In BIG PICTURE NEWS, the US economy's on a roll, Britain gets an upgrade, councils face further turmoil and the London living wage is set to rise. In RETAIL & LEISURE NEWS, Halfords warns of uncertainty, Holiday Inn sees growth, McDonald's has a shocker and Starbucks suspends guidance. In AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, GM raises profit guidance and a senior VW exec gets deported from China. In MISCELLANEOUS NEWS, HSBC has a reorg, Arm tests Qualcomm, a Boeing satellite breaks up, Netflix steps back from big games and Tokyo Metro starts trading. AND FINALLY, I bring you some amazing pasta...