•Popular Halloween chocolates and confectionery cost 15.3% more than in 2025, research found.
•Treat prices have risen 71% over five years, according to FinanceBuzz.
•Halloween treat sales were down 11.7% by mid-September and 6.7% by mid-October, NielsenIQ found; smaller packs gained ground as shoppers stayed cautious.
•Higher cocoa costs are contributing to confectionery price rises; cocoa topped $10,700 a tonne in January 2025.
•The tech-heavy index fell 2.5% at Friday’s open, amid concerns about rising AI investment costs.
•Intel shares fell as much as 30% after it warned of a weaker PC market and forecast lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.
•Intel’s finance chief said the company did not expect positive cash flow this year; it plans to increase equipment spending.
•Amazon shares fell as much as 6% after reported earnings missed investor expectations.
•Alphabet lost more than $500bn in value on Thursday after saying AI summaries were affecting core search ad revenue; its shares fell another 1% Friday.
•Policy and Resources said the review was on track for completion by the end of September 2025; its president says the committee will consider it again shortly.
•The support includes a £5,000 grant for qualifying recruits, rent assistance for up to four years and other moving costs.
•The States spent more than £5m on relocation packages in 2025, the highest annual total since the support began.
•Guernsey rents have risen 65% in a decade to an average £2,138 a month. A scrutiny committee says the grants may push rents higher; P&R says any changes must account for essential-service recruitment.
•Foreign firms awarded contracts above £50m must invest an equivalent amount in British factories, jobs and training.
•The Ministry of Defence will apply the rules case by case.
•Ministers have not set out a pathway to the target of spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030; the decision is deferred to next year’s spending review.
•UK defence spending is estimated at 2.6% of GDP this year. Defence committee chair Tan Dhesi criticised the delay; Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the criticism unfair.
•Nicola Shaw will step down on 1 January; Nicola Medalova is due to take over as chief executive in the new year.
•The Environment Agency gave the company one star out of four, its lowest rating, and said it caused 260 pollution incidents in 2025—the most since 2011.
•Shaw faced criticism over £1.3m in previously undisclosed payments made between 2023 and 2025.
•Ofwat fined Yorkshire Water £47m in 2024 for historic sewage leaks.
•The exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals while conducting security checks; it said it would cover losses and users’ funds are safe.
•Tether and Circle have frozen about $2.4bn in assets linked to the incident.
•Binance has not disclosed how much was stolen; Chainalysis estimated more than $5.9bn, while Glassnode put the total at $5.3bn.
•A butcher said rising electricity costs and wage and National Insurance bills mean he cannot afford to hire another worker.
•A plasterer spends about £350 a week on fuel; a chip shop owner pays nearly £800 monthly for electricity and £600 for gas.
•The Budget includes a 3.9% minimum-wage rise from April and a one-off £100 payment for up to 20 million households in England’s council tax bands A-D.
•A mother of six said the £100 payment would cover about two weeks of gas and electricity; her weekly shop has risen from about £100 to £130.