Happy Monday. Flying cars have finally happened, and all it took was a number of rocket boosters attached to the car.

If you have been living in a cave, you might’ve missed Tesla unveiling the second generation Roadster, with added cold-gas thrusters courtesy of SpaceX. This has allowed the car to perform short hops, hovers and mid-air adjustments - so alright, not quite a long-haul flying car, but its the closest yet.

Notable UK earnings this week: Sainsburys (SBRY), ITM Power (ITM), Beeks Financial Cloud (BKS), Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY), Sanderson Design Group (SDG).

Notable US earnings this week: Netflix (NFLX), GE Aerospace (GE), General Motors (GM), Lockheed Martin (LMT), 3M (MMM), Spotify (SPOT), Verizon (VZ), Halliburton (HAL).

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🌊 Ofgem to launch record £3.5bn Hornsea 3 tender. Read more

🔌 Seaway7 to start cable installation for Hornsea 3. Read more

🚂 Network Rail eye £650m of upgrades for East West Rail. Read more

Economy grows despite expectations
The UK economy managed a modest bit of forward motion in August, growing by 0.1% month on month, according to the ONS — better than the 0.1% contraction economists had braced for, because forecasts, like traffic on the M25, are often more aspirational than accurate. Production did the heavy lifting, rising 0.8%, while services were flat and construction slipped 0.2%.

On an annual basis, GDP rose 2.1%, comfortably ahead of the 1.7% expected by analysts and the strongest year-on-year reading since August 2022. Not exactly a roaring comeback tour, but in the current climate of sticky inflation and eye-watering energy bills, any growth at all is worth a slightly raised eyebrow and a cautious nod.

While borrowing costs are still painfully elevated, John Healey has the question of his budget in a couple of weeks - and while tax rises could crimp spending and confidence, extra borrowing could spook the markets. No pressure, John. Despite this, the UK is still growing regardless of global turbulence, energy shocks and high interest rates. Better yet, many reckon we’re still the fastest growing in the G7. So yeah, stick that silver lining on your dark clouds!

Healey backs Heathrow expansion
Chancellor John Healey has thrown his weight behind expanding Heathrow, even as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declined to back plans for a third runway. In the grand British tradition of leaving a sizeable project hanging in the air, the government now appears to be balancing economic ambition against all the predictable headaches that come with it: noise, cost, and climate targets.

The prime minister said last month the decision was one for “London and Londoners”, which has done little to clear the fog. Business leaders, airlines and investors have long wanted the airport to expand, but local residents are understandably less impressed by the prospect of even more aircraft overhead. Nobody wakes up on a Sunday hoping for additional take-off noise with their tea.

Palantir’s paperwork predicament
Palantir has settled its legal fight with London’s policing office over a blocked £50m deal to supply the Met Police with AI tools for criminal investigations. The contract remains on hold, but the mayor’s office insists the decision was about procurement rules and value for money, not the US firm’s ethics. Palantir can bid again when the contract is reopened. So, no courtroom showdown — just another round of paperwork.

Sign of the times
West Surrey's bid to be called West Surrey and South Middlesex has been knocked back, with the government refusing to amend legislation to rename the new unitary council. The idea, backed by TV astrologer Russell Grant, was to recognise Spelthorne — including Staines-upon-Thames, Shepperton and Sunbury — which was part of Middlesex until 1965.

The council's leader called it "disappointing", though a ministry spokesperson says the council has the power to change its own name if it chooses. So: a no that's also a maybe. Russell Grant, of all people, might have seen that coming.

Signatures matter too: Neath-born Rhys Phillips starts as the Bank of England's chief cashier this week, making him the first Welshman whose signature will appear on UK banknotes. He's been practising it, hopes to use something "somewhat grander than a biro", and has ruled out putting Sir Tom Jones on the notes. Disappointed? It's not unusual.

Trump claims Greenland exploration, Greenland disagree
Greenland’s government has swatted away Donald Trump’s claim that “massive” oil, gas and mineral exploration is about to kick off across the Arctic territory. Deputy mining minister Jørgen Hammeken-Holm said there are indeed US companies active on the island, but calling it a boom is rather generous — “we are very far away from ‘massive’ exploration,” he said. In other words, this is not exactly drill, baby, drill; more like a very slow handshake in a very cold room.

The Danish Foreign Ministry, which oversees foreign affairs for Greenland’s autonomous government, was equally clear: if the US wants to go prospecting, it must do so under Greenland’s laws. Copenhagen also said a recent US-Denmark-Greenland agreement did not give American investors any special treatment over those from other NATO or EU countries. So much for the imperial on‑ramp — the paperwork, as ever, remains the real superpower.

Newest press secretary leaves after one week
Katie Zacharia has left her post as White House press secretary just a week after taking it on, in what is now firmly in the category of “blink and you’ll miss it” jobs. She said it had been an honour to work for Donald Trump, who, with the air of a man trying to return a slightly splintered Aldi chair, told reporters he had urged her to reconsider.

The departure comes after fresh scrutiny over her claim to be a lawyer, plus a first press conference that landed somewhere between awkward and undercooked. Ms Zacharia’s debut lasted just 15 minutes, included only three questions, and spent more than half its time on pre-written remarks — not exactly a masterclass in media combat. If you’re going to face the Washington press pack, you rather need more than a PowerPoint smile and a prayer.

Secrets, saucers and suspicious bog roll
OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, has been charged with allegedly planting secret recording devices in the company’s offices, including one wrapped in toilet paper behind a television. Court documents claim he used AI chatbots to investigate meeting rooms and how to build a remotely accessible recorder.

OpenAI says there’s no evidence he accessed or stole its source code, model weights or customer data. Alfozan denies the allegations through his lawyer, who stresses he is presumed innocent. The FBI planted cameras behind the TV after finding the device and recorded him looking behind the TV.

Love, lies and flying cars
Dating app Bumble has been bought by investment firm Ithaca Holdings for $1.3bn, in what its new owners call “a bet on the future of humanity”. The loss-making app, which recently ditched its women-first messaging rule, hopes AI can help revive its fortunes.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s long-delayed Roadster has finally been shown off doing rather more than the school run: driving upside down, briefly flying and allegedly hitting 60mph in 0.81 seconds. Production is promised for 2028, though the flying version won’t be road-legal. Romance may be struggling, but Elon’s apparently dating gravity.

The future is a hologram
Disability rights campaigner Baroness Campbell has become the first person to use an AI-generated voice in Parliament, during a House of Lords debate on social care.

Meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen, 87, is preparing to appear as a 3D hologram in An Ark, alongside Golda Rosheuvel, when the play arrives in Manchester next March. Captured using 52 cameras, the production promises a new kind of theatrical experience. At this rate, the future won’t just be televised — it’ll be beamed in, with or without the actor’s original voice.

Ship happens and pink panther problems
Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest known shipwreck off Turkey’s Kekova Island, dating back 4,400–4,700 years — roughly pyramid-building vintage. Though the wooden vessel has vanished, more than 30 ceramic storage pots and three stone anchors remain, with some jars still holding mysterious residue that could be olive oil, wine or tree resin. Researchers believe the 10-metre trading ship was carrying goods across the Mediterranean towards Troy or Crete. After five millennia on the seabed, it’s finally delivering the goods.

Meanwhile, France is polishing up a rather different piece of history: the rare, nine-carat Grand Condé pink diamond, returning to public display almost exactly 100 years after its theft. In 1926, thieves hid the royal gem inside a hollowed-out apple. Their downfall? A hungry hotel maid who took a bite. Recovered weeks later, it’s now back at the Château de Chantilly until 3 January. With European museums suffering a spate of robberies, let’s hope nobody gets any fruity ideas.

Small wonders, big hopes
London Zoo has bred 15 critically endangered Afia Birago’s puddle frogs for the first time, giving a tiny species a rather large lifeline. Just 5mm long, these froglets come from Ghana’s Atewa Hills, where the frogs survive in only two pools threatened by mining.

Experts brought 20 adults to London to learn how to breed them, with the knowledge now being shared with conservationists in Ghana. The ultimate aim is to build a population that can return to the wild. Named after the mother of Ghanaian conservationist Caleb Ofori-Boateng, the species now has a fighting chance of making sure her name — and its own — hops on.