Pound hits lowest since April as investors anticipate budget tax rises; markets hit by AI valuation jitters – as it happened

The pound has now dropped to $1.3064, a new six-month low, as City traders anticipate tax rises in this month’s budget.Sterling has lost more than 0.5% today, or around three-quarters of a cent, with analysts pointing to Rachel Reeves’s promise of an “iron clad” commitment to her fiscal rules, and her failure to rule out tax rises.Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index, says:In a rare pre-budget speech, Reeves reiterated her commitment to budget goals and what many are considering as weaves, paving the way for more tax hikes and tough decisions in the Budget that would come close to breaking the party’s manifesto pledges

Gopichand Hinduja, head of Britain’s richest family, dies aged 85

Gopichand Hinduja, the billionaire head of Britain’s richest family, has died aged 85.Hinduja died on Tuesday in London after a long illness, a spokesperson said.The low-profile Hinduja family topped the Sunday Times Rich List this year with a collective net worth of £35.3bn, thanks to their sprawling business interests across banking, oil, real estate and entertainment.Gopichand Hinduja, nicknamed “GP”, co-chaired the family business with his older brother Srichand, who died in 2023

Primark owner’s boss urges Reeves not to hit shoppers with budget tax rises

The boss of Primark’s parent group has urged Rachel Reeves to avoid hitting consumers with a repeat of last year’s tax-heavy budget which he claimed sent the retailer’s sales into reverse, saying “don’t do it again”.As the chancellor prepares to make her budget speech on 26 November, George Weston, the chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), said: “A budget this late has the potential to have an enormous impact on Christmas trading.”Weston said “any tax rises are going to have an impact on consumer confidence,” but urged Reeves to “tax the rich folks” instead of opting for a sweeping rise in VAT or income tax that would affect most households.Weston said Primark’s Christmas ranges were now “trading really well in the UK and we have got some wind in our sails” but he said that if you considered the outlook for consumer spending “you could be gloomy”.He said that the chain’s sales reversed from growth before last year’s budget, to a steep drop-off in the run-up to Christmas

BP signals more cost cuts on way after fall in profits

BP has said it will ramp up efforts to hive off parts of the business, as the energy company reported a drop in profits in its latest quarter.The company reported an underlying profit of $2.2bn (£1.7bn) in the three months ended in September. It marked a slowdown against its previous quarter, when it made a profit of $2

City watchdog ‘nakedly’ siding with lenders on car finance redress, MPs say

The City regulator has “nakedly taken the side of lenders” in its planned compensation scheme for car loan victims and has been “patently influenced” by concerns over profits, a group of cross-party MPs have claimed.The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Banking joined a growing chorus of critics concerned about the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) proposed redress scheme, which is meant to compensate borrowers who were overcharged as a result of commission arrangements between lenders and car dealers.The APPG’s latest report has accused the regulator of buying into “doom-mongering” by lenders who claim that a large compensation bill would risk spooking investors and causing lasting damage to the UK economy.That was at the expense of car loan victims who they said were due up to £15.6bn, rather than the £8

Outrage in Paris as Shein prepares to open its first permanent store

The online fast-fashion retailer Shein will open its first permanent bricks-and-mortar store in the world in Paris this week amid political outrage, fury from workers and warnings from city hall that it will damage the French capital’s progressive image.The Singapore-based clothing company, which was founded in China, has built a massive online business despite criticism over its factory working conditions and the environmental impact of low-cost, throwaway fashion.Shein, which has previously trialled temporary pop-up stores, will on Wednesday open a permanent shop on the sixth floor of Paris’s prestigious BHV department store, a historic building that has stood opposite Paris’s city hall since 1856. There are about 23 million Shein customers in France, one of its biggest European markets.But with vast banners for Shein draped across the building, the brand’s arrival has sparked outrage over the promotion of fast fashion

We need clarity on big pharma’s tax breaks | Letters

The outgoing chief executive of the pharmaceutical company GSK says the NHS should pay more for its drugs, in order to create “the right commercial environment” and ensure “patient access to innovation” (UK must reform drug pricing to become life sciences superpower, says GSK boss, 29 October).Our research shows that UK taxpayers are already paying handsomely for “patient access to innovation” through the £3.4bn in tax relief on profits of patented drugs that the UK has granted GSK via the UK’s “patent box” tax regime. This includes £486m in 2024 alone – larger than the entire budget of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the UK’s main bioscience innovation funder.HMRC even granted UK tax relief to GSK on profits of a lupus drug, which for several years was unavailable to UK lupus sufferers, due to the price that GSK demanded from the NHS (£769

Time for Reeves to recognise reality: AstraZeneca has killed stamp duty on shares | Nils Pratley

It was one of those votes where the majority was always going to be huge. AstraZeneca’s proposal to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange while retaining the quotes in London and Stockholm disadvantages nobody on the shareholder register.US investors get the chance to own AstraZeneca in full-fat form rather than via American depositary receipts (a wrapper provided by a handful of banks), a rejig that should widen the pool of potential investors and help the company with any future big deals in the US. Meanwhile, the pharma giant keeps its presence in the FTSE 100 index, upsetting no shareholders on the home front. “A global listing for global investors in a global company,” as Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, called it

Safety of train users and staff is paramount | Brief letters

The new east-west train service between Oxford and Milton Keynes has been delayed due to the government and rail companies insisting on driver-only trains. We have just experienced a mass stabbing of passengers by a lone attacker on a busy train in Cambridgeshire, where a railway employee made a heroic attempt to protect them (Report, 2 November). Is this really the time for leaving the public and the train driver at the mercy of single manning?Jessica HolroydMilton Keynes Three cheers for the lost, lamented A-level history personal study. Some students undertook original research and some, like Cathy O’Neill in 1977, unearthed a real gem (Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student, 1 November). Worth 25% of their final grade, it was the part of the course which students enjoyed most and from which they learned the most about history

UK factories return to growth after JLR restarts operations; US manufacturing exports hit by tariffs – as it happened

UK manufacturing output has expanded for the first time in a year, helped by the restart of production at Jaguar Land Rover following its recent cyberhack.The latest poll of purchasing managers at UK factories, just released by S&P Global, shows that manufacturing output rose for the first time in a year in October.S&P Global reports that production volumes rose in the consumer and intermediate goods industries, partly due to a boost from the staged restarting of production at JLR last month.This helped to lift the wider UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index to a 12-month high of 49.7 in October, up from 46

UK economy ‘doomed’ under Labour, says Ryanair chief

The UK economy is “doomed” under the Labour government, the boss of Ryanair has said before this month’s budget, as the airline revealed a jump in first half profits.Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of the budget airline, hit out at Rachel Reeves, accusing the chancellor of failing to deliver on her programme of economic growth.“The UK economy under the current leadership is doomed,” he said. “The UK badly needs growth, but the way to deliver growth is through selective tax cuts … you are not going to grow the UK economy by taxing wealth or by taxing air travel.”It comes as airlines brace for the possibility of another increase in air passenger duty (APD) at the budget on 26 November

Kimberly-Clark to buy Tylenol maker Kenvue in landmark $40bn merger

Kleenex and Huggies maker Kimberly-Clark unveiled plans to buy Kenvue, the embattled consumer health conglomerate behind Tylenol, in a landmark deal for more than $40bn.The blockbuster takeover comes weeks after Donald Trump claimed Tylenol heightens the risk of autism in children when it is used by pregnant women, an assertion hotly contested by scientists and contradicted by studies.The high-profile claims compounded months of struggles for Kenvue, which ousted its CEO in July and endured sharp stock market declines.Kenvue, which also makes Listerine mouthwash, Neutrogena skincare products and Johnson’s baby oil, was spun out of Johnson & Johnson two years ago. Its shares jumped 17% on Monday morning, while Kimberly-Clark dropped 12% in New York

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

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

Australian supermarket chocolate ice-cream taste test: ‘My scorecard read simply: “I’m going to buy it”’

Sweet memory lane or boulevard of broken creams? Nicholas Jordan and friends sample 23 tubs in search of nostalgia, glee and chocolate excessIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI grew up in a house barren of treats – there was no regular supply of chocolate, snakes, sour lollies or caramels. There was one exception: ice-cream, and I was mostly free to eat it whenever I wanted. That constant, childhood joy was the start of a storied love affair. Later, when I had money to buy my lunch in high school, I would get a one-litre tub, a pair of spoons, and my friend and I would eat the entire thing and nothing else. Sometimes, if we were particularly greedy, we’d split a two-litre tub

Sweet dreams? Healthy ways to put pudding back on the menu | Kitchen aide

I eat healthily, but my meals are never really complete without pudding. Yoghurt and stewed fruit aside, do you have any suggestions for what will hit the spot without verging too far into the unhealthy? Wendy, by emailThe truth is, you can’t often have your cake and eat it – or not a big piece, anyway. “My main piece of advice, which maybe isn’t all that welcome, is to keep to small portions,” says Brian Levy, author of Good & Sweet, in which his recipes contain no added sugar. “My grandma would keep mini chocolate bars and have just one, but that’s never really worked for me.”’Tis the season for stewed fruit, but have you tried Melissa Hemsley’s banana slices sandwiched together with peanut butter, half-dipped in melted chocolate and put in the freezer? (FYI the same tactic also works like a dream with dates

José Pizarro’s recipe for pumpkin and spinach with pimenton

I grew up with the taste of pimentón de la vera, the smoky, fiery spice Spain embraced from the New World and made its own. Pimentón gives our food its soul. One of the dishes everyone loves back home is espinacas con garbanzos (spinach and chickpeas), which is it’s simple, nourishing and full of comfort. At this time of year, however, when the markets are overflowing with sweet pumpkins, I love adding them to the mix, too. Their gentle, autumnal sweetness lifts the spinach and chickpeas beautifully, and they combine to create a dish that we’ve been serving all month at my restaurant Lolo in south-east London

The £1 oyster: cut-price shellfish is all the rage – but is eating it advisable?

Name: Oysters.Age: Triassic – so about 250m years old.Appearance: Grey and snotty.Oysters, eh? What pearls of wisdom (see what I did there) do you have for me on the noxious bivalve? You’re not a fan, then?Absolutely not. What desperation drove early humans to think, “Time to smash open this forbidding, rock-like blob and eat whatever godforsaken, gelatinous mess it disgorges”? Well, younger diners don’t agree – they’ve gone mad for oysters

Double, heavy, pure cream? Helen Goh’s guide to baking across borders – plus a finger bun recipe

When Sweet, the baking book I co-authored with Yotam Ottolenghi, came out in the United States in 2017, my excitement at seeing so many people bake from it was matched only by my horror at what I saw them pulling from their ovens on Instagram: pale cakes with thick, dark exteriors.Posts from Australian and British readers showed no alarming results and I quickly realised something had gone awry in the American translation. As it turned out, the recipes had been converted in-house by the publisher, using a straightforward formula to change celsius to fahrenheit. What no one had noticed was that the conversion also needed to take into account the oven setting: fan-forced versus conventional heat. Many American ovens, it seems, still don’t have a fan function

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for beetroot, apple and feta fritters | Quick and easy

These are autumn in a fritter. Not only were they an unexpected hit with my 18-month-old, but, after trying one myself, I instantly crossed out the saffron arancini at the top of my list for an upcoming lunch party and replaced it with a delirious, “OMG make these fritters!” Not bad for a five-ingredient dish, and a lot less faff than arancini.Serve with a green salad and the dip alongside for a filling dinner on a cold evening.Prep 15 min Cook 20 min Serves 2-42 apples (I used Discovery) 2 medium beetroot, peeled and grated1 egg 200g feta, crumbled60g self-raising flour (gluten-free if you have it)Olive oil, for fryingFor the dip 3 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt 3 heaped tbsp mayonnaise ½ lemon, juice and zestA pinch of sea saltGrate the apples skin and all into a clean tea towel, then twist and squeeze the towel over the sink to remove as much moisture as you can. Tip the grated apple into a large bowl, then add the grated beetroot, egg and crumbled feta, and mix well

From harissa baked hake to chicken schnitzel: Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for cooking with nuts

I always keep a stash of nuts in my kitchen cupboard. I scatter them, roughly chopped, over my morning yoghurt and fruit bowl, and when I feel an attack of the munchies coming on, I try (although I often fail) to reach for a handful of them in place of something sugary. These nutrient-dense superstars are high on the list of nutritionists’ favourite anti-inflammatory foods, and while all their health benefits are obviously terrific, I love them simply because they bring rich, buttery flavour, interest, and delightful texture to my cooking.Traditionally, schnitzels are coated in crisp breadcrumbs, but this delicious version using almonds and cornflour makes this nuttily delicious and suitable for anyone avoiding gluten.Prep 5 min Cook 45 min Serves 44 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts 50g parmesan, roughly chopped250g blanched almondsZest of 1 lemon50g cornflour Sea salt and black pepper2 eggs, lightly beaten1 tbsp dijon mustard Lemon wedges, to servePut a chicken breast between two sheets of baking paper, then use a rolling pin to beat the chicken until it’s about 1