In MACRO, TRADING & CRYPTO NEWS, growth slows in the UK economy, Le Pen sets the stage, investors have a wobble on Chinese stocks and South Korea does a major crypto crackdown. In ELECTRIC VEHICLE-RELATED NEWS, everyone fights over nickel and road pricing could be the way forward. In EMPLOYMENT NEWS, European workers show more interest in UK jobs and UK employees see wage rises. In MISCELLANEOUS NEWS, the government does a U-turn on UK vaccine passports, the Post Office does a deal with Amazon and M&S reconsiders its French stores. AND FINALLY, I bring you the theory behind traffic jams and a best-selling Japanese snack...