US consumer sentiment drops to near record low as shutdown persists
The federal government shutdown dragged consumer sentiment in the US to a near record low in November, according to a monthly survey conducted by the University of Michigan.Consumer sentiment fell about 6% in November, with the consumer sentiment index for November 2025 at 50.3, down from 53.6 in October, nearly three points below expectations.Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected a 53.
0 index reading,The monthly index of consumer sentiment was last this low in June 2022, at 50,0, amid inflation during the Covid pandemic,The latest reading is the lowest reported by the index since at least 1978,“With the federal government shutdown dragging on for over a month, consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative consequences for the economy,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, in a statement.
“This month’s decline in sentiment was widespread throughout the population, seen across age, income, and political affiliation.”The results come amid a blackout on federal data, such as the monthly jobs report, which was due on Friday, with the usual slate of monthly reports suspended due to the government shutdown.In their absence, investors have been turning to smaller, privately funded research reports.This week ADP, the US’s largest payroll supplier, said private employers added 42,000 new jobs in October, better than expected but still a dramatic slowdown from the three-month moving average from November to January of 188,000 jobs.On Thursday, the outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said US-based employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, up 175% from the 55,597 cuts announced in October 2024.
It was the highest level of layoff for any October since 2003,“Americans are losing faith in the economy because they’re losing ground,Every day it becomes clearer that President Trump has no real interest in improving the lives of American families,” said Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the thinktank Groundwork Collaborative, in a statement on the Michigan survey report,“His economic mismanagement has left households buried under record debt and rising prices,It’s no surprise consumer sentiment is at its lowest point since 2022 and households are turning to leaders who didn’t just learn the word ‘affordability’.
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Tesla shareholders approve $1tn pay package for Elon Musk
Tesla shareholders approved a $1tn compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk on Thursday, awarding the world’s richest person what would be the largest corporate payout in history if he meets the goals necessary to receive it.The pay package, which several high-profile investors opposed, demonstrates that shareholders still believe Musk can lead the automaker in an era dominated by robotics and artificial intelligence.The result of the vote was announced at the annual shareholder event in Austin, Texas, with more than 75% of investors voting in favor of the plan. Chants of “Elon” erupted in the room at the news of its approval.“Thanks, guys,” Musk said, after briefly dancing on stage alongside the company’s Optimus robots
Amazon sues AI startup over browser’s automated shopping and buying feature
Amazon sued a prominent artificial intelligence startup on Tuesday over a shopping feature in the company’s browser, which can automate placing orders for users. Amazon accused Perplexity AI of covertly accessing customer accounts and disguising AI activity as human browsing.“Perplexity’s misconduct must end,” Amazon’s lawyers wrote. “Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot; that Perplexity’s trespass involves code rather than a lockpick makes it no less unlawful.”Perplexity, which has grown rapidly amid the boom in AI assistants, has previously rejected the US shopping company’s claims, accusing Amazon of using its market dominance to stifle competition
Google plans to put datacentres in space to meet demand for AI
Google is hatching plans to put artificial intelligence datacentres into space, with its first trial equipment sent into orbit in early 2027.Its scientists and engineers believe tightly packed constellations of about 80 solar-powered satellites could be arranged in orbit about 400 miles above the Earth’s surface equipped with the powerful processors required to meet rising demand for AI.Prices of space launches are falling so quickly that by the middle of the 2030s the running costs of a space-based datacentre could be comparable to one on Earth, according to Google research released on Tuesday.Using satellites could also minimise the impact on the land and water resources needed to cool existing datacentres.Once in orbit, the datacentres would be powered by solar panels that can be up to eight times more productive than those on Earth
LOL: is this the ultimate texting faux pas (and what should you use instead)?
From abbreviations to happy poos, gen Z has strong opinions on appropriate texting behaviour. But can anyone keep up with the ever-changing rules?Name: “LOL”.Age: The Oxford English Dictionary first included LOL in 1997.Not to be confused with: Loll, which is what dogs sometimes do.So as in “laugh out loud”? Or laughing out loud, though David Cameron thought it stood for “lots of love” and used to sign off to Rebekah Brooks, the former Sun and News of the World editor, with a LOL
Apple Watch SE 3 review: the bargain smartwatch for iPhone
Apple’s entry level Watch SE has been updated with almost everything from its excellent mid-range Series 11 but costs about 40% less, making it the bargain of iPhone smartwatches.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new Watch SE 3 costs from £219 (€269/$249/A$399), making it one of the cheapest brand-new fully fledged smartwatches available for the iPhone and undercutting the £369 Series 11 and the top-of-the-line £749 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Experts find flaws in hundreds of tests that check AI safety and effectiveness
Experts have found weaknesses, some serious, in hundreds of tests used to check the safety and effectiveness of new artificial intelligence models being released into the world.Computer scientists from the British government’s AI Security Institute, and experts at universities including Stanford, Berkeley and Oxford, examined more than 440 benchmarks that provide an important safety net.They found flaws that “undermine the validity of the resulting claims”, that “almost all … have weaknesses in at least one area”, and resulting scores might be “irrelevant or even misleading”.Many of the benchmarks are used to evaluate the latest AI models released by the big technology companies, said the study’s lead author, Andrew Bean, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute.In the absence of nationwide AI regulation in the UK and US, benchmarks are used to check if new AIs are safe, align to human interests and achieve their claimed capabilities in reasoning, maths and coding
Seth Meyers on Mamdani’s win: ‘The kind of energy Democrats have been desperately seeking for years’
Garden shed of vaccine pioneer Edward Jenner added to heritage at risk register
Miss Piggy movie on way from Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Cole Escola
Colbert on Pelosi calling Trump a vile creature: ‘You know who agrees? Most Americans’
De Niro to JLaw: should celebrities be expected to speak out against Trump?
Jon Stewart on Trump’s Gatsby party: ‘The theme was apparently gross income inequality’