FT News Briefing
Episodes
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...
Thursday, March 12
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Trump administration will suspend non-US citizens travelling from Europe for the next 30 days to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in America. ...
Wednesday, March 11
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden cemented his lead as the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential race, winning several states including the battleground of Michigan. Plu...
Tuesday, March 10
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A crash in the price of oil rocked financial markets that were already reeling from the effects of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Italy extended its quar...
Monday, March 9
09 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Saudi Arabia has launched an aggressive oil price war after Russia refused to join production cuts with Opec, Italy locks down a huge swath of its wea...
Friday, March 6
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US stocks dropped as Treasury yields touched records lows on Thursday and bank share price falls led the way, struggling Chinese ride-hailing group Di...
Thursday, March 5
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US stocks recovered more than 4 per cent on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points and spooked investors, Ru...
Wednesday, March 4
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden emerged as a major contender in Super Tuesday voting, despite Bernie Sanders winning in California. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve failed to...
Tuesday, March 3
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US stocks ended a seven-day losing streak on Monday on expectations that central banks will soften the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak and...
Monday, March 2
02 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Disruptions caused by the coronavirus are driving the global economy closer to a recession and triggering calls for fiscal and monetary intervention, ...
Friday, February 28
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US equities closed in correction territory on Thursday on coronavirus concerns, while Saudi Arabia is asking its Opec allies to agree to a substantial...
Thursday, February 27
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump sought to defuse criticism of his handling of the coronavirus and predicted stock markets would be booming again, while investors are bet...
Wednesday, February 26
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A fresh wave of selling pressure rippled across global markets on Tuesday as public health officials warned Americans to prepare for the spread of the...
Tuesday, February 25
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Global stocks had their worst day in two years on Monday as new coronavirus cases outside China dashed hopes that the outbreak had been contained, US ...
Monday, February 24
24 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Barclays is preparing to start a search for a new chief executive to replace Jes Staley, European buyout firm CVC Capital Partners is plotting an ambi...
Friday, February 21
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
EU leaders are deadlocked over how to finance the bloc’s next multi-annual budget, a judge handed down a 40 year sentence to Roger Stone on Thursday...
Thursday, February 20
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
UBS names Ralph Hamers from ING as its next chief executive, Boeing asks for a $100m a year tax break from Washington state to be suspended in order t...
Wednesday, February 19
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The EU’s richest states have dug in their heels over the region’s budget as European Council president Charles Michel seeks to ease the blow of sp...
Tuesday, February 18
18 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Apple has warned that disruption in China from the coronavirus will cause its revenues to fall short in the current quarter, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos...
Monday, February 17
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The head of SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund has lined up billions of dollars of outside investment for a new hedge fund-style vehicle, Goldman Sachs a...
Friday, February 14
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US attorney-general William Barr publicly rebuked Donald Trump, saying the president’s tweets about ongoing criminal cases had made it “impossible...
Thursday, February 13
13 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats in the US House of Representatives call on attorney-general William Barr to testify over claims of political influence in a case involving a...
Wednesday, February 12
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US senator Bernie Sanders declared victory in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday night, ride-sharing service Lyft disappoint...
Tuesday, February 11
11 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A federal judge is poised to approve T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint, according to sources briefed on the matter, Donald Trump has put forward a budge...
Monday, February 10
10 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Google has been accused of unfairly promoting its own holiday rental search by more than 30 of its rivals, France’s Covéa is in exclusive talks to ...
Friday, February 7
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Uber shares traded higher after hours on Thursday after the ride-hailing company promised profitability in the final quarter of this year, officials i...
Thursday, February 6
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump was acquitted on impeachment charges by the Senate on Wednesday, HSBC has decided to hold off on naming a permanent chief executive until...
Wednesday, February 5
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
US president Donald Trump claimed “incredible results in boosting the US economy in a State of the Union address to Congress and Pete Buttigieg took...
Tuesday, February 4
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Opec and its allies are preparing emergency cuts to oil production after the economic fallout of the coronavirus pushed the price of crude into a bear...
Monday, February 3
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
UK prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out his vision for future relations with the EU in a speech today, Beijing is poised to pump extra ...
Friday, January 31
31 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
IBM has named Arvind Krishna as the new chief executive to take over from Ginni Rometty, Amazon’s one-day shipping delivered a bumper holiday sales ...
Thursday, January 30
30 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shares in Facebook dropped by more than 7 per cent on Wednesday after the company posted the slowest pace of growth since 2012. Plus scientists race t...
Wednesday, January 29
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Apple recorded new records for both revenue and income for the holiday sales period, Starbucks has closed more than half of its 4,300 outlets in China...
Tuesday, January 28
28 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Airbus is on the brink of settling a bribery and corruption probe with regulators in the UK, France and the US, Boris Johnson feels increasing heat ov...
Monday, January 27
27 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An internal probe showed that Deutsche Bank paid $1.1m to secure the wealth management business of a senior Saudi royal, Beijing has warned that the s...
Friday, January 24
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A powerful rebound in Intel’s data centre division drove a stronger than expected recovery in the final quarter of 2019, former Wells Fargo chief ex...
Thursday, January 23
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chinese authorities have shut down Wuhan transport networks in its efforts to contain the outbreak of a deadly Sars-like virus. Plus, the stock market...
Wednesday, January 22
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The US Senate rejected Democratic bids to subpoena documents on the first day of the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, a slowdown in the US continues...