Gold and silver prices seesaw as FTSE 100 hits record high

Gold and silver prices seesawed on Monday, after a “meltdown” in the metals market deepened and rattled investors around the world.Gold prices tumbled by as much as 8% to $4,465 an ounce on Monday, ending a run of record highs that took it to nearly $5,600 last week. It later recovered some ground, but was still down by 3.5% at $4,700 in afternoon trading.Silver fell by as much as 7%, after a 30% slump on Friday, before recovering slightly to $79

FTSE 100 ends day at closing high after gold and silver fell in ‘metals meltdown’ – as it happened

Oof! Britain’s stock market has now shrugged off its earlier worries, and hit a new alltime high.With the slump in metal prices easing, the FTSE 100 has bounded ahead to hit a fresh record peak of 10,298 points, up 0.7% today.Mining companies have recovered most of their earlier losses, helped by a moderate recovery in precious metal prices after their tumble early this morning.And finally…

UK manufacturing growth accelerates as export orders rise

British manufacturers enjoyed one of their best months since Labour came to power in January, according to a closely watched survey, adding to signs that the Bank of England will decide to keep interest rates on hold this week.The purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which measures activity in the private manufacturing sector, rose to 51.8 in January from 50.6 in December, the best reading since August 2024. Any reading above 50 represents growth

Royal Mail-owned courier faces tribunal over drivers’ rights

Dozens of drivers are taking legal action against a Royal Mail-owned courier service, arguing that they are entitled to workers’ rights.The 46 drivers are classified as self-employed by eCourier. They work around the clock making deliveries, including transporting vital blood and tissue samples to and from NHS hospitals.Their case, due to be heard at an employment tribunal this year, alleges that the company has wrongly categorised them as self-employed despite features of their work that they say point to worker status. Such a classification would confer rights such as the minimum wage and holiday pay

UK investor Michael Flacks ‘very interested in British Steel takeover’

The British investor Michael Flacks is reportedly “very” interested in buying British Steel and combining it with another plant in Italy, in a deal that would create one of Europe’s largest metals groups.The businessman’s Miami-based investment group, Flacks Group, which specialises in buying distressed companies, is working with bankers to prepare a bid for government-controlled Scunthorpe steelworks, the Financial Times reported.“Somebody has to take control of British Steel. It’s a plant of national importance,” he told the FT. “I see an amazing opportunity where most people have overlooked this sector

UK hospitality firms demand more help with business rates amid questions over Heathrow discount

Struggling hotels, restaurants and nightclubs are calling for more financial help with business rates after it emerged that Heathrow is among the biggest beneficiaries of a multibillion-pound package of state support.The UK’s biggest airport is in line for a discount of nearly £900m on its rates bill over the next three years. That is a fifth of the total £4.3bn “transitional relief” fund announced by the chancellor in the budget for all businesses facing big bill increases.Heathrow’s rates bill will still rise by £50m to £171m this year, according to figures compiled by the property firm Avison Young and first reported by the Sunday Times

Employers are spreading raises like peanut butter – and workers are paying the price | Gene Marks

Looking forward to a raise in 2026? You may be getting “peanut butter”.A new report from compensation software and data provider Payscale predicts that in 2026, many employers will be giving “peanut butter raises” to their employees – increases given “across the board” as opposed to being calculated individually based on performance or merit. They’re spread evenly, like peanut butter on a slice of bread.“In total, more than 40% of organizations are either using or actively considering standardized across-the-board or peanut butter pay increases in 2026,” the report said. “This increases to 56% for top performers (organizations who reported that they would exceed their revenue goals in 2025)

Real estate agents in Australia using apps that leave millions of lease documents at risk, digital researcher says

Australian platforms used by real estate agents to upload documentation for renters and landlords are leaving people’s personal information exposed in hyperlinks accessible online.An analysis of seven rent platforms provided to Guardian Australia by a researcher, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed millions of leasing documents could be accessed by threat actors.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailReal estate agents manage sensitive tenant and landlord data on a daily basis, including lease agreements, identification documents, payslips and personal references. Online platforms enable agents to store these documents in the cloud and make them accessible via hyperlinks.The researcher found these links can be scanned by web crawlers and cached

Price of consumer goods could surge as shipping costs soar, industry body says

The price of consumer goods including computers, electrical machinery and transport equipment could surge this year as a result of soaring shipping costs, an industry body has said, adding that “cracks [are] forming in the global trading system”.The cost of transport, energy and raw materials continues to rise and prices remain volatile, which could feed through to businesses and consumers during 2026, according to a study by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).Concerns about disruption to supply chains during the next three months reached the highest level in two years, suggesting growing worries among procurement teams. The concerns were reported in a survey conducted in late 2025 by CIPS, an international trade body that represents 64,000 member organisations in procurement and supply chains across 180 countries.Bosses responsible for procurement said they were often the first within companies to notice rising prices or problems getting hold of goods

The long-term cost of high student debt in the UK is not just for graduates | Heather Stewart

“It is not right that people who don’t go to university are having to bear all the cost for others to do so,” Rachel Reeves remarked this week, amid the increasingly angry row about student loans.But if something is “not right” here, it’s the complex and confusing loan system, and the debt burden borne by some recent graduates of English and Welsh universities.Since the chancellor slapped a three-year freeze on the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans at November’s budget – covering students whose courses kicked off in the decade following 2012 – longstanding frustration about the system has erupted into full-blown fury. The personal finance guru Martin Lewis told Reeves recently: “I do not think this is a moral thing for you to do.”After the threshold freeze, the latest annual report on education spending in England from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) forecast that for the 2022-23 intake, for example, “the long-run cost of issuing loans … will be negative, with graduates repaying more than they borrowed”

US, UK, EU, Australia and more to meet to discuss critical minerals alliance

Ministers from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will meet in Washington this week to discuss a strategic alliance over critical minerals.The summit is being seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China, including one centred on steel.Australia said on Friday it would establish a A$1.2bn (£610m) strategic reserve of minerals it believes are vulnerable to supply disruption from China, which last April restricted exports on rare earths in response to Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.It is the second summit on the matter within a month and involves about 20 countries including the G7 members – the UK, US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada – along with India and South Korea and Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and possibly Argentina

Can French Connection make FCUK fashionable again?

French Connection is back on the trail of global expansion with the aid of its cheeky initials-based slogan that made it so popular in the late 1990s.The label once known for clothes bearing FCUK is seeking to reinvent itself again under the ownership of a group of British entrepreneurs based in the north of England who rescued it in 2021.This week, the former high street darling signed a licensing agreement to develop and distribute men’s and women’s apparel and accessories across North America, which is understood to include plans to revive the FCUK branding.It is the latest chapter in a rollercoaster story of success and setback. French Connection was founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks, who named it after the film starring Gene Hackman released the previous year

Guinness Open Gate Brewery, London WC2: ‘Absolute “will-this-do?” nonsense’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

The new Guinness Open Gate Brewery, with its tours, gift shop and dining options, has appeared in Covent Garden, slap-bang in the centre of London’s most nosebleedingly expensive real estate.This multi-multi-million-pound paean to “the black stuff”, where Guinness disciples can make pilgrimage, has been on the capital’s horizon for what seems like an era. The project has been tantalisingly dangled as an opening for some years, then delayed umpteen times, because, quite understandably, erecting a purpose-built, gargantuan, multi-floor Willy Wonka’s Booze Factory in the West End of London for a corporate behemoth is no easy feat. Imagine the layers of global, bureaucratic, cross-platform multi-media team Zooms that had to happen to hone the ultimate Guinness experience. So many Is to dot and Ts to cross, particularly, because food is a central part of the venture, with two restaurants on site – The Porter’s Table and Gilroy’s Loft – where exec chef Pip Lacey is serving non-challenging yet hearty menus, as well as a courtyard pie stall by Calum Franklin

The rise of ‘beef days’: why even meat lovers are cutting back

“I love beef,” says Vlad Luca, 25. But unlike most other self-proclaimed steak lovers, Vlad eats it only four times a year, on designated “beef days”.The “beef days” phenomenon has been popularised by the brothers John and Hank Green, known collectively as vlogbrothers on YouTube. John, 48, is better known for his YA fiction, including The Fault in Our Stars, while Hank, 45, is a self-described science communicator and entrepreneur.They have been making videos on their shared channel since 2007, and have more than 4 million subscribers

New type of Bordeaux wine to gain official status as result of climate pressure

Bordeaux’s wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds.Now it’s turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped to Britain, claret was soon our favoured wine, an unofficial byword for bordeaux red, which in recent decades has become increasingly full-bodied.The Bordeaux protected designation of origin has now formally validated bordeaux claret, linking it to the existing Bordeaux appellation

Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for citrus and almond cake | The sweet spot

Anything bright and zingy is particularly welcome in January, even more so when it’s in the form of cake. I always have an odd end of marzipan after the festive season, and this is a great way to use it up and bring that cosy almond flavour. The marzipan gets blitzed into the butter for a plush-textured loaf cake, and comes together in minutes thanks to simply putting everything in a food processor.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 10 min, plus cooling Serves 8-10200g unsalted butter, softened125g marzipan 150g caster sugar Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange, plus 2 tbsp extra juice for the icingFinely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon3 large eggs 220g plain flour 50g ground almonds ¼ tsp fine sea salt 2 tsp baking powder 50g plain yoghurtTo finish100g icing sugar 40g toasted flaked almondsHeat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.Put the butter and marzipan in a food processor and blitz until smooth

‘It’s still a family favourite’: your heirloom recipes – and the stories behind them

A few years ago, I bought my mother a notebook for her recipes. It was a weighty, leather-bound affair that could act as a vault for all the vivid stews, slow-cooked beans and many other family specialities – the secrets of which existed only in her head. Although the gift has basically been a failure (bar a lengthy WhatsApp message detailing her complex jollof rice methodology, she still has an allergy to writing down cooking techniques or quantities), I think the impulse behind it is sound and highly relatable. Family recipes are a form of time travel. An act of cultural preservation that connects us deeply to people we may not have met and places we may not have visited

Rachel Roddy’s puntarelle, radicchio, celery, apple and cheese salad recipe

Like many, I remember Charlie Hicks from Veg Talk, a weekly show that ran on Radio 4 from 1998-2005. The show, according to Sheila Dillon, came into being after her interview with Charlie, a fourth-generation fruit and veg supplier at Covent Garden market, for an episode of The Food Programme exploring where chefs bought their produce. Sitting at the kitchen table with her husband the following evening, Sheila recounted her day and Charlie’s enormous knowledge, enthusiasm and ability to communicate both. A few days after that, a similar conversation took place with her colleagues at Radio 4, which resulted in Veg Talk – what’s in and what’s out in the world of fresh produce. As well as Charlie’s market report, each episode included a feature called “vegetable of the week” and the participation of studio guests – Angela Hartnett, Alastair Little, Rose Gray, Darina Allen and Mitch Tonks, to name just a few – and took calls from listeners

How to convert kitchen scraps into an infused oil – recipe

All those odds and ends of chillies, garlic skins and rind can be used to flavour oil for dunking, dipping and marinatingToday’s recipe began life as a way to use up garlic skins and herby leftovers, all of which contain a surprising amount of flavour, but it has evolved over time. Infused oil has countless uses – drizzle it over carpaccio, pasta or salad, use it to marinate meat, fish and vegetables, or simply as a dip for chunks of sourdough – and some of my favourites include lemon rind, garlic skin and rosemary; star anise, cacao and orange rind; and makrut lime leaf, lemongrass husk and coriander stems, which I found especially delicious drizzled over some noodles and pak choi. Freshly infused oils of this sort aren’t suitable for long storage, however, so use them up within a day to two.As I look around my kitchen, I’ve got a two-year-old jar of remarkably tasty chillies gathering dust, a bowl of clementines (I think of citrus rinds as harbingers of incredible flavour, rich in essential oils and highly aromatic terpenes) and a small jar of long pepper, a pungent, complex spice that’s been sitting on my kitchen shelf for years without a purpose. When put together, however, and left to bubble gently on the hob, they fill my kitchen with a wildly aromatic and exotic aroma

Slurp the blues away: Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for winter noodle soup-stews

One of the best things for lifting deflated spirits is a deep bowl of steaming, restorative soup – perfect for warming the places your old woolly jumper can’t reach. I love the romance and cosiness of creamy European soups drunk straight out of a mug around a fire in November, but in the icy tundra that is January I need something with more heat and intensity, something sustaining, spicy, gutsy and textured, so that I need a fork or chopsticks to eat it, rather than just a spoon. These punchy soups are simply rapture in a bowl, and make for extremely satisfying slurping.Khao swe is a Burmese noodle soup with hot coconut broth, springy noodles and a madness of garnishes, from boiled eggs to peanuts or crisp shallots. Feel free to swap out the poultry for vegetables such as pumpkin or tofu, or seafood such as prawns

Savoury snacks to stave off the lure of the biscuit tin | Kitchen aide

What savoury snacks do your recipe columnists make when they’re trying to stay away from the biscuit tin?Jess, by email The pull of the biscuit tin is all too familiar to Guardian baker Benjamina Ebuehi, who, unsurprisingly, is often found in full “sweet mode”. To counterbalance the intake of cake, she tends to look for “something salty, spiced and crisp”, and, if time is on her side, that usually means homemade tortilla chips. “Chop corn tortillas into triangles, brush with olive oil and seasonings – flaky salt, za’atar, dukkah, garlic granules, or everything bagel seasoning, which is elite.” Bake until nice and crisp, then dunk into hummus. Her fellow Guardian regular Georgina Hayden is also rarely found without a tub of that creamy chickpea dip, whether it’s homemade or shop-bought: “I usually drizzle chilli crisp oil over the top of my hummus, then scoop it up with crudites [celery, carrot, cucumber, say]

José Pizarro’s recipe for slow-roast celeriac with rosemary and crisp chorizo

Celeriac is easy to ignore or overlook, but it really deserves a bit of attention in winter. January is a time for turning on the oven and cooking without having to think too much, and this is the sort of dish that more or less looks after itself while you get on with your evening. The kitchen feels warmer, the smell changes and you know that dinner is sorted. This is simple, honest food, and not remotely trying to be clever. It’s just something to put in the middle of the table, cut into and share, which is exactly what you want when the days are cold and nights are long

Georginia Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for roast sprout salad with anchovies and parmesan | Quick and easy

Brussels sprouts are for life, not just for Christmas. They’re still making a regular appearance in our house, from shredded and stir-fried with chilli and spice, to roasted and dressed, as in this salad. And what a salad it is: with a caesar-esque dressing, it is crisp, salty and crunchy, and hits all the right notes. You can bulk it out, if you like, by topping it with a few soft, jammy boiled eggs cut into wedges or some shredded leftover chicken. However, it is pretty perfect as it is, as a light lunch or side

‘Dad never took his customers for granted’: remembering Abdul’s in Sydney’s ‘Little Lebanon’

When Abdul’s Lebanese Restaurant closed earlier this month, it was a shock. A beloved fixture of inner Sydney’s landscape since 1968, the restaurant fed celebrities, broke students and anyone in need of a hearty kebab at the end of a night out.For Hiba Damaa, whose parents Dib and Nizam Ghazal opened the restaurant and named it after her eldest brother Abdul – who eventually ran it with his two brothers – it represented the pioneering spirit of early Lebanese migration.“Abdul’s originated as a Lebanese sweets and pastry shop run by my brother-in-law,” she says. “When he wanted to move on, my parents started selling falafel sandwiches