In BIG PICTURE NEWS, Trump says he'll talk to Putin, China announces a rut-busting plan, gloom hangs over the UK, green energy stocks come down to earth and gold breaks $3k. In BUSINESS, CONSUMER & EMPLOYMENT TRENDS, Saudi Arabia cracks down on consultants, Reeves blunts the CMA, US consumers get cautious and more US companies ditch DEI. In TECH & MEDIA NEWS, Baidu unveils a DeepSeek competitor, Spotify cranks up the profit and the UK looks to clamp down on illegal content. In MISCELLANEOUS NEWS,Musk things take a beating, Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and John Lewis sends out a downbeat message. AND FINALLY I bring you some under-£20 London eats...