The Meta boss looked traumatised when he sipped stout on the Cheeky Pint podcast. An hour later, his glass was still half fullName: Guinness.Age: Arthur Guinness began brewing porter in the 1770s. Guinness draft was first poured in 1959. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 15:33 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

We’d like to hear about whether you feel like the US is in a recession and what you think signals such a downturnNearly two-thirds of Americans think the US is experiencing a recession, according to a new Harris Poll conducted for the Guardian. By the typical definition of a recession – when a country’s economic growth is in the negative for two consecutive quarters – the US is not experiencing one. Still, Americans are facing higher prices and a stagnant job market, which for many feels like a downturn.We want to hear from Americans: do you feel like the US is experiencing a recession? What is your so-called personal “recession indicator”, or a signal in your everyday life that points to an incoming economic slump? It could be seen in your job or at your local grocery store, something you notice at your children’s school or out in your community. Tell us about it below. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 16:55 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Insurers are taking on more risk than they should. If – or when – a major disaster hits, the catastrophe will have far-reaching consequencesI work for a major insurer, assessing the risk posed by natural disasters on properties around the world, from family homes to schools, government offices and multibillion-dollar commercial centres. The world is facing greater risk than ever from extreme weather. We are not prepared – and that inaction could have profound consequences for the global financial system.In the face of ever more extreme and unpredictable climate risks, I am coming under pressure to cut my forecasts for the losses that disasters will cause in order to make insurance more affordable – and get my employer more business. In some instances, the questioning of our numbers and models is justified. But too often, it is not being done to produce more accurate models, but to artificially lower prices. If this is happening at my firm, which is struggling to compete with rivals’ prices, it’s happening elsewhere.The writer is a modeller working in the insurance industry. A version of this piece originally appeared with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism as part of their Secret Source series, a regular column featuring industry whistleblowers Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 10:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Congress approves constitutional amendment that bans six-day workweeks, which could affect up to 30 millionBrazil’s congress has approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that will hand a political victory to the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff in under two weeks.In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment, which will give some workers an extra day off each week. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 02:45 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Exclusive: Aleksandar Vučić personally intervened to push plans for controversial $500m Trump Tower in Belgrade, which sparked protests and a criminal caseSerbia’s authoritarian ruler personally intervened to advance an allegedly illegal scheme to hand over a protected site in Belgrade for a Trump tower, the Guardian can reveal.Aleksandar Vučić summoned officials to a meeting at his presidential offices about the project, which has culminated in a landmark indictment of senior figures from his regime on charges of abuse of public office. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 11:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Social media-driven craze puts ‘squishies’ up there with evergreen favourites such as Lego and Barbie, Hamleys saysA cartoonish banana so addictively squidgy that it is “really difficult to put down” is tipped to be among the must-have toys this Christmas, according to expert buyers at Hamleys.The £10 “slow-rise, squeezable, sensory” fruit taps into the “squishies” craze that is fuelling a high street boom in toy sales. In the coming weeks, Hamleys expects to sell thousands of the Big Squij toys, which come in a variety of food and animal shapes filled with a flour-based compound. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 14:03 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Exclusive: Douglas Alexander, on trade delegation to India, talks up economic benefits of joint trading arrangements with EuropeBritain will benefit from much closer trading relations with the EU even if that means giving up its ability to negotiate free trade agreements, the Scotland secretary has said.Douglas Alexander helped negotiate deals with India and the US when he was a trade minister under Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 13:58 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN