Writing the summary…
Healey faces £35bn Budget challenge to meet spending pledges, says think tank

Related stories

UK inflation pressures hit three-year high; Nobel prize for economics awarded today – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news Recruitment firm Hays are suffering this morning after reporting a drop in fee income over the last three months. Shares in Hays are down 9%, as traders digest the news that its net fees fell by 3% in July-September, driven by falling demand for permanent hires. In line with our expectations, the decline in Group net fees eased to 3% in Q1 driven by good Temp Contracting growth in several of our countries. Perm activity remains mixed with sustained strong growth in North America but ongoing fragility in Northern Europe . Our medium term targets can be achieved through our own actions and we were pleased to make continued good progress with our structural cost and productivity initiatives during the quarter.” Continue reading...
AI may change the price of your Big Mac and groceries — what this means for shoppers
As retailers turn to AI tools to streamline operations, experts warn that collecting more detailed consumer data increases the risk of personalized pricing.

The Gulf has entered a new era of instability. If its leaders think they can rely on old alliances, they are wrong | Nesrine Malik
The latest attack by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia may prove to be more calamitous for the region than the world imagines On Saturday, Houthi rebels launched a shocking and deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh. At the time of writing, the missile strike on King Khalid international airport has killed at least 13 people and left 300 injured, marking a significant turn in a regional conflagration that is only getting more intense. It was the single most deadly attack on any Gulf country since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. In Saudi Arabia, a country that is unaccustomed to such fatalities, the death toll is bewilderingly high and likely to prompt a bloody response. Over the past year, the Gulf has entered a new era of instability that is not temporary and cannot be reversed. This may feel like an overstatement – casualties have been relatively low

UK van drivers face extra £2.5bn in diesel costs this year, figures show
Calls for planned fuel duty rise to be scrapped as analysis finds average fuel bill could hit £1,965, up from £1,294 Millions of British van drivers face a combined £2.5bn cost to cover the rising price of diesel this year, according to figures, fuelling calls for the government to scrap its planned fuel duty rise. The owners of diesel vans and pickups can expect to collectively spend almost £8.5bn at the pump this year, according to analysis for the Guardian, after diesel prices climbed to record highs due to a global fuel shortage caused by disruption to refineries in the Middle East and Russia. Continue reading...
Oil falls after Trump declares 'energy ceasefire' between Russia and Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media that "Ukraine supports the ceasefire, and it is important that Russia support it as well."

IFS: budget will be ‘work of fiction’ without clear plan to cover UK’s £35bn spending pressures
Thinktank’s influential pre-budget report urges key decisions to be made now and not put off until next year John Healey has been warned by Britain’s leading tax and spending experts that his budget risks being a “work of fiction” unless he sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures. As the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the damage from higher inflation meant the chancellor would need to either top up funds for his current government spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade. Continue reading...