In BIG PICTURE NEWS, Trump gives Putin an ultimatum, US stocks gain, China tries to boost stocks, Goldman bets on a UK rate cut frenzy and Reeves gets feistier while cocoa prices skyrocket, crypto execs fret and energy changes. In RETAIL, CONSUMER & LEISURE NEWS, luxury brands look to the US, Adidas delights, Puma disappoints, EasyJet halves losses and 'spoons has a decent Christmas. In TECH NEWS, OpenAI stirs things up, Microsoft does an emissions deal, Samsung unveils a new AI-powered smartphone and EA sees weakness. In MISCELLANOUS NEWS, Stellantis plans US investments, Polestar seeks new suppliers and customers while Trainline gets hit by competition worries. AND FINALLY I bring you one man's attempt to conquer the world's longest set of monkey bars...