![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1737.jpg\")
A chart showing US economic growth Photograph: BEA<\/p>\nUS economic growth beats forecasts in Q3<\/p>\n
Newsflash: US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter of this year, to the fastest rate in two years.<\/p>\n
US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 4.3% in the July-September period, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, up from 3.8% in April-June.<\/p>\n
That beats Wall Street forecasts that growth would slow to 3.3%, and is the fastest growth recorded for the US economy since the third quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n
A chart showing US economic growth Photograph: BEA<\/p>\n
Annualised growth of 4.3% is the equivalent of quarterly growth of almost 1.1%, much faster than the UK which only grew by 0.1% in Q3.<\/p>\n
The increase in real GDP in the third quarter was due to increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment.<\/p>\n
Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased, the BEA explains.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.44 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Analysis: strong consumption driving US growth<\/p>\n Here is analysis of today\u2019s UK GDP report from Heather Long<\/a>, the chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the best quarterly economic growth in two years (since Q3 2023). The main drivers of the growth were strong consumption, unusually low imports and a little bit more government spending.<\/p>\n What\u2019s telling is that the AI boom did not play a big role in Q3 growth. This was a quarter when consumers returned to being the key driver of the U.S. economy. While the trade distortions did play a role, real final sales to domestic purchasers still came in at a robust 3%, a sign that demand remains healthy even in the midst of so many headwinds.<\/p>\n Consumers did pull back a bit on autos and household furnishings, but they continue to spend across almost every category, including discretionary items such as recreational goods. This bodes well for 2026. If the economy can avoid widespread layoffs, most American consumers can keep spending.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.14 EST<\/p>\n Today\u2019s US economic data are distorted, somewhat, by the trade disruption caused by Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because exports have a positive impact on GDP, while imports detract from it.<\/p>\n The Trump trade war caused a surge of imports in Q1 as businesses tried to beat the \u2018Liberation Day\u2019 tariffs in early April, followed by a slump once those tariffs were in (and also once warehouses were full of goods from overseas!).<\/p>\n Exports, in contrast, were subued in Q1 and Q2, but picked up sharply in Q3.<\/p>\n Navy Federal Credit Union economist Heather Long has posted the details:<\/p>\n Q3 GDP of 4.3% was boosted over a percentage point by the weird trade situation. (See yellow boxes below). Artificially low imports and “high” exports did make GDP look better.<\/p>\n But keep in mind: Consumption was strong in Q3 at +3.5%. (see green box below)<\/p>\n Bottom line: This a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/AMgpZObeVE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) December 23, 2025<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.13 EST<\/p>\n AI boom ‘may have taken a step backwards’<\/p>\n Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, has spotted that investment in artificial intelligence may have slowed in Q3.<\/p>\n Ashworth explains:<\/p>\n Third-quarter consumption growth was 3.5%, up from 2.5% in the second quarter, with a surge in health care services spending driving a 3.7% gain in services consumption. Indeed, health care services spending alone added 0.8% points to overall GDP growth.<\/p>\n Somewhat disappointingly, however, business investment growth slowed to only 2.8% annualised, with IPP and equipment investment growth both slowing to 5.4% and, despite the data centre mania, investment in non-residential structures contracted at a 6.3% pace. At face value, that suggests the AI boom might have taken a step backwards, after driving GDP growth in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.14 EST<\/p>\n Today\u2019s US GDP report shows that consumer spending on goods and services rose in the July-September quarter.<\/p>\n Within services, the leading contributors were health care and other services. Within goods, the leading contributors were recreational goods and vehicles as well as other nondurable goods., the BEA says.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>US economic growth beats forecasts in Q3<\/p>\n Newsflash: US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter of this year, to the fastest rate in two years.<\/p>\n US real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annualised rate of 4.3% in the July-September period, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, up from 3.8% in April-June.<\/p>\n That beats Wall Street forecasts that growth would slow to 3.3%, and is the fastest growth recorded for the US economy since the third quarter of 2023.<\/p>\n A chart showing US economic growth Photograph: BEA<\/p>\n Annualised growth of 4.3% is the equivalent of quarterly growth of almost 1.1%, much faster than the UK which only grew by 0.1% in Q3.<\/p>\n The increase in real GDP in the third quarter was due to increases in consumer spending, exports, and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment.<\/p>\n Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased, the BEA explains.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.44 EST<\/p>\n The copper price rally is also being fuelled by fears that President Donald Trump\u2019s administration could impose additional import tariffs on copper next year.<\/p>\n Bloomberg says <\/a>the possibility that Trump will place tariffs on the metal has been a central factor driving prices higher, with a surge in US imports through the year thrusting manufacturers elsewhere into a bidding war to keep hold of supplies.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The US dollar is its lowest in 11 weeks against a basket of currencies, with the greenback hitting a three-month low against the Swiss francs and the Australian dollar today, as well as the pound.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Copper price hits record high over $12,000\/ton<\/p>\n The weakness in the US dollar<\/a> is helping to push the price of copper to a record high today.<\/p>\n Copper hit a fresh all-time high above $12,000 a ton in London trading, with traders pointing to a combination of supply disruptions and a bullish demand outlook.<\/p>\n Demand for copper, which is widely used in infrastructure and energy networks, has been rising this year amid strong demand for AI datecentres.<\/p>\n Supply of copper has been disrupted by the fatal mudslide at the Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia, which forced its owner, US miner Freeport-McMoRan, to say it was unable to fulfil contracts to customers.<\/p>\n Trevor Yates, senior investment analyst at Global X ETFs, predict copper will keep rising next year:<\/p>\n Looking ahead to 2026, we expect the supportive supply-demand fundamentals to persist while the more favorable macro backdrop should further bolster the copper market.<\/p>\n The combination of a more dovish Federal Reserve, a positive fiscal impulse, and the potential for U.S. dollar weakness could help spark a modest recovery in traditional cyclical demand, enough, in our view, to push the market into deficit. In this environment, miners remain particularly well positioned, historically offering greater leverage to rising copper prices.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Pound strongest against US dollar since 1 October<\/p>\n The pound has climbed to its highest level against a weakening dollar in almost three months.<\/p>\n Sterling is up almost half a cent this morning at $1.351, the highest level since 1 October.<\/p>\n The dollar is sliding on the foreign exchange markets as investors anticipate cuts to US interest rates in 2026, and probably more than America\u2019s central bank, the Federal Reserve, expects.<\/p>\n Charalampos Pissouros, senior market analyst at Trading Point, says:<\/p>\n Despite the Fed projecting only one quarter-point reduction for 2026, market participants remain convinced that around 60bps worth of cuts are warranted for next year.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Novo Nordisk shares rally after Wegovy pill gets US oral approval<\/p>\n Shares in Novo Nordisk have jumped 7.5% this morning after it won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first weight-loss drug to be administered orally.<\/p>\n Yesterday, US regulators gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.<\/p>\n The US Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly\u2019s oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a welcome boost to Novo, whose shares have almost halved this year as competition in the weight loss industry has intensified.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Stocks are sneaking up a little in London this morning, but we can\u2019t really call it a Santa Rally yet.<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 share index has gained 14 points, or 0.14% to 9880, back towards last Friday\u2019s near-record closing high of 9,897 points.<\/p>\n Metlen Energy & Metals (+2.5%) are the top riser, followed by JD Sports (+2%).<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ryanair to appeal “legally flawed” ruling and fine<\/p>\n Newsflash: Ryanair says it will \u201cimmediately\u201d appeal today\u2019s ruling from Italy\u2019s competition authorities<\/a>, which it calls \u201clegally flawed\u201d and \u201cbizarre\/unsound\u201d, and the and the \u20ac256m fine.<\/p>\n The budget airline insists that its model of offering customers the lowest fares through its website benefits customers (rather than letting travel agents scrape details of the fares and then sell them).<\/p>\n Ryanair says this principle had been upheld by the Milan Court:<\/p>\n Ryanair, Europe\u2019s No.1 airline, today (Tues, 23 Dec) instructed its lawyers to immediately appeal both the bizarre\/unsound ruling and the \u20ac256m fine, unjustly levied by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), which seeks to ignore \u2013 and overturn \u2013 the Jan 2024 Precedent Ruling of the Milan Court, which declared that Ryanair\u2019s direct distribution model \u201cundoubtedly benefits consumers\u201d and leads to \u201ccompetitive fares\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n EU trade is becoming increasingly difficult for UK exporters, a new survey has found.<\/p>\n The British Chambers of Commerce has reported that 54% of British exporters think the UK-EU trade deal is not helping them grow sales.<\/p>\n This is a 13-percentage point increase in the proportion of firms who are unhappy with the deal compared to last year, the BCC reports. More here<\/a>:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Bet365 boss receives at least \u00a3280m in pay and dividends despite profit slump Denise Coates, the billionaire boss of Bet365, a self-described \u201cultimate gambler\u201d<\/a> and Britain\u2019s highest-paid woman, took home at least \u00a3280m in pay and dividends in 2025 despite a slump in pre-tax profits, my colleague Rob Davies reports.<\/p>\n Coates\u2019s Stoke-based gambling empire recorded turnover of \u00a34bn in the year to March 2025, up from \u00a33.7bn the year before<\/a>. Pre-tax profits fell to \u00a3349m from \u00a3627m in the previous year.<\/p>\n Bet365 incurred a \u00a3325m increase in expenses as it reshaped its global footprint, expanding its presence in the US and South America, while giving up its sometimes controversial presence in China, where online betting is illegal.<\/p>\n Coates had already extracted more than \u00a32.5bn in pay and dividends from a company that she began building in a car park in her home city.<\/p>\n Accounts posted on Tuesday show that she took a further \u00a3104m in salary, while her majority shareholding means she is entitled to at least 50% of a dividend of \u00a3353.6m, taking her total income from the group to at least \u00a3280m.<\/p>\n The deal is an increase on the \u00a3150m she claimed last year but falls some way short of her \u00a3469m record payout in 2021.<\/p>\n More here<\/a>:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Chart: The EU car market<\/p>\n Today\u2019s European car sales data shows that hybrid-electric cars (which have a fossil fuel engine and a rechargable battery) account for 34.6% of the total EU market this year.<\/p>\n Since January, 3,408,907 hybrid-electric cars have been registered in the EU, with growth in the four biggest markets: Spain (+26%), France (+24.2%), Germany (+8.7%), and Italy (+7.9%).<\/p>\n Illustration: ACEA<\/p>\n In addition, plug-in hybrids now makes up 9.3% of the market, while pure electric cars are another 16.9%.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Italy antitrust regulator fines Ryanair \u20ac256m over dealings with travel agencies<\/p>\n From cars to planes! Ryanair has been fined \u20ac255.7m (\u00a3222m) by Italy\u2019s competition authority for abusing its dominant position in its dealings with travel agents.<\/p>\n The Italian Competition Authority imposed the penalty after concluding that Ryanair had executed an \u201celaborate strategy\u201d to block online and traditional travel agencies from purchasing Ryanair flights on ryanair.com, or to make it harder.<\/p>\n This, it says, weakened competition from agencies and reduced the quality and range of tourism services available to consumers, from April 2023 until at least until April 2025.<\/p>\n The ICA says:<\/p>\n The investigation revealed that, at the end of 2022, Ryanair began to explore ways to hinder travel agencies. From mid-April 2023, these plans were implemented through measures that intensified over time. At first, Ryanair rolled out facial recognition procedures on its website aimed at users who purchased their ticket through a travel agency.<\/p>\n Then, at the end of 2023, when the Authority\u2019s investigation was underway, Ryanair totally or intermittently blocked booking attempts by travel agencies on its website (for example, by blocking payment methods and mass-deleting accounts linked to OTA bookings). In a third phase of its strategy, in early 2024, Ryanair imposed partnership agreements on OTAs and, subsequently, Travel Agent Direct accounts on traditional agencies, containing terms that restricted agencies from offering Ryanair flights in combination with other services.<\/p>\n To \u201cpersuade\u201d agencies to partner up, Ryanair periodically blocked bookings and launched an aggressive communication campaign against non-signatory OTAs, labelling them \u201cpirate OTAs\u201d. In April 2025, Ryanair made its full white-label iFrame solution available to OTAs. This enabled the integration of IT applications (so-called APIs) which, if properly implemented, make it possible to restore effective competition in the downstream market for tourism services.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.31 EST<\/p>\n New car sales in Europe rise for fifth month in a row<\/p>\n Overall, new car registrations in the EU increased by 1.4% year-on-year in November, the fifth monthly rise in a row.<\/p>\n A chart showing European new car sales Illustration: ACEA<\/p>\n ACEA reports:<\/p>\n Despite the recent positive momentum, overall volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels. The battery-electric car market share reached 16.9% YTD, in line with projections for the year, yet a level that still leaves room for growth to stay on track with the transition.<\/p>\n Hybrid-electric vehicles lead as the most popular power type choice among buyers, with plug-in hybrids continuing to gain momentum.<\/p>\n That transition hit a diversion this month, when Brussels scrapped its landmark 2035 ban on combustion engines and brought in new flexibilities to allow carmakers to hit 2030 carbon emission targets.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s sales didn\u2019t fall everywhere last month, though.<\/p>\n The Norwegian market was a bright spot \u2013 Tesla\u2019s sales in Norway rose 34.6% in November year-to-date<\/a>, led by the mass market crossover Model Y.<\/p>\n That means Tesla has sold more cars in Norway in 2025 than any \u200bother automaker ever did in a full year, beating the country\u2019s annual sales record with one month to spare according to the Norwegian Road Federation.<\/p>\n![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RobDavies.jpg\")
Rob Davies<\/p>\n