Surge in young men missing from job market

📍 Top line: The number of young British men who are neither working nor preparing for employment has reached its highest level in over a decade, presenting a significant challenge to the economic goals of the new Labour government. Historically, women outnumbered men in the NEET (not in education, employment, or training) category, but this gap has now closed.

Official data revealed that nearly 460,000 men aged 18 to 24 were NEET in the first half of this year, a rate of over 16%. Alarmingly, almost 60% of these men were not seeking work, a 45% increase since 2019, while the number of inactive women has remained stable.

Experts attribute much of this rise to mental health issues, with many young men losing confidence when transitioning from education to the job market.

Chocolate chain Knoops plans global expansion

📍 Top line: Knoops, a rapidly expanding chain of chocolate drink cafés, is raising £5 million in funding support its ambitious growth plans to open between 3,000 and 5,000 stores globally over the next decade. The brand, known for its premium hot chocolate, is pushing to become a global leader in the chocolate drink market, similar to what Starbucks did for coffee.

☕ Knoops was founded by Jens Knoop and expanded by CEO William Gordon-Harris after he experienced the brand’s high-quality chocolate drinks in Rye, Sussex. Currently operating 21 stores, Knoops aims to open 300 in the UK first and is about to open its first overseas outlet in Dubai. Knoops’s revenue more than doubled to £9.3 million in the last financial year, with profits significantly improving.

Elsewhere in business:

📱The merger between Vodafone and Three could lead to higher costs for tens of millions of mobile phone users, according to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). While the £15 billion deal would create the country's largest mobile network and potentially enhance service quality, the CMA has raised concerns about reduced competition. A final decision on the merger is expected in early December.

🇺🇸 Nvidia's massive stock rally continues to exert a disproportionate influence on the S&P 500, raising concerns that a downturn in the chipmaker's fortunes could negatively impact the broader market. Nvidia's 140% surge this year, driven by its leadership in artificial intelligence chip production, has contributed to about 25% of the S&P 500's 17% overall gain. This dependency on a few high-performing stocks, including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, has revived concerns about the market being driven by a small group of tech giants.

Thinktank pushes pensions for young workers

📍Top line: The UK government have been urged to automatically enrol employees as young as 16 into workplace pensions to tackle the looming retirement crisis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that 30% to 40% of private sector workers, around 7 million people, are on track for inadequate retirement incomes.

Currently, only employees aged 22 and above who meet a minimum salary threshold are automatically enrolled, with a minimum contribution of 5% from the worker and 3% from the employer. The IFS suggests lowering the enrolment age to 16 and having employers contribute 3% even if the employee opts out.

These changes, it argues, could prevent millions from falling short of the £14,400 needed annually for a basic standard of living in retirement.

Elsewhere in the economy:

🏦 Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is significantly increasing its workforce in Birmingham as part of its broader strategy to expand operations into lower-cost European cities. Since establishing its Birmingham office in 2021 with just 30 employees, the New York-based bank has grown its local staff to around 400. Goldman Sachs' move to Birmingham is part of a wider trend among major financial institutions. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Bank of New York Mellon are also hiring skilled graduates in cities outside of London.

🇺🇸 The world’s most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, is expected to cut interest rates this week, marking its first reduction in four years. As the election looms, the Fed is anticipated to lower rates by 0.25% although market bets on a larger 0.5% cut have surged. 

Luxury fashion brand Vivienne Westwood has opened applications for its Digital Graphics Assistant internship. The successful candidate will support the digital marketing team and assist the digital graphic designer with a variety of tasks. The 6-week programme, based at the company’s Head Office in London, offer a rate of £13.15 per hour and is open to all. Apply now here.

TikTok goes to war with White House

📍Top line: TikTok is challenging a U.S. law that could force its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban. The high-stakes court hearing, commencing on Monday, could see the app used by 170 million Americans banned as soon as January 19th.

Signed by President Biden in April, the law is driven by fears of data exploitation and Chinese government influence. The Department of Justice argues TikTok poses a national security risk, including spreading Chinese propaganda. However, the White House insists the law targets Chinese ownership of the app, not TikTok itself.

🗣️ TikTok denies any links to Chinese authorities, calling the law an "extraordinary intrusion on free speech." Critics warn that the ban could set a dangerous global precedent for free speech.

Elsewhere in tech

📱 Sharing revenge porn will be elevated to the most serious category of offence under the Online Safety Act, placing greater responsibility on social media platforms to remove and prevent the spread of such images. The new rules, set to take effect in the spring, will require companies to take proactive measures to detect and eliminate revenge porn, with hefty fines imposed on those that fail to comply.

🇬🇧 OpenAI has acknowledged that its latest AI models, known as o1, have significantly increased the risk of misuse for creating biological weapons, according to the FT. The company revealed this concern in its system card, which flagged a "medium risk" for issues related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons — the highest risk rating the company has ever assigned to its models.

🇺🇸 The FBI have thwarted an "apparent assassination attempt" on Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course. Shots were fired as a Secret Service agent spotted a man with a rifle near the perimeter fence. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after a police chase. An AK-47-style rifle and rucksacks were recovered, with authorities saying Routh was “lying in wait” for Trump.

⚽ The hearing into Manchester City’s 115 charges for alleged breaches of financial fair play rules begins today following a four-year investigation into the club’s finances. City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, is confident the charges will not stand and has said he is “looking forward to the decision”.

🏆 Shogun, the smash-hit samurai series, won four awards at last night’s Emmys, including the prize for best drama series - an accolade which has eluded Disney for 19 years. The show already held the record for the most Emmys wins in a single year having won a whopping 14 at last week’s Creative Arts Emmys!