Asda plans to spend more on reducing prices and improving product ranges for customers, but says its profits will suffer.

Overall government spending reportedly rose by $40 billion, a 7 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was tasked with reducing US federal spending. However, despite plans for cuts, spending rose to a record $603 (€554) billion, according to The Financial Times.

Under Germany's constitution, Merz needs a two-thirds majority to get the changes passed. With the support of the Greens and Social Democrats, he should succeed. Urgent motions by both the AfD and the Left to challenge next week's sessions of the outgoing parliament failed at the constitutional court on Friday, enabling the vote to go ahead.

By Andreas Rinke, Holger Hansen and Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said on Friday he had secured the crucial backing of the Greens for a massive increase in state borrowing,

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz reached an agreement with the Green party on a debt-funded spending package for defense and infrastructure, overcoming a key hurdle ahead of a crunch vote in parliament next week.