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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

At 38, the man they call “the machine” is broken and obsolete. A former boxing champion, Esteban “la máquina” Osuna’s career seems to be over when he sustains a nasty concussion and a badly bruised ego in the first round of a title fight. But sport is a sucker for a redemption arc and eventually a lucrative homecoming rematch in Mexico is arranged. Cue training montage. Cue against-the-odds victory. Cue end credits.

Well, not quite. What seems like the climax of an inspiring, Rocky-style underdog story is in fact just the start of La Máquina, a tale of criminality and corruption, self-doubt and selling out. For you see, it wasn’t the machine who was fixed so much as the fight itself. And when those shadowy figures whom Estaban’s opportunistic promoter, Andy, solicited to grease the wheels of triumph call in their debt, the veteran finds himself backed into a corner.

Developed by and starring Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, the six-part mini-series is a reunion for two actors who got their breakthrough in the superb coming-of-age movie Y Tu Mamá También in 2001. Now they play two men struggling to come to terms with regret — and the prospect of an imminent death at the hands of gangsters.

Luna is almost unrecognisable as the panic-stricken Andy, whose idea of a brave face in the midst of a crisis is injecting it full of Botox. Meanwhile, the boxer (Bernal) is floored by the revelation that his hard-fought success was in fact bought by his friend. Esteban experiences visions from neurological trauma sustained in the ring, but it’s the news of fakery that really shakes his sense of being.

La Máquina can be lightweight when it comes to boxing’s systemic failings and health hazards but the show thrums with clammy intensity as Esteban and Andy are dragged deeper into the underworld. Their verbal sparring crackles with the energy of two actors who know each other intimately.

There’s space, too, for camp dance numbers, moments of humour (largely courtesy of Luna) and tender emotion. In one standout scene, Estaban uses the sport not as an outlet for pent-up aggression but as a means of accessing repressed truths and insecurities. It takes brawn to be “the machine”, another kind of strength to be a vulnerable man.

★★★★☆

On Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US from October 9

HERBAL Essences customers are in a lather after the haircare firm shrunk its conditioners by almost a THIRD.

Its Dazzling Shine, Hello Hydration, Daily Detox and Ignite My Colour hair moisturisers have gone from 400ml to 275ml in recent months, but remain at around £2.

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The product is now sold in tubes rather than bottles after the 31% reduction, leaving customers confused and angry about the change.

One, Brian Brennan, fumed on the review site Trustpilot this week: “My wife has always used the shampoo and conditioner, the prices were very good. 

“The shampoo and conditioner were in 400ml bottles. Now they put the conditioner in a 275ml tube container and charge the same price for 125ml less.”

Another added on X: “Why are you no longer selling 400ml bottles of conditioner? Now I can only find 275ml tubes, which means I’ll need to replace them more often – and they’re not that much cheaper!”

A third added: “Just been comparing the old and new Herbal Essences conditioner bottles, and the old one has 400ml, almost half a litre, whereas the new squeezy bottle only has 275ml. 

“That’s more than a quarter of your conditioner being stolen from right under your nose!”

Its equivalent shampoo range continues to be sold in 400ml bottles.

Shrinkflation is when products shrink in size but remain at the same price, meaning shoppers pay the same for less.

It’s a tactic often used by companies to avoid hiking prices, as a change if size is less noticeable.

Susannah Streeter, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said Herbal Essences’ owner Procter and Gamble (P&G) had been increasing prices month on month, which has put off price-conscious shoppers.

She added: “Attempts to limit the effect of price hikes through promotions and discounts have not been enough to win back loyalty.

“P&G has also been affected by weaker spending in China, even for essential items and it’s also been hit by boycotts of Western brands in the Middle East. 

“So, the company is looking at other ways to keep costs lower and keep its profits ticking up.

“It appears shrinking sizes on some products, rather than hiking prices, is part of the strategy.” 

Procter and Gamble did not comment.

Yesterday The Sun revealed how Cadbury’s family treat bags of chocolates have shrunk down in size.

New packs appearing in recent months have seen the Crunchie axed from the selection, as well as the size reduced from 216g to 207g.

It is the latest chocolatey snack made by the manufacturer to shrink in size.

Cadbury‘s Brunch bar multipacks have also reportedly been reduced in size by a major 12.5%.

Traditionally shoppers were able to bag up a pack of five bars which in total weighed over 160g – or 32g per lunchtime treat.

But now the entire box weighs a whole 20g less with the bars now sitting at 28g each, an investigation by The Grocer has revealed.

The size reduction applies to all the flavours including their raisin, peanut, choc chip and Bournville choc chip choices.

Elsewhere, shoppers have been feeling the crunch after it was revealed that two of Kellog’s four different cereal pack sizes have gone down in weight by 50g.

A box of 720g Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes is now 670g and 500g boxes are down to 450g.

But the smaller 670g boxes are being sold at £3.20 in Tesco – the same price as for the larger box when it was sold in May.

Meanwhile, its 450g boxes are £2.19, while the previous 500g boxes were only pennies more at £2.25.

A Kellogg’s spokesman previously told The Sun: “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are available in four different box sizes to suit different shopper preferences and needs. 

“As the cost of ingredients and production processes increase, it costs us more to make our products than it used to.

“This can impact the recommended retail price. It’s the grocer’s absolute discretion and decision what price to charge shoppers.”

Jars of Dolmio sauce reduced in size but remain the same price

THE latest example of shrinkflation sweeping across the UK has seen family favourite pasta sauce brand Dolmio adjust their packaging.

Their 750g jars are now 675g while 500g jars have been trimmed to 450g.

But despite the ten per cent decrease, the price has stayed put at £3 and £2.50 in supermarkets.

It has left customers unhappy at maker Mars, which advertises it on TV with the slogan, “When’sa your Dolmio day?”.

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One fan told The Sun: “It’s a family jar but now it’s smaller, so I’ve had to reduce the portions on every plate at the table.

“It’s really disappointing that companies try to hide this from their customers by making sneaky packaging changes instead of just being honest.

“In two months the price will go up again and it’s even worse of a deal.”

A Mars spokeswoman confirmed the changes, telling The Sun: “Like everyone, we’ve experienced significant cost increases across our raw materials and operations, something that we are continuing to see.

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“We have been absorbing these rising costs for some time, but the growing pressures we are facing means we needed to take further action.

“While it has been a difficult decision to decrease the weight of our jars, our priority is continuing to provide our great products, without compromising on quality or taste.”

A GRANDMA has been left fuming after she was charged £75 for her oversized suitcase but ‘younger and good looking’ passengers were let off.

Maxine Haughian, 63, was stopped in the queue for her flight to Alicante by Ryanair staff at Leeds Bradford Airport.

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The mum-of-two claims her luggage fit inside the guidance rack but “stuck out very slightly” by 2cm on one side.

She was told that her suitcase was too big and she’d need to pay to place the luggage into the hold.

However, Maxine, a retired prison governor, noticed other passengers in the queue being let off for oversized bags.

She described one woman as “young and gorgeous” and even took a sneaky snap of her being let off.

Taking to Facebook, Maxine said she was “disgusted” with Ryanair.

“I’ve just been held up for 20 minutes because they said my cabin bag was too big and I must pay an EXTRA £75 for it to go in hold,” she wrote.

“It’s funny (not funny) how other bags that are exactly the same were allowed through without comment.

“It’s a good job I took the photo of this (gorgeous) girl pushing her case into the box and being allowed through.

“I’m obviously not young or good looking enough!” she fumed.

Maxine, who was travelling with her husband Jim, continued: “Eventually (using photographic evidence) I was allowed through. I’m stressed to high-hell and hope I can calm down and get into holiday mode before we land.”

Despite being pleased that she was let off, Maxine told Oxford Mail: “It was almost like letting me go justified what I was saying. I think it’s definitely a money-making exercise.

“I’m a bit older, perhaps he thought I would be compliant. A lot of people just paid the money.”

She added: “Several people had suitcases that looked exactly the same as mine and they were putting them in the rack and it was sticking out a bit, but they were allowed to go through. It was the inconsistency of it all.

The Sun has contacted Ryanair for comment.

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BBC

Map: Where is Lebanon?

Where is the Israeli advance?

Reuters

What have Israel’s air strikes targeted?

What will Israel do next?

Simplified advice can only be achieved if the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) work together, according to an industry expert.

Ian McKenna, founder of Financial Technology Research Centre, made the statement today (8 October) at Money Marketing Interactive in London.

The FCA announced proposals to launch a simplified advice model last December to make it easier for firms to provide affordable personal recommendations to those with simpler needs and smaller sums to invest.

McKenna, who was part of a panel discussing the future of advice, said for simplified advice to work, the Ombudsman needs to be part of the process.

However, he queried whether the regulator would be willing to make that decision.

He said: “The reality for simplified advice is the regulator would never bring the Ombudsman along. The argument was always do less, charge more or charge less, but still have the same responsibility at the end.

“This why I’m saying, and you could argue with my response, we don’t need the movement of the [advice/guidance] boundary.”

McKenna added that attempts were made in the past to address the issue of advice gap without much success.

“There’s no example of that happening in the past 20-30 years. Why would it be different now? What worries me is a huge amount of effort will be expended on something that just isn’t economically viable,” he said.

McKenna said the sector needs to tread with caution on the advice/guidance boundary review to avoid the equivalent of PPI in the long-term savings market.

“I think if we just remove the boundary, that’s what we will end up with and that will be devastating to people for long-term confidence.”

Tom Selby, director of policy at AJ Bell, said the advice/guidance boundary review is a test for the Consumer Duty and an opportunity for the regulator to assess how the financial services sector is abiding by the core terms of it.

He said the regulator now has access to huge amounts of data on firms to hold them accountable on their Consumer Duty commitments.

“It’s on them to make sure that firms do ultimately understand their shareholders.

“When they look at the cost benefit analysis of ‘am I going to throw people into an inappropriate product or am I going to follow the Consumer Duty?’

“Besides, if I don’t follow the Consumer Duty, I’m going to end up with a huge fine and a bad reputation.”