in a process called “cracking”. The plant, called Project One, is designed to turbocharge European plastic production

How to turn the dregs of a tin of golden syrup into a delectable toffee sauce – recipe | Waste not

Lyle’s golden syrup comes in the most ornate and nostalgic of tins, but the syrup inside often proves almost impossible to extract entirely. Turn what might otherwise be wasted into this luxurious toffee sauce to savour on Bonfire Night, especially when drizzled generously over cinnamon baked apples with scoops of vanilla ice-cream.Apples transform beautifully when baked, turning this hyper-seasonal fruit into a super-simple yet decadent dessert. I prefer cox or braeburn varieties (ie, something not too large), so you can serve one apple per person.Gordon Ramsay’s recipes are my go-to for traditional techniques that deliver reliable results

Mirepoix kimchi and vegetarian umami chilli: Kenji Morimoto’s recipes for cooking with homemade ferments

Cooking with ferments brings a tremendous amount of flavour to whatever you’re making, and it’s a great way to showcase how an ingredient evolves through the application of heat. The idea of combining a Korean preservation method with a French technique is exactly what I love about creativity in the kitchen. This mirepoix kimchi is not just a fun ferment to dot on savoury oatmeal or eat alongside cheese, but it also acts as the backbone for a plant-based, umami-filled chilli.This versatile, umami-rich paste is a twist on the classic mirepoix and can be used to add a hit of flavour to everything from soups to marinades, or even enjoyed as is.Prep 10 min Ferment 2 weeks+ Makes 500ml jar150g carrot 150g white onion 150g celery 13½g salt (or 3% of the total weight of the first three ingredients)½ tbsp red miso, or fish sauce½ tbsp sugar 15g gochugaru chilli flakesRoughly chop the vegetables (there is no need to peel the carrots if they have been rinsed), then put them in a food processor

The many uses of leftover chutney, from breakfast to soups and glazes | Kitchen aide

Every Christmas I’m given chutney, and I still have four barely used jars. What to do with them before the next lot arrive? Christine, OxfordThis sounds like a job for Claire Dinhut, author of The Condiment Book, who also goes by the moniker Condiment Claire. She would approach this meal by meal, starting with breakfast. “It might not seem so obvious,” she says, “but I put Branston pickle on my avocado toast. If you think about it, you often add acidity, which is usually lemon, but chutney is punchy and has that same tang, as well as a bit of texture

Divine dining: Australian church restaurants claim their own devout followings

At these places of worship, secular and churchgoing diners place their orders for coffee, curry puffs and za’atar pastries, served with kindnessGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOn Sunday mornings, thousands stream through Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral, a Lebanese Maronite Catholic church in Sydney’s western suburbs. In between back-to-back mass services, worshippers rush to its onsite cafe, Five Loaves.“Sunday is our busiest day,” says Yasmin Salim, who has fronted the counter for eight years. Lines are long and diners’ appetites are large: a single customer might ask for 10 pizzas and 10 pastries flavoured with za’atar, the Middle Eastern herb mix. “It’s like at Maccas, everyone wants their french fries,” says Salim

How to make rotis – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

These staple north Indian flatbreads come in a variety of forms – thinner, softer versions cooked on a flat tawa are also known as chapatis, while phulkas employ the same dough, but are held over a flame until they puff like a balloon. Either way, they’re great for scooping up meat and vegetables, or for mopping up sauce. Years of practice makes perfect, but this recipe is a good place to start.Prep 25 min Rest 30 min Cook 15 min Makes 8165g atta (chapati) flour, plus extra for dusting (see step 1)¼ tsp fine salt 1 tsp neutral oil Melted ghee or butter, to serve (optional)If you can’t find atta flour, which is a flavourful, very finely milled wholemeal flour that can be found in south Asian specialists and larger supermarkets, food writer Roopa Gulati recommends using a 50:50 mixture of plain flour and wholemeal flour instead. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, whisk briefly, then make a well in the middle

Pancakes, cheesecakes, dips, breads, mousses and … ice-cream? 17 mostly delicious ways with cottage cheese

High in protein, low in fat, the 70s ‘superfood’ is having another moment. Its fans say you can do almost anything with it. But should you?When I heard that cottage cheese was experiencing some kind of renaissance, my first thought was: “This is what comes of complacency.” I’d thought of cottage cheese as being safely extinct, but per capita consumption statistics show that, while it fell slightly out of favour, it never really went away. And now it’s having a moment

Franc, Canterbury, Kent: ‘Just great, great cooking’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Certain new restaurants I’m lured to semi-hypnotically, so rumours a few months back of an impending new venture from Dave Hart and Polly Pleasence slotted straight on to my “I’ll be there!” list. I still remember a long lunch seven years ago at their previous venture, the Folkestone Wine Company, where a piece of perfect pan-fried hake fillet topped with luscious squid and a zesty gremolata had me actually gasping with happiness. This was truly great cooking.And I knew who the chef was, too, because I could see him through a hatch cooking my lunch while I sipped my appassimento. Hart has worked for Stephen Harris at The Sportsman near Whitstable, and over the years has run several other places all across Kent

Crispy chicken and pancetta with a nutty apple salad: Thomasina Miers’ Sunday best recipes

I recently invested in a beautifully wide, Shropshire-made pan that works on the hob and in the oven with equal ease, and without the chemical nonstick lining I keep reading about. It is a brilliant pan. As I turn on the heat to crisp the skin on my chicken thighs on the stove top, I can prep the vegetables I will then roast in the same pan. There is a soothing rhythm to this type of cooking, where most of the work is done in the oven. Here, I use jerusalem artichokes, the most delicious of autumn vegetables, parboiled in lemon juice to make them more digestible and then roasted with garlic and onions, until beautifully caramelised, and it’s a marvellous thing to put down on the kitchen table

From fritters to pizza, there’s more to pumpkin season than soups and carving

G’day! The last time I wrote to you was in the midst of our Australian winter, as the wind tippity-tapped tree-branch morse code on the windows and I tried to summon spring with the might of several tins of summer tomatoes and some inspiration from the Feast recipe archives.Well, allegedly, our spring has sprung, though you wouldn’t be able to tell, seeing as one of the challenges – or joys – of living in Melbourne is that this city’s concept of “seasons” is a little more fluid than most. Blustery winds have kept the trees dancing, wreaking havoc on the darling buds of May – sorry, October – and sending enthusiastically woven “cobwebs” and other Halloween paraphernalia flying.But I can guess which vegetable is going to be on your supermarket shelf, no matter which side of the international date line you are on: pumpkin! This is the time of year when European eaters are reaching for pumpkins to make soups and curries, while many across the Atlantic are mostly just carving them up. So, how to find more things to do with pumpkin than souping or sculpting? It helps to remember that pumpkin is also known as winter squash – and what’s summer squash? Courgettes or, as I say, zucchini

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for ginger biscuit s’mores | The sweet spot

What’s Bonfire Night without some toasty, gooey marshmallows? And it’s only right to have them in a s’more, the American classic that’s also now part of the festivities over on this side of the pond. Digestive biscuits are typically the go-to, but I like to add extra flavour, depth and texture by using ginger oaty biscuits instead. These are quick to put together and don’t require any chilling. Ideally, the s’mores would be made over a real fire, but a blowtorch or hot grill will do the job, too.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Makes 9100g unsalted butter 25g honey 130g plain flour 120g caster sugar 45g oats 2 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp salt 9 squares dark chocolate 9 marshmallows Flaky sea saltHeat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and line two oven trays with baking paper

Warming whites? Break away from the ice bucket this winter | Hannah Crosbie on drinks

We’ve all heard of chilled reds by now, right? Even so, it was only relatively recently that they became part of our drinking lexicon, and modern British drinkers realised that bringing down the temperature of certain reds by a few degrees made them sing and deliver charmingly pronounced, bright, fresh fruit notes. So much so that I now can’t think of drinking a light French red any other way.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

How to turn pastry scraps into a quick and tasty caramelised onion tart – recipe | Waste not

This is my quick version of pissaladière, and it transforms a small amount of leftover pastry scraps into a spontaneous treat. Keep and combine any trimmings into a ball and re-roll as and when required. Pastry keeps well in the freezer, and by skipping two time-consuming steps in the traditional recipe – that is, making the pastry and caramelising the onions – this one comes together about an hour faster. Instead, the onions are cooked upside down, steaming and caramelising beneath a blanket of pastry with anchovies and black olives for a fast, fun twist on a French classic. And if you have less pastry, you can always halve the recipe