People in the US: how are your holiday shopping plans being affected by Trump’s tariffs and the cost of living?

We’d like to find out more about your holiday spending plans this year. The New York Times reported on Friday that the Trump administration is pivoting to an affordability message and considering lowering some tariffs rates.The administration has floated policies that would lower prices for coffee and fruit, spoken about a 50-year mortgage proposal, and Trump has mused on social media about giving Americans $2,000 funded by tariff revenue.A Harris poll from September found that 74% of Americans said their monthly household costs had gone up by more than $100.We want to hear from you

Reeves’s plan to ditch income tax rise prompts government bond sell-off

UK bond markets took fright on Friday after it emerged that Rachel Reeves had ditched plans for a manifesto-busting increase in income tax at this month’s autumn budget.On a day of choppy trading in the City, the cost of UK government borrowing rose by the most in a single day since early July, when a tearful appearance by Reeves in parliament spooked investors.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 10-year government bonds, which are known as gilts, jumped by more than 0.13 percentage points to trade at about 4.575%, the highest level in a month

People in the UK: have you received good or bad financial advice from an AI chatbot?

Tech companies are pumping billions into the growth of artificial intelligence, with OpenAI this month signing a $38bn (£29bn) cloud computing deal with Amazon as part of a $3tn datacentre spending spree.But as people increasingly use AI chatbots – such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity – for advice and task completion, some observers have concerns about misinformation, hullicinations and irresponsible advice.A survey this year from KPMG and the University of Melbourne found that 80 percent of people in the UK believe AI regulation is required.We want to hear from people who have asked chatbots for financial advice. Have you asked AI tools for help with money, debt or personal finance? Were you recommended anything unexpected, or unsuitable? What was the financial result? Do you have concerns?You can tell us about askng AI tools for financial advice herePlease include as much detail as possible

AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads

Three songs generated by artificial intelligence topped music charts this week, reaching the highest spots on Spotify and Billboard charts.Walk My Walk and Livin’ on Borrowed Time by the outfit Breaking Rust topped Spotify’s “Viral 50” songs in the US, which documents the “most viral tracks right now” on a daily basis, according to the streaming service. A Dutch song, We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, an anti-migrant anthem by JW “Broken Veteran” that protests against the creation of new asylum centers, took the top position in Spotify’s global version of the viral chart around the same time. Breaking Rust also appeared in the top five on the global chart.“You can kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk,” reads a lyric from Walk My Walk, a seeming double entendre challenging those opposed to AI-generated music

England pumped up for chance to end 13-year wait against All Blacks

For better or worse it has been lashing down in south-west London. Good news for restocking the reservoirs but rather less so for dry-ball rugby. Had England played New Zealand 24 hours earlier it would have resembled a game of outdoor water polo and, although the matchday forecast is less biblical, a decidedly damp, grey afternoon awaits.Is it some kind of celestial clue that England’s on-field drought against the All Blacks might be about to break? It is now 13 years since the last men’s victory over New Zealand at what was once called Twickenham, so long ago that Maro Itoje was still at school. Troublemaker by Olly Murs (featuring Flo Rida) topped the UK charts and the nation was basking in a warm, fuzzy post-London Olympics glow that was supposed to last indefinitely

Sean Bowen looks real McCoy at Cheltenham in emulating legend’s never-say-die ride

On an afternoon for the National Hunt diehards here on Friday, as Storm Claudia battered racegoers and runners alike, one rider’s refusal to be cowed by either the elements or circumstance was a beacon in the gloom.There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy’s famous never-say-die ride on Wichita Lineman as Sean Bowen niggled, coaxed and cajoled the novice chaser Wade Out around two circuits of Cheltenham, and it was only in the final moments of a race that took nearly seven minutes to run that Bowen’s mount appeared to have any realistic chance of winning.Wade Out was last of the four remaining runners heading out onto the final circuit, and from there he scarcely jumped a single fence with any fluency or speed. Several times, he appeared to be dropping away, only for Bowen to roust him back onto the coattails of his three rivals.His final flat spot came on the run down the hill, and this time, it seemed that it was surely all over for Wade Out, as One Big Bang and Isaac Des Obeaux were clearly going much better as they eased clear