Crypto News: Winter’s just beginning

Here's something for the weekend — the possibility of a "significant" improvement in relations between the EU and the UK, according to Ireland's foreign minister. This morning, Simon Coveney said two equally effusive things: "We are in a better space than we've been in for quite some time" and "the conversations are a lot warmer. I think trust is growing."

Earlier in the week, you'll remember Bloomberg's Philip Aldrick and Andrew Atkinson did a tour de force piece of analysis, picking apart the fact from the fiction of how Brexit has affected the UK economy. They concluded that one of the major damaging aspects of Brexit has been the chill on investment. Part of this, the political uncertainty caused by the snarling up of trade on the border in Northern Ireland.

While Coveney also said there had been no "major breakthroughs" on customs checks and VAT rates, yesterday Ursula Von Der Leyen told the Irish parliament a workable solution is "in reach." Brexit has had a bad week, criticized by a slew of public figures: Here's hoping these comments bring real breakthroughs.

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The stories you need to know about this evening

The pound drops after the US added more jobs than forecast and wages surged by the most in nearly a year.
French energy giant TotalEnergies will cut investment in the North Sea by 25% next year in response to the UK's expanded windfall tax.
Across Wall Street, banks are weighing plans to cut bonus pools by as much as 30%.

A friend of mine was recently saying that alongside Javier Blas on oil and Alex Wickham on Tory tribes, The Readout should offer advice about de-fleaing your cats and filing your tax return to make it a truly one stop news shop (they were taking the mickey). Our subscribers don't need that, I said: they have John Stepek and Merryn Somerset Webb's wealth content (and obviously you already de-flea your cats once a month, right?)

However, this piece by Bloomberg newbie Olivia Rudgard gives me little choice. Heated drying racks are "flying off the shelves in the UK" — received wisdom* had been that they are cheaper than central heating. Mine is right now standing in my son's bedroom: The Great Bedsheet Monster.

Lakeland's company ambassador Wendy Miranda told Olivia, "We're up on heated airers just below 100% year on year, but we are out of stock as often as we are in stock." Demand is such they have had to impose their "first ever two per person household limit" on the product. (*I hate to break it to you: her piece actually concludes it's not as cost-efficient as had first appeared. Nothing is sacred).

A heated drying rack made by UK retailer Lakeland.

The good news is that these electric life hacks seem to be working. In the UK, energy consumption has dropped by 10% since October. It's to be welcomed.

But, there is a darker side to energy consumption habits plunging. This piece suggests more than two million of Britain's most vulnerable households could "shiver in silence" this winter by disconnecting from the grid without their suppliers according to the chief executive of Utilita Energy, Bill Bullen. There's likely to be an uptick in the number of illnesses and deaths among those using traditional prepayment metres.

Bullen told Bloomberg's journalists he submitted a "red flag" report to the UK government calling on companies to take various steps, including swapping old equipment for smart metres, so suppliers can detect when someone has unplugged.

So far this winter we've had above average temperatures but that's predicted by the Met Office to change shortly with colder than normal weather expected, including the possibility of snow. As one energy expert puts it: "The cold is starting to creep in now, so the next month or two will be more telling."

Brits' Christmas dinner will be the most expensive in at least a decade as the cost of everything from poultry to Yorkshire pudding soars.

Prices for a typical holiday meal, including turkey, pork and vegetables, are up more than 22% from last year, reflecting turmoil in markets from agriculture to energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as a severe bird-flu outbreak in the UK.

Read more from Mumbi Gitau.

Get ahead of the curve

Career pivot. This former finance whiz tried to quit the City, twice, and now sells Harley Davidsons to commuters.

Rat czar. New York Mayor Eric Adams is looking for a "somewhat bloodthirsty" leader in the city's war on rodents.

Branching out. John Lewis teams up with abrdn to build about 1,000 new homes above Waitrose shops in and around London.

Selling the family jewels. McLaren puts its historic cars up for sale to raise cash for upgrades on its new supercar.

A room with a view. Admiralty Arch is set to be redeveloped into a five-star hotel that will include a suite looking directly at Buckingham Palace.

Festive fun. From winter walks to a Dolly Parton Christmas Carol, here are some of the best things to do, eat and drink in London this December.

One key story, every weekday

Photographer: Maxime Mouysset for Bloomberg Businessweek

Billions of dollars of customer money is missing. Investigators are circling. The implosion of FTX has rocked crypto. The 30-year-old ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried invited Businessweek reporter Zeke Faux to the Bahamas penthouse for a chat. Eleven hours later, here's what he learned.

Read The Big Take.

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