UPDATE: UK GDP Flatlines, Trump Picks Panama Fight & Honda-Nissan Ink Merger Talks

Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Panama’s president rebuffed Donald Trump’s threat to reimpose US control over the Panama Canal, saying its shipping tolls aren’t inflated and that sovereignty over the waterway isn’t negotiable. (2) Donald Trump said Sunday that he will be president of the US — not Elon Musk. (3) French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is running out of time to meet his self-imposed deadline to name a new cabinet that won’t be quickly toppled by a no-confidence vote in parliament. (4) UK private sector activity is set for a “steep” decline in the next three months, the Confederation of British Industry said, putting immediate pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to show she can deliver economic growth in the new year. (5) The same kind of survey failures that have left the UK unsure about the number of people in Britain’s workforce are now raising doubts about the size of its economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.