FT News Briefing

US vows action on Chinese tech, William Spriggs on US labour market

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration has vowed to “take action” against Chinese software companies that it perceives as a risk to security. Plus, William Spri...

US big tech companies report colossal earnings, US GDP down, companies cling to share buybacks

31 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook, Amazon, and Apple all reported stellar revenue increases in the latest quarter. The FT’s Richard Waters will explain what that means in th...

Big tech hearings, Qualcomm-Huawei deal, 1MDB scandal

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

American lawmakers grill the chief executives of four US tech groups over unfair competition accusations, Qualcomm shares soared to a record high afte...

Big tech antitrust hearings, Moderna prices vaccine, Fed extends emergency lending

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Moderna is pitching its coronavirus vaccine at about $50 to $60 per course, the Federal Reserve has announced that it will extend emergency lending fa...

Investors fear US virus toll, MLB virus scare, European bank earnings

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Senate Republicans unveiled a White House-backed plan for $1tn in new stimulus that would cut emergency unemployment benefits by two-thirds, the dolla...

Republicans to unveil US stimulus offer, coronavirus curbs European travel, Brexit talks

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans are set to unveil their proposals for a fresh round of stimulus today, US oil companies have increased production following the price cras...

Goldman seeks capital relief, Intel delays launch of next generation chips, US jobs recovery stalls

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Goldman Sachs is pointing to its strong second quarter results in a pitch to the Federal Reserve for relief on its capital requirements, Intel shares ...

Tesla profit milestone, US vs China, ex-Wirecard CEO rearrested

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla reported its fourth consecutive quarterly net profit on Wednesday, the fissure between the US and China continues to deepen with Washington orde...

UK-US trade talks, Trump warns of virus worsening, Latin American debt concerns

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The British government has abandoned hopes of reaching a US-UK trade deal ahead of this autumn’s American presidential election, and Donald Trump to...

EU leaders close in on recovery fund deal, Testing crunch warning, US economic rebound halted

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

EU leaders are closing in on a deal for a landmark coronavirus recovery package, the largest laboratory company in the US, Quest Diagnostics, has warn...

Deadlock on EU recovery fund, Argentina’s plea to creditors, TikTok trouble

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

EU leaders spent the weekend locked in marathon summit talks over Europe’s proposed €750bn response to the coronavirus pandemic, and Albert Ferná...

US considers blacklist for TikTok, Netflix pandemic surge wanes, FBI investigates Twitter hack

17 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US is considering putting TikTok on a blacklist that would effectively prevent Americans from using the popular video app, Netflix warns investors...

Twitter accounts hacked, US vs Nord Stream 2, Apple victorious in EU battle over Irish back taxes

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter experienced an unprecedented hack on Wednesday when bitcoin scammers sent a series of tweets from hundreds of accounts, Opec and Russia move t...

US steps up sanctioning powers against China, Moderna vaccine early results, US banks braced for loan losses

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump signed legislation on Tuesday that gives his administration more power to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, the Trump admi...

EU to go after low-tax countries, California rolls back reopening plans, European summer tourism

14 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brussels is planning to pursue low-tax member states over their advantageous corporate tax regimes, California is rolling back its reopening effort du...

UK to curb Huawei’s 5G role, WeWork says it’s on track for profits in 2021, OCC warning

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is set to unveil plans this week to phase Huawei out of the UK’s 5G mobile phone networks, WeWork’s executive chairman tells the Fin...

Banks and the Hong Kong autonomy act, Wirecard’s Jan Marsalek, Boohoo scrutiny

10 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US and European banks in Hong Kong are conducting emergency audits of their clients to identify officials and corporates that could face possible US s...

Interview with Christine Lagarde, UK business reacts to Sunak’s plan, US hits 3m Covid-19 cases

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In an interview with the FT, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said that “women are the first victims” of events such as a pandemi...

Trump withdrawing from WHO, Italian mafia bonds, US offshore wind power

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US has begun the process of leaving the World Health Organization, the FT reports that international investors bought bonds backed by the crime pr...

Social media groups block HK authorities, PPP loans, day trading dangers

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook, Google and Twitter have all said they would temporarily block Hong Kong’s authorities from accessing user data despite threats from the go...

Repairing the social and economic damage brought by the pandemic

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Covid-19 has been a global shock. But will it be a transformative one? In this special edition of the FT News Briefing, the FT’s chief economics com...

UK wants final say on Virgin-O2 deal, retail goes digital in pandemic, US jobs

03 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is set to ask Brussels for full control over the review of the proposed £31bn merger between Virgin Medi...

July 4 virus spread concerns, EU looks into Google Fitbit deal, Hong Kong under new national security law

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US public health experts are warning of a heightened risk of coronavirus transmission during US Independence Day celebrations, EU regulators are askin...

Dealmaking down, UK business warns on Brexit trade talks, Wirecard’s real business

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Coronavirus has brought an end to one of the longest waves in mergers and acquisitions history, more than 100 UK company chiefs, entrepreneurs and bus...

Wall Street banks net record fees, Johnson channels FDR, remdesivir cost

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wall Street investment banks brought in a record amount of fees for fundraisings in the first six months of 2020 amid coronavirus, UK prime minister B...

Chesapeake files for bankruptcy, Facebook ad boycott, Singapore’s new corporate structure

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

American shale pioneer Chesapeake Energy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and dozens of brands are cancelling advertising on Facebook over the soc...

Wirecard insolvency, Brussels to probe German regulator, Federal Reserve bans buybacks

26 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wirecard filed for insolvency on Thursday, days after the German payments group revealed a multiyear fraud that led to the arrest of its former chief ...

New Covid-19 cases hit US record, airlines tap debt markets, Bayer settlement

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Global markets dropped on Wednesday as rising Covid-19 cases  fuelled fears that the virus could derail an economic recovery, US airlines increas...

Ex-Wirecard CEO arrested, Trump scales back environmental rules, the new bond monarch

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wirecard’s founder Markus Braun was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and market manipulation, and the Trump administration has eased Obama-...

Trump expands US immigration restrictions, Apple pivots away from Intel, inside Wirecard

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is set to extend a suspension of immigration into the US imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and Apple is planning to transi...

Brexit optimism, coronavirus hits Senegal oil projects, targeting black unemployment in the US

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson will hammer out a new plan with senior ministers this week aimed at unblocking talks on Britain’s future relationship with the EU, and...

The inside story of a disgraced drugmaker

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Executives from drugmaker Insys were the first from the pharmaceutical sector to be handed prison time for their role in America’s opioid epidemic e...

US backs out of tech tax talks, PE’s spending spree, Hertz halts share sale

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US has suspended talks with European countries on a new global tax framework for technology companies, private equity groups in the US have been o...

Global stocks stay optimistic on central banks, Royalty Pharma IPO, US police reform

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wall Street rallied on expectations of new aid for the US economy from the federal government and central bank, while Royalty Pharma pulled off the bi...

LGBTQ rights at work, EU unemployment, oil’s transition to cleaner energy

16 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that LGBTQ workers are protected by federal civil rights laws in a landmark anti-discrimination decision, and Eur...

SoftBank financing, White House on unemployment benefits, French industry

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

SoftBank has quietly poured more than $500m into Credit Suisse investment funds that in turn made big bets on the debt of struggling start-ups backed ...

Investors fear new Covid-19 wave, UK in border check U-turn, HSBC pressure

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Investors in US and European equities were rattled on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s dire assessment of the US economy and fresh concerns of a...

Fed predicts no rate increase until 2022, Brazil vs Covid-19, Bumper CEO stock awards

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

First, the FT’s Colby Smith explains why the Federal Reserve is predicting that it would keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of...

Brexit and the EU’s recovery, Vroom’s strong IPO, Fed’s forecast

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

EU member states are urging Brussels to account for the shock of a hard Brexit in its coronavirus recovery plans, a former Goldman Sachs banker has av...

US stocks surge despite gloomy forecast, US police reform bill, oil industry’s cautious optimism

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US stock market has erased all of its losses from 2020, the World Bank has forecast that emerging economies will shrink for the first time in 60 y...

Black Lives Matter protests go global, doubts over US jobs data

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US civil rights groups have received a surge of corporate donations since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, the head of Fidelity International h...

Grantham sells stocks, ECB buys bonds, ESG vows in a pandemic

05 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran market strategist Jeremy Grantham has cut back his holdings in global stocks. The FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson recounts his conversation w...

Pentagon chief breaks with Trump, hydroxychloroquine, Warner Music IPO

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US defence secretary Mark Esper breaks with Donald Trump on sending the army to clamp down on protests, and his predecessor James Mattis joins the pre...

Companies react to protests, fear of Covid spike, Zoom’s surge

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many companies and chief executives have expressed solidarity with protests over the police killings of George Floyd and other black men and women. Th...

Trump vows to deploy military to US streets

02 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump threatened to send US soldiers on to American streets to tackle the most widespread unrest the country has seen in decades, fol...

US protestors demonstrate against police violence, EU recovery, US pensions

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Protests swept across US cities over the weekend as demonstrators responded to the death of George Floyd, another black man who died by police brutali...

Trump’s social media order, UK opens door to Hong Kong residents, AstraZeneca’s transformation

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump said he had ordered a wide-ranging review of the law that grants social media companies immunity from legal action for content on their p...

Pressure on Hong Kong finance, Boeing’s resumes 737 Max production, EU’s €750bn plan

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Boeing said it will resume production of the troubled 737 Max, just hours after announcing plans to dismiss  more than 12,000 US workers. Meanwhi...

Investors eye recovery, $1tn in corporate borrowing, SpaceX test flight

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Hopes of a quick economic recovery gave global stocks a lift on Tuesday. The FT’s Philip Stafford explains whether that optimism can be sustained. T...

Japan’s birth rate, contact tracing in India

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Japanese couples are putting off parenthood over coronavirus concerns. The FT’s Tokyo correspondent, Kana Inagaki, explains what this means for a co...

Beijing’s legal force on Hong Kong, US retail, the future of higher education

22 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Chinese government is preparing to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong, and sales surged at the US retailers deemed “essential” ...

CDC director warns of second coronavirus flare-up, threat to mortgage-backed bonds

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the rapid spread of coronavirus in the southern hemisphere ...

Facebook unveils online shopping venture, EU recovery fund, SoftBank’s future

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook has unveiled a shopping service that puts it in direct competition with Amazon and eBay, and a €500bn EU recovery fund put forward by Germa...

Moderna vaccine trial pleases investors, EBITDAC backlash, Huawei sanctions

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Positive results from the first US Covid-19 trial raised investors’ hopes of an economic rebound, Chinese self-driving car start-ups have been accel...

Powell on US recovery, Nomura to boost private market focus, Taiwan travel scheme

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has warned that the US economy may not “fully recover” until the end of 2021, Japan’s oldest brokerage firm, No...

The race for a vaccine, the story behind EBITDAC, BoE’s Bailey

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine is central to global efforts to restart economies. The FT’s US coronavirus correspondent, David Crow, explains ho...

Jay Powell calls for more fiscal stimulus, BMW’s dividend plan, CLO vulnerability

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said on Wednesday that additional fiscal stimulus may be “worth it” to shield the US economy from long-term econo...

Global economic outlook worsening, dealmaking in the pandemic, looming EM debt crisis

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The global economic outlook is still worsening, according to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva. Plus, the FT’s corporate finance and deals ...

Flaw in mass testing, BP chief weighs in on oil, rental car groups under pressure

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The head of an Italian biotech company that sells Covid-19 diagnostic and antibody tests told the FT that demand far exceeded supply as countries put ...

UK airlines seek government aid, WeWork rent, renewable energy defies market turmoil

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

UK airlines demanded “urgent additional government support” on Sunday warning that Boris Johnson’s plans to introduce a 14-day quarantine for pe...

Food delivery boosts Uber sales, US jobs preview, the fashion industry under lockdown

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Uber reported stronger than expected first-quarter revenues on Thursday thanks to a surge in food delivery;  India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani...

US-China trade, ECB to resist pressure from German court, Airbnb’s outlook

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is weighing up more aggressive economic measures against China, The European Central Bank is expected to resist recent pressure from Germ...

Disney’s $1.4bn hit, Beyond Meat boost, ECB called to justify bond-buying programme

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Disney estimates that the coronavirus crisis wiped as much as $1.4bn from its quarterly operating profit, while Beyond Meat gears up for the price of ...

Aviation industry under pressure, Argentina’s debt deadline, why Silicon Valley is surviving the ad crash

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The aviation industry took another hit from the coronavirus crisis on Monday as GE cut 10,000 aerospace jobs, and Argentina debt holders doubled down ...

Banks get ready for bad loans, losses at Berkshire Hathaway, BlackRock’s influence

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US and European banks are on track to book more than $50bn of charges on souring loans in the first quarter. Plus, the FT’s Eric Platt reports on Be...

Amazon Covid-19 costs, Boeing taps bond market, UK recruits fruit pickers

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon has warned that coronavirus measures could cost at least $4bn in the next quarter and wipe out any gain from a jump in sales during the pandemi...

Fed’s ‘medium-term’ warning, Microsoft growth, Barclays loan provisions

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve has warned of lasting “medium-term” economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The FT’s James Politi unpacks the centra...

Alphabet’s signs of recovery, Trump’s meat plant order, measuring inflation

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Google’s internet search business stabilised in April after a sharp downturn at the end of last month, Fitch has downgraded Italy’s credit rating ...

European bank earnings, coronavirus threat to call centres

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US oil prices fell sharply on Monday after the world’s largest oil-backed exchange traded fund began offloading all of its short-term contracts, and...

Covid-19 death toll, gap between financial markets and economy, Berlin’s reopening

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An FT analysis found that the death toll from coronavirus may be almost 60 per cent higher than reported in official counts, and analysts are scrambli...

Germany backs EU recovery fund, Gilead drug flops, Rana Foroohar on US austerity

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Germany is prepared to make a substantial financial contribution to help relaunch eurozone economies after the coronavirus pandemic, and the World Hea...

ECB to accept ‘fallen angel’ bonds as collateral, Covid-19 legal protections

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The European Central Bank has changed its rules to accept bonds that lose their investment grade credit rating during the coronavirus crisis as collat...

Oil market turmoil, Netflix adds 16m subscribers, future of aerospace

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Global oil markets remained under intense pressure on Tuesday with the price of US crude oil for June delivery nearly halving and Brent dropping below...

US oil prices plummet, Singapore oil trader scandal

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday, US oil prices crashed into negative territory for the first time in history. The FT’s US energy editor, Derek Brower, explains why and wh...

Small business aid deal, ECB bad bank idea, emerging market debt

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is closing in on a deal with Congress to provide another $300bn to coronavirus-hit small businesses. Then, the FT’s US econ...

Trump’s reopening plan, coronavirus drug report, Macron on EU solidarity

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump backed away from threats to force a quick reopening of the US economy by unveiling guidelines for states, and US stock market f...

Eurozone debt, US economic data, China cuts key lending rate

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The coronavirus crisis is propelling Eurozone government debt towards 100 per cent of gross domestic product, three major US banks reported a total $1...

Airline aid, banks braced for credit loss, grim IMF outlook

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US Treasury Department has reached an agreement with US airlines that paves the way for a $25bn bailout for the industry. Plus, JPMorgan Chase and...

VC funding in China, Amazon jobs, oil under pressure

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

New figures show that venture capital funding in China rebounded in March after the country’s coronavirus outbreak, and Amazon has announced plans t...

Inside Wuhan’s liberation, Japan on lockdown

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The coronavirus’ place of origin, Wuhan, has emerged from the world’s largest mass quarantine. Meanwhile, Japan is gambling that it can control th...

Wall St worries, Europe funding, Singapore relapse

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Wall Street banks are warning investors to brace for a new wave of stock market declines despite the recent relief rally, and eurozone finance ministe...

US stimulus, WeWork v SoftBank, Carnival bonds

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is in talks with Congress to secure an additional $250bn to fund loans for small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic, ...

Investors gain hope, Italy isolated, Rana Foroohar

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US stocks and global equities surged on Monday as investors took heart from signs that the coronavirus outbreak may be stabilising in some of the wors...

Covid-19 on emerging markets, possible oil tariffs

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Emerging markets are scrambling to keep their economies afloat as the coronavirus pandemic deepens. The FT’s David Pilling will have more. Plus, Ame...

Oil price war, vaccines, banks on stimulus

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Oil soared nearly 50 per cent at one point on Thursday in its biggest ever one-day rally after US president Donald Trump stoked hopes of a supply cut ...

EU rescue fund, coronavirus hits rents

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

France is pushing for a common EU fund to help Europe through the coronavirus crisis. The FT’s Paris bureau chief, Victor Mallet, explains what the ...

Gillian Tett on Fed dollar scheme, Covid-19 testing

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The FT’s Gillian Tett unpacks the Federal Reserve’s latest move to meet the global demand for dollars, and science editor Clive Cookson explains h...

Amazon during Covid-19, Rana on corporate interests

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon has pitched itself as an essential business to provide those sheltering in place with needed products. The FT’s Dave Lee reports on how the e...

The ventilator challenge, stimulus questions

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Manufacturers are working to produce the ventilators needed to help severely ill coronavirus patients breathe. The question is whether those inexperie...

Market relief rally, ECB flexes, WeWork cash burn

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US stocks were up for a third straight day after the Senate agreed to a $2.2tn stimulus package Wednesday. The bill comes as a report on Thursday show...

Stimulus haggle, James Kynge on China, US oil talks

26 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The US Senate has approved fiscal stimulus legislation worth $2tn after a week of intense negotiations, Ford suffers the biggest credit rating downgra...

Dash for cash, shutdown debate, Softbank talks

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As traditional capital markets seize up, businesses are turning to emergency sources of funding. An FT analysis shows that more than 130 companies dre...

Wall Street awaits fiscal stimulus deal from Washington

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy corporate debt and unlimited amounts of government debt on Monday. But investors on Wall Street continue t...

US stimulus setback, tracking Covid-19 indicators

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US lawmakers argue over a fiscal stimulus legislation worth nearly $2tn to help America weather the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, it could be weeks befo...

Friday, March 20

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans in the US Senate have introduced legislation to inject more than $1tn of fiscal stimulus into the economy as it grapples with the coronavi...

Thursday, March 19

19 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The European Central Bank will buy an additional €750bn in bonds in response to the economic and financial upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandem...

Wednesday, March 18

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Western governments pledged trillions of dollars in stimulus measures to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The FT’...

Tuesday, March 17

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Governments in all large western economies took drastic measures to limit public movement on Monday in an urgent effort to arrest the spreading corona...

Monday, March 16

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero and joined forces with other central banks in a bid to prevent a severe economic downturn caused by the...

Friday, March 13

13 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

US stocks fell almost 10 per cent in their worst day since the 1987 market crash despite emergency action by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, following...