Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said he aimed to reach an agreement with parliament on a 2025 budget that would reduce the country’s deficit to close to 5%, near the level his predecessor unsuccessfully tried to reach.

(2) Honda sketched plans for a drawn-out deal that amounts to an acquisition of Nissan, as Japan’s automakers struggle to keep up in an increasingly competitive global car industry.

(3) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier used his traditional Christmas address to urge citizens to focus on what unites the nation rather than be consumed by grief and horror over Friday’s fatal attack in Magdeburg.

(4) Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to New York state murder charges over the shooting of a top UnitedHealth Group executive, as his lawyer expressed concern about getting a fair trial in the high-profile case.

(5) House investigators found “substantial evidence” former Representative Matt Gaetz paid several women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex and bought and used illegal drugs while in Congress, according to a bipartisan committee report released Monday.

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