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A sluggish job market lowers consumer confidence but may also lead to another rate cut from the Federal Reserve by the end of the year.

United States consumer confidence sagged in November as households worried about jobs and their financial situation, likely in part because of the recently ended government shutdown.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index dropped to 88.7 this month, from an upwardly revised 95.5 in October, hitting its lowest level since April.

Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had forecast the index edging down to 93.4 from the previously reported 94.6 in October.

“Consumers’ write-in responses pertaining to factors affecting the economy continued to be led by references to prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, and politics with increased mentions of the federal government shutdown,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board.

“Mentions of the labour market eased somewhat but still stood out among all other frequent themes not already cited. The overall tone from November write-ins was slightly more negative than in October.”

Consumer confidence remained low among all income brackets. While confidence among those who make less than $15,000 annually ticked up slightly, it still remained the group with the lowest consumer confidence.

The consumer confidence report was released amid a slowing labour market. The September jobs report, released late last week, showed 119,000 jobs were added to the US economy as the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.

However, there is limited economic data available to fully gauge the sentiment of the US economy because the government shutdown, the longest in US history, hindered federal agencies’ ability to gather the data needed to assess current conditions.

“More worries about what lies ahead … hence, putting purchases for major items on hold,” Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO, wrote to Reuters.

The economic data followed dovish comments from policymakers in the past few days that helped cement rate cut expectations.

On Monday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the job market was weak enough to warrant another quarter-point rate cut in December although action beyond that depended on a flood of data that was delayed by the federal government shutdown.

Disney’s latest animated film, “Zootopia 2,” a sequel to its 2016 box-office juggernaut, isn’t exactly an adult political drama, though the stakes certainly feel grimmer. Members of Zootopia’s elite plan to expand their territory by displacing certain indigenous animals from an area they want to claim for themselves. And they will do so without pushback by convincing the rest of the population that their uprooted neighbors are dangerous. Any attempt by the victims of this injustice to reclaim their homeland and their dignity will be deemed a violent attack. In turn, anyone who sides with their cause will be labeled a criminal enabler, a disloyal pariah.

Meanwhile, tensions flare in law enforcement as pawtners Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps (voiced by Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin) — who in the previous film saved Zootopia from a power-hungry wolf in sheep’s clothing — have to prove their compatibility after their recklessness lands them in hot water with Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). Could their personalities be too disparate for them to make a dream team? Judy values justice above all things, while Nick prioritizes survival and comfort. In truth, the tie-wearing fox only became a cop because of his fondness for Judy, not out of a sense of dutiful conviction.

That push-and-pull tests the strength of their bond as they visit previously unseen areas of Zootopia, including a visit to the Marsh Market, where exiles live. These adventures occur as they search for Gary De’Snake (Ke Huy Quan), a fanny-pack-strapped viper, and Pawbert Lynxley (Andy Samberg), the socially conscious son of a wealthy family. They’re on a quest to find evidence that would clear the reputations of reptiles in Zootopia, all of whom have been forced to exist on the outskirts for decades.

Writer Jared Bush, who also co-directs with Byron Howard (both return from the first “Zootopia”), leans into Quan’s personal history as an immigrant whose family had to escape Vietnam to render Gary a resilient survivor with a noble soul. Leave it to Disney to make a giant snake look disarmingly adorable and to Quan to match that energy with his warm vocal performance. On top of the new characters, Judy and Nick’s emotional arc is adorned with cameos from fan-favorite minor players from the original (Flash, the sloth; Mr. Big, the shrew). The loaded narrative robs the picture of more time with Gary and Pawbert, even if Bush finds plot-effective ways to feature the supporting mammals.

Like its predecessor, “Zootopia 2” impresses visually, especially given the breadth of characters and environments it immerses the audience in. In the faces of new characters like the anxious Pawbert and friendly Gary, one can best appreciate the level of nuanced expressiveness that Disney’s animators, working at the highest level of 3-D CG technique, can achieve.

After several haphazard attempts with the “Frozen” and “Moana” franchises, “Zootopia 2” can take the title as Disney’s most effective animated sequel yet. In most regards, the formula that propelled the first one to hit status remains unchanged: an encyclopedia of animal puns, an upbeat tune by Shakira and a twist villain (in this case, an Elon Musk type desperate for approval that all the money in the world can’t buy). And yet, “Zootopia 2” arrives as an expansion with a punchier, more focused approach to its mature ideas. This is a movie where the antagonists are willing to kill for their nefarious goals, and where the heroes are willing to die in order to uphold what’s right.

The more one reads into the movie’s timeliness, though, the more obvious it becomes that there’s a dissonance between the artists making an animated feature such as this one and the company’s leadership, which continues to push artificial intelligence and capitulate to those who bemoan “wokeness.” Those people might certainly find “Zootopia 2” rather woke indeed. (Who knows, maybe in the next installment Judy and Nick will question their role in perpetuating the police state.) In our bizarro world, the “Zootopia” franchise serves as a vehicle for thought-provoking subjects disseminated by way of colorful anthropomorphic animals.

Everton’s last visit to Old Trafford triggered Ruben Amorim’s infamous ‘the storm is coming statement’ even though his Manchester United side won 4-0.

Twelve months on, their visit brought more words of caution from Amorim about his side’s evolution that proved equally perceptive.

From a United perspective, the jaw-dropping clash between Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane can be forgotten beyond the knowledge it left them facing 10 men for 77 minutes.

What followed backed up Amorim’s pre-game view his side is “far from perfection”.

For 77 minutes the United head coach watched his players toil.

He watched young defenders Patrick Dorgu and Leny Yoro needlessly give the ball away under no pressure as the home side were building attacking momentum.

He watched Amad Diallo take the wrong option as he tried to cause a nuisance, first as a number 10 replacement for Matheus Cunha – who was badly missed due to the injury that initially forced him to forgo switching on Altrincham’s Christmas lights on Saturday evening.

He watched as the normally reliable Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes failed to execute correctly as chances went begging.

He watched as Joshua Zirkzee, given his first start of the season, and Kobbie Mainoo, given an extended run as a second-half replacement for Casemiro, failed to press their claims for more game time as is being demanded to maintain their respective World Cup hopes.

He also watched as goalkeeper Senne Lammens made a questionable attempt to save Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first-half effort that ultimately proved decisive.

Zirkzee did force Jordan Pickford into a full length save with a header near the end.

But there was nothing more.

As Amorim said on Friday, what had been a five-match unbeaten run could quickly turn into a three-game one without a win with a trip to Crystal Palace to follow on Sunday.

“I know which point we are in,” he said. “I have that feeling during this run. I always talk about that.

“We are not there, not even near the point we should be to fight for the best positions in the league.

“We have a lot to do and we need to be perfect to win games. We were not perfect today.”

It is worth recapping United’s last three games.

At both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, they led. If they had maintained the advantage, United would have been second in the ‘as it stands’ table. On both occasions, they failed the test and actually needed late equalisers to salvage anything after falling behind.

This time round, completing the Premier League match round, United knew a win would take them fifth. If they had matched last season’s result, it would have lifted them to fourth.

WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers Tuesday morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not expect the level of Ukrainian resistance to his invasion, nor the level and speed of sanctions imposed by countries around the world.

“Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate, essentially doubling down,” she said.

The comments from Haines and other intelligence officials came in an unusually candid public hearing with members of the House Intelligence Committee. The hearing was expected to focus on the intelligence community’s annual global threat assessment, but it was instead largely dominated by questions about Russia’s two-week-old invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. The House panel will get a classified assessment in the afternoon.

Haines said Putin likely expected the conflict to last a matter of days at most and predicted Russia will be hard pressed to hold any ground it gains.

“We assess Putin feels aggrieved the West does not give him proper deference and perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose, but what he might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time given the significant costs he is incurring,” she said.

CIA Director William Burns agreed, saying Putin initially believed Ukraine was weakened and easily intimidated, and that the Russian leader had modernized his military to the point of ensuring a quick victory. Burns added that Putin had been confident early on that he had sanction-proofed his economy, and that the Europeans were too distracted to pay much attention to the invasion.

“He’s been proven wrong on every count,” Burns said.

Still, Burns said the invasion is a “matter of deep personal conviction” for Putin.

“He has been stewing in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition for many years,” Burns said.

Putin’s plan was premised on seizing Kyiv within the first two days of the campaign, Burns said, and he is getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress.

“He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” Burns said. “He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians.”

At this point, Burns said he cannot see how Putin can stand up a puppet regime in the face of massive opposition from the Ukrainian people, warning there is an “ugly next few weeks” ahead.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier estimated that 2,000 to 4,000 Russian soldiers have died in the less than two weeks since the invasion began, a number that far exceeds what the Russian government has acknowledged. For context, the United States suffered more than 7,000 military deaths over two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Berrier said Russia appears to be attempting to cut off food and water to Kyiv as a strategy.

“It will become somewhat desperate in I would say 10 days to two weeks,” he said.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) told reporters after the hearing that as Putin doubles down on Ukraine, it remains difficult to see how the conflict ends.

“What’s the offramp? I think what we can do is just to continue to escalate the price that he and Russia have to pay for this,” Schiff said. “I think until he feels that his own regime is at risk, it’s hard to see him looking for an exit ramp.”

Congressional lawmakers are debating how much additional aid to send to Ukraine, and what additional economic measures to take against Russia, which is already seeing unprecedented sanctions on its financial systems, top leaders and businesses. On Tuesday, President Biden announced a ban on the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for some $12 billion in aid, and urged passage this week, saying it “will provide both humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine: funding for refugees, medical supplies, emergency food supplies, as well as funding to support weapons transfers into Ukraine, and help for our eastern flank NATO allies.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has said Congress is looking to pass $10 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine as part of a larger government funding measure. A vote could occur as soon as today.