Chancellor Rachel Reeves's new Budget has drawn criticism for exaggerating fiscal gloom to justify tax-raising measures, including a contentious mansion tax and changes to business rates and pension taxation, amidst concerns over worker rights and declining business investment while the Bank of England considers rate cuts and Thames Water faces financial scrutiny.

• FT webinar: what will the Budget mean for your money? — Financial Times -
• Reeves accused of exaggerating gloom to pave way for tax-raising Budget — Financial Times -
• How London’s housing market stagnated — Financial Times -

• Labour will not tax state pension for those with no other earnings — Financial Times -
• Changes to business rates lead to accusations of a new stealth tax — Financial Times -
• Budget buzz — Financial Times -
• Budget tax rises to hit business sales to workers, warn advisers — Financial Times -
• Bibby Stockholm operator overcharged British customers by £80mn — Financial Times -
• Labour has trapped the British economy in a web of ‘doublespeak’ — Financial Times -
• Budget bonanza: tax highs and growth lows — Financial Times -
• UK talks to join EU defence fund break down — Financial Times -
• Starmer accused of manifesto breach after diluting workers’ rights bill — Financial Times -
• ‘Mansion tax’ valuation appeals will flood government agency, experts warn — Financial Times -
• Ministers look to curb use of non-compete clauses in UK contracts — Financial Times -
• Homeowners rush to price properties just under ‘mansion tax’ thresholds — Financial Times -
• Labour retreats on ‘day one’ rights for workers — Financial Times -
• Lessons from the Bank of England’s QE programme — Financial Times -
• BoE has room to cut despite an unhelpful Budget — Financial Times -
• JPMorgan’s Dimon approved London tower after UK assurances — Financial Times -
• Salary sacrifice shake-up: what it means for staff and employers — Financial Times -
• Business investment to fall for first time since Covid, UK fiscal watchdog says — Financial Times -
• Thames Water’s lenders are not offering enough — Financial Times -
• UK signals expansion of short-term debt market in ‘radical’ borrowing shift — Financial Times -

President Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown and a controversial pardon for an ex-Honduran president dominate US foreign policy, as Ukraine faces internal political turmoil with top aides quitting amidst corruption probes, and global peace efforts are met with mixed reactions from various nations and concerns over international trade relations grow.

• US halts all asylum decisions in wake of National Guard shooting — Financial Times -
• Trump to pardon ex-Honduran president serving 45 years on drug charges — Financial Times -
• Zelenskyy loses brother-in-arms in Kyiv power shift — Financial Times -

• Top Zelenskyy aide quits amid corruption probe — Financial Times -
• Mexico’s attorney-general quits in fuel-smuggling scandal — Financial Times -
• Anti-corruption authorities raid house of top Zelenskyy aide — Financial Times -
• Ukraine’s Catch-22 moment — Financial Times -
• War-linked assets rally on US push for peace in Ukraine — Financial Times -
• German start-ups seek to fill the British army’s ‘drone gap’ — Financial Times -
• The ‘pampered princess’ accused of trafficking South Africans to Russia — Financial Times -
• French lawmakers vote to nationalise ArcelorMittal plants — Financial Times -
• Israel to investigate soldiers suspected of executing unarmed Palestinians — Financial Times -
• Trump threatens sweeping immigration crackdown — Financial Times -
• Rutte hails ‘renewed energy’ on Ukraine peace as Putin pours cold water — Financial Times -
• Indonesia resists US trade deal ‘poison pill’ — Financial Times -
• Brazil offers lesson in winning the ‘Taco’ trade — Financial Times -
• Carney Lifts Climate Laws for New Alberta Pipeline — The New York Times Business -

Disruptions in critical sectors include an Airbus software update mandate due to solar radiation concerns, a CME trading outage impacting global markets, and debates surrounding anti-competitive patent trolls and the future of humanoid robotics, alongside major investment in AI infrastructure and strategic corporate acquisitions like Deutsche Boerse's bid for Allfunds.

• Opinion | Stop the Anticompetitive Patent Trolls — Wall Street Journal -
• Opinion | Humanoid Robots Have a Long Way to Go — Wall Street Journal -
• The Battle Over Africa’s Great Untapped Resource: IP Addresses — Wall Street Journal -

• CME trading outage disrupts global markets — Financial Times -
• Nexperia Urges China Unit to Restore Chip Flow Amid Fears of Supply Squeeze — Wall Street Journal -
• Telefonica Scores Provisional Rights to Spain’s Soccer League La Liga — Wall Street Journal -
• It’s not just gamblers taking a punt on prediction markets — Financial Times -
• Former Intel chief Pat Gelsinger: ‘I’ve been called here for a purpose’ — Financial Times -
• Taiwan’s economy roars ahead on back of AI demand — Financial Times -
• Meituan Posts First Loss in Three Years as Food-Delivery War Rages — Wall Street Journal -
• CME Data-Center Issue Hits Options, Futures Trading — Wall Street Journal -
• Deutsche Boerse in Talks to Buy Fund-Tech Platform Allfunds in $6 Billion Deal — Wall Street Journal -
• Getty warns over UK operations if Shutterstock deal is blocked — Financial Times -
• Will private capital create a crisis in 401ks? — Financial Times -
• Private equity executive warns US pension scheme push risks bailouts — Financial Times -
• OpenAI partners amass $100bn debt pile to fund its ambitions — Financial Times -
• Is China winning the innovation race? — Financial Times -
• Amrish Rau: India outshines even China on fintech — Financial Times -

Holiday season spending plans remain intact for shoppers despite higher prices and a weakening job market, with stock markets rallying near record highs, while Black Friday sales forecasts predict tighter budgets and luxury goods like jewelry outperform other segments, amidst broader concerns over customer satisfaction and developments in commodity markets like lithium.

• Shoppers Head Into the Holidays With Spending Plans Intact — The New York Times Business -
• Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -
• Late Rally Pushes Stocks Back Near Record High — The New York Times Business -

• India GDP grows faster than expected at 8.2% — Financial Times -
• Health Care Roundup: Market Talk — Wall Street Journal -
• Rio Tinto CEO’s Big Test: What to Do With Lithium — Wall Street Journal -
• US Black Friday shoppers expected to spend less as cost of living bites — Financial Times -
• American Customers Are Madder Than Ever — Wall Street Journal -
• Why Jewelry Is Outperforming the Rest of the Luxury World — Wall Street Journal -
• Why I couldn’t help torching my equity funds — Financial Times -
• Rapid growth of US tax-minimising ETFs draws scrutiny — Financial Times -
• I Just Don’t Get Black Friday — Wall Street Journal -

Devastating storms in Southeast Asia have claimed hundreds of lives, highlighting urgent climate and environmental realities, as Germany debates relaxing petrol engine bans and efforts to combat deforestation face delays, while public health officials warn of surging measles cases and NHS advisers reject routine prostate screening amidst a deadly Hong Kong blaze.

• Opinion | The Left’s Climate Dreams Hit Energy Reality — Wall Street Journal -
• South-east Asia reels as rare cluster of storms claims more than 400 lives — Financial Times -
• Routine prostate screening rejected by NHS advisers — Financial Times -

• Germany’s Merz to demand EU relax petrol engine ban — Financial Times -
• A reminder of how difficult stamping out deforestation is — Financial Times -
• Hong Kong’s devastating blaze sharpens scrutiny of bamboo scaffolders — Financial Times -
• Measles surging again as vaccine rates drop, WHO warns — Financial Times -
• Death toll in Hong Kong blaze rises to at least 128 — Financial Times -

Airbus mandates a critical software update for its A320 jets to counter potential data corruption from intense solar radiation, while tensions between US and Indian experts continue to mark the ongoing investigation into a deadly Air India Dreamliner crash.

• Airbus Orders Software Update for A320 Jets — The New York Times Business -
• Officials Clashed in Investigation of Deadly Air India Crash — Wall Street Journal -

Opinion pieces critique the press's role in reporting truth and the left's climate policies colliding with energy reality, alongside discussions on protecting trial by jury, economic debates between prominent figures, and evolving perspectives on immigration policy.

• Opinion | The Press vs. the Truth, Cold War Edition — Wall Street Journal -
• Trial by jury is a right that needs protecting — Financial Times -
• Correction — Wall Street Journal -

• Krugman vs Wolf, vibecessions and the US economy’s ‘weird shadows’ — Financial Times -
• Why I changed my mind on the case for a net migration target — Financial Times -
• Why Immigration Policy Is Hard — a guide to breaking out of the ‘infernal circle’ — Financial Times -

The passing of renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern is noted, alongside quirky cultural insights into sumo topknots and London's historic legal outfitters, and broader reflections on museums balancing art with commercial interests and personal anecdotes from collectors and travelers.

• Robert A.M. Stern, Architect Who Reinvented Prewar Splendor, Dies at 86 — The New York Times Business -
• A Fascinating Tale, Unearthed at a Sidewalk Sale — The New York Times Business -
• How the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah Readies the Slopes — The New York Times Business -

• Ede & Ravenscroft, the specialist serving the bar since 1689 — Financial Times -
• The secret life of the sumo topknot — Financial Times -
• Gallerist Juerg Judin: ‘It’s tiny as châteaux go’ — Financial Times -
• Museums are no longer afraid of ‘selling out’. But have they forgotten about the art? — Financial Times -