FT News Briefing

Three big economic ideas that explain the US election

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Share buybacks on mainland China’s biggest exchanges have soared to a record high this year, and Israel has attacked an Hizbollah-affiliated financi...

Uber’s drive for ‘super app’ status

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trading in the world’s second-largest IPO of 2024 begins on Tuesday, but retail investors have given a lukewarm reception to Hyundai Motor India’s...

Swamp Notes: Election denialism is still in style

19 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 2020 US election was one of the most contested in American history, and it culminated in an unprecedented attack on the US Capitol building by sup...

Chipmakers send tech shares yo-yoing

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Israel says it has killed Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader and the architect behind the October 7 2023 attacks. Mixed quarterly earnings from chipmakers...

Israel accused of implementing ‘starvation plan’ in Gaza

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rights groups say Israel appears to be implementing a controversial plan to force Hamas into submission by laying siege to the north of Gaza. BHP’s ...

Private credit’s growing ‘IOU’ habit

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shares in ASML led a tech rout on Nasdaq on Tuesday after the chipmaker warned of a slower recovery in the semiconductor market, and Goldman Sachs’ ...

Pressure builds on Beijing to boost economy

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI is considering a largely untested company model to protect chief executive Sam Altman from outside interference, and virtually all global insur...

US banks ride ‘soft landing’ high

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Russia has expanded the capacity of its shadow fleet of oil tankers despite western sanctions, and US bank stocks hit their highest level since before...

Swamp Notes: Will Republicans take back the Senate?

12 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Both chambers of the US Congress are like the country they represent: narrowly divided. But while Democrats currently hold a one-seat Senate majority,...

Japanese PM’s uphill battle to win back voters

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The French government has proposed a budget for next year with some €60bn worth of spending cuts and tax increases, and Hurricane Milton ploughed ac...

US considers breaking up Google

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

HSBC’s top-paid bankers to bear the brunt of cost-cutting restructuring, and the UK Conservative party leadership race has been whittled down to two...

India’s belated oil rush

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The head of KPMG US says the industry urgently needs to make it easier to become an accountant, and the EU is suing Hungary’s government over a new ...

Strikes threaten Boeing’s bottom line

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Big bank bosses join a growing list of prominent financiers expected to skip COP29 next month, and Spain proposes a new mechanism to help harmonise th...

Israel marks one year after October 7

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new report forecasts that Donald Trump would raise the US debt by twice as much as Kamala Harris, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is quietly opening up a n...

Swamp Notes: How the Middle East conflict is shaping the election

05 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden administration has tried and failed to contain fighting in the Middle East over the past year - and now, the conflict is close to spiralling...

Markets keep calm despite global tensions

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A strike that closed US east and Gulf coast ports will be suspended, and market reaction to escalations in the Middle East remains minimal. Plus, Ital...

Displacement pushes Lebanon to the brink

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UK house sales rise at the fastest rate in three years, mass displacement in Lebanon risks overwhelming a country battered by economic crises, and Bru...

A day of escalation in the Middle East

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iran fires missiles at Israel, hours after the IDF launches a ground offensive in Lebanon. France’s new Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced tax ...

AI start-ups generate revenue at record pace

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

SoftBank will invest $500mn into OpenAI as part of a fundraising round that will give the start-up a $150bn valuation, and Chinese equities post their...

Hizbollah reels after the death of its leader

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of Hassan Nasrallah’s death, Hizbollah looks for a way forward, and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen goes on trial for allegedly em...

Swamp Notes: Harris and Trump pitch their economic visions

28 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Voters consistently tell pollsters that economic issues are their top electoral concern. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have spent the past few weeks ...

How extremist settlers in the West Bank became the law

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UK chancellor Rachel Reeves may backtrack on a key tax plan, Saudi Arabia is ready to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel for crude, ...

Banks warm up to nuclear power

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI’s chief technology officer is leaving the company, major banks pledge to increase their support for nuclear energy, and hopes of an M&A c...

China unleashes stimulus blitz

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, China has unleashed a swath of stimulus measures to jump-start growth and th...

A hostile takeover looms in European banking

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US proposed effectively banning Chinese cars, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came out against a UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank and Israel carrie...

Looming US port strikes threaten supply chain

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Olaf Scholz’s SPD narrowly fends off the AfD in Brandenburg’s state election, and chipmaker Qualcomm approaches Intel about a potential takeover. ...

Swamp Notes: Misinformation as a campaign strategy

21 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate senator JD Vance have spent the past few weeks pushing a false claim that Haitian mi...

Europe’s battery darling runs out of juice

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The S&P 500 hit a record high, Europe’s biggest hope for dominance in EV batteries is struggling to hang on and the Bank of England held interes...

The Fed’s first rate cut in 4 years

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate easing began with a half-point cut, and the UK’s financial watchdog has stepped up pressure on banks to offer ...

Solar energy’s moment in the sun

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

BlackRock and Microsoft are launching a $30bn data centre fund to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence, and BP puts its onshore US wind...

OpenAI launches its next generation of tools

17 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The EU is preparing to provide up to €40bn in new loans for Ukraine by the end of the year, and Boeing is considering temporary furloughs as its mac...

China’s start-up winter is here

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are set to announce interest rate decisions this week. In China, venture capital finance has dried up...

Swamp Notes: Harris and Trump meet on the debate stage

14 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s special episode of Swamp Notes, four FT journalists discuss the historic first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and ans...

Abu Dhabi bids for Germany’s industrial jewel

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Investors snapped up consumer staples such as Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive amid concerns over a potential slowdown in the US economy. Abu Dhabi’s...

UniCredit eyes a new era in European banking

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Italian lender UniCredit has amassed a 9 per cent stake in Commerzbank, and US inflation fell to 2.5 per cent in August. Plus, Argentines are decl...

The EU’s €13bn bite into Apple

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The EU’s top court orders Apple to pay €13bn in back taxes, and the Federal Reserve halves its proposed capital requirement increase for the large...

France’s looming deadline

10 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apple launches the iPhone 16 with generative AI features, and France’s new PM needs more time to submit the country’s debt plans. Kamala Harris is...

Tesla’s EVs stall in China

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Enthusiasm about artificial intelligence masks a recession in the technology sector, and a new exchange traded fund looks specifically for ‘reject’...

Swamp Notes: How protectionism got trendy

07 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats and Republicans have taken a protectionist turn on trade policy over the past few years. They say it’s to protect national security, but t...

France finally gets a new PM

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

President Emmanuel Macron has named the EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as France’s next prime minister. Plus, Europe’s sustainable...

Volkswagen’s dire warning

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Volkswagen calls for drastic measures to bolster profits, and President Joe Biden wants to block a Japanese company’s acquisition of US Steel. Plus,...

The glitch in China’s AI plans

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Big tech groups including Nvidia led a broad US stock market sell-off on Tuesday, and Huawei’s AI chips are dealing with some bugs. Plus, US homebui...

Who audits the auditors?

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The UK blocks some arms shipments to Israel, audit firms are fighting against new oversight rules in the US, and the same technology that brought us C...

Germany’s far-right AfD makes history

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Germany's far-right makes significant inroads in state elections, and Israel’s largest union calls for a general strike. Plus, so-called ‘greedlat...

Swamp Notes: Is mainstream media old news for Harris and Trump?

31 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have different approaches to the media: Trump talks a lot, and Harris talks a little. But the candidates share one thin...

The ABCs of CBDCs

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Turkey’s stock rally hits reverse as juicy interest rates lure savers out of the market, and the FT’s Polina Ivanova explains how Telegram is a li...

Ford loses its grip on the wheel

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nvidia’s record-breaking earnings still somehow disappointed investors, China’s use of the renminbi in cross-border trading is at a record high, a...

The US-China ‘cat and mouse game’

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Japanese operator of 7-Eleven is discussing ways to defend itself against a takeover bid by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, Chinese export co...

Telegram CEO arrest reignites free speech debate

27 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

French authorities detain Telegram’s chief executive as part of a content moderation investigation, which has reignited the debate about free speech...

Money surges into the Harris campaign

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Israel’s military launched a wave of air strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, small-dollar donations surged to Kamala Harris’s campaign after sh...

Swamp Notes: Democrats find a feeling at the DNC

24 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats from across the US gathered in Chicago for their presidential convention this week, promising to move past the Donald Trump-era of American ...

A soft landing at Jackson Hole

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kamala Harris made a bid for national unity at a rapturous Democratic National Convention. Plus, all eyes are on Jackson Hole today, where the Fed wil...

Japan opens for (foreign) business

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

PwC faces a six-month business ban in China, and Mexico’s Supreme Court judges go on strike. Plus, a potential takeover of 7-Eleven may set the tone...

Saudi Arabia is keeping it in the kingdom

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s flagship fund to buy up unsold housing is off to a limp start, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is to prioritise domestic spendin...

Kamalanomics goes on defence

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US dollar sinks to its lowest level since the start of the year and Democrats are rushing to defend vice-president Kamala Harris’s economic road...

The Democratic convention kicks off in Chicago

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Start-ups, legacy groups and policymakers are working out how to operate in areas of rising weather risks, and start-up failures shot up 60% in the pa...

Swamp Notes: Why more Latinos are voting Republican

17 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Latino voters were once considered a reliable bet for Democrats. But with each passing election, Republicans are making more inroads with them. The FT...

Bonds are back, baby!

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A huge US-based oilfield services company is expanding its Russian business, investors are piling into US treasuries, and US retail sales saw their bi...

US inflation hits lowest rate in 3 years

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza start up again today, US inflation fell to 2.9 per cent in July, and Ukrainian forces are looking to hold ...

Are companies bailing on fossil fuels or doubling down?

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US stocks and Treasuries rallied as traders assessed lower than expected wholesale inflation data, and investors hope that abundant electricity in nor...

Delays hit Biden’s signature manufacturing laws

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Russia has trained its navy to hit European targets with nuclear-capable missiles, and 40 per cent of the biggest US manufacturing investments announc...

Western companies hit by Muslim country boycotts

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

More Americans trust Kamala Harris to handle the US economy than Donald Trump, European traders this summer are using only a fraction of Ukraine’s v...

Swamp Notes: Another brick in the (blue) Walz

10 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Kamala Harris has supercharged Democratic party voters’ enthusiasm in the weeks since President Joe Biden stepped down as the nominee. Can Tim Walz,...

US consumers start pinching pennies

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The stock market sell-off earlier this week may have been a bit of an overreaction, and overall consumer spending has been struggling recently. Plus, ...

Google and Meta’s secret deal

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Google and Meta struck a secret ads deal to target teenagers, and the FT reports that the UK’s biggest private pension fund dumped £80mn of Israeli...

Can athletics vault into profitability?

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wall Street stocks rebounded yesterday as the markets stabilised from a global rout, Disney is raising its streaming prices and Chinese bonds are caus...

Stock indices get a case of the Mondays

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Major stock indices were significantly down around the world yesterday. Plus, the FT’s Lucy Fisher explains why the far right is rioting in England ...

UK leaders court US investors

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UK chancellor Rachel Reeves begins a three-day visit to New York and Toronto on Monday in an attempt to sell Britain as “a stable place to do busine...

Swamp Notes: The Three Party Problem

03 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Only two political parties — the Republicans and the Democrats — have controlled the White House since 1853. However, candidates from other partie...

An historic prisoner swap

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Investors were not happy with Amazon’s earnings report and Russia agreed to a historic prisoner swap with western countries. Plus, the FT’s Tommy ...

Tensions escalate between Iran and Israel

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An interest rate cut could be on the table for the Federal Reserve’s next meeting, conflict in the Middle East is intensifying, and the Nasdaq compo...

Miami: a rare bright spot in US office real estate

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft’s AI-fuelled cloud growth fell slightly short of investors’ expectations, the cost of a luxury office space in Miami smashed records, an...

The EU’s trade plan for a potential second Trump term

30 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Britain’s new finance minister blamed the previous Conservative government for a £22bn fiscal hole, and Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is ...

Big Tech’s Big Stumble

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Losses in big tech stocks as investors punish companies over earning reports. The Bank of England may vote to reduce interest rates this week. Fallout...

Swamp Notes: Should Kamala Harris embrace identity politics?

27 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If Kamala Harris wins the Democratic nomination next month, she would be only the second woman or person of colour that either major US party has ever...

How the Olympics could reshape Paris

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk is looking to inject $5bn into an AI start-up, and Venezuela’s election on Sunday will decide whether Nicolás Maduro will stay in office ...

Are Indian investors sitting on a bubble?

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Biden says it’s time to ‘pass on the torch’, China and the Philippines struck a deal to reduce tensions in the South China Sea, and the Nasdaq c...

Investors roll the dice on prediction markets

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla’s net income fell by 45 per cent, investors think Donald Trump will be back in the White House, and the director of the US Secret Service resi...

Kamala Harris takes the stage

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US Congress interrogated its Secret Service chief yesterday, and Kamala Harris is gearing up her prospective presidential campaign. Plus, the FT’...

Joe Biden drops out of US presidential race

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US President Joe Biden has abandoned his re-election bid following overwhelming pressure from fellow Democrats, and India’s prime minister Narendra ...

Swamp Notes: Trump pushes unity at Republican National Convention

20 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for their convention this week, just days after their party leader was nearly assassinated. The presiden...

Trump accepts the Republican nomination

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican party nomination for president. HSBC’s new chief executive, Georges Elhedery, will face a unique set o...

Viktor Orbán’s world tour irks the EU

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chip stocks dipped yesterday after Trump’s comments rattled investors, the EU spoke up against Viktor Orbán’s recent travels, and a bid to force ...

Nigeria gambles with economic shock therapy

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The UK Labour government will present its plans for the upcoming year in the King’s Speech, and Morgan Stanley experienced a slowdown in growth...

Trump’s JD Vance strategy

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump announced Ohio senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential nominee yesterday, and a US judge dismissed a criminal case over the former pres...

What’s next after Trump assassination attempt

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US Congress launches a probe into ‘inexcusable’ security failings following the Pennsylvania rally shooting, and workers at an Amazon warehous...

Swamp Notes: Conservatives have big plans for the judicial branch

13 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As president, Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court and hundreds of conservative judges to benches across the judici...

Double-edged sword of deregulation

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

US inflation fell to 3 per cent, and China’s Communist party leaders will meet next week to discuss the country’s economy. Plus, the FT’s Brooke...

Investors serve, can women’s tennis volley?

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Archegos founder Bill Hwang found guilty of fraud, investors are selling off risky US junk bonds, and women’s tennis is getting big investments from...

Iran’s reformist(ish) future

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A Russian missile that destroyed a children’s hospital in Kyiv used western technology, investment banking is picking back up, and Shein is injectin...

Nike’s new game plan

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nato leaders are meeting for its 75th anniversary summit amid tensions within their countries, and Europe’s battery industry is feeling the impact o...

The leftwing stuns France

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

France’s anti far-right alliance is on track to halt the rise of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, Labour’s landslide win is set to enhanc...

Labour wins UK election by a landslide

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rightwing populist party Reform UK makes inroads. Viktor Orbán set to hold meeting with Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine peace.Mentioned in this pod...

Robo DJ: YouTube invests in AI-generated music

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

SoftBank is looking to invest in AI despite pressure to offer a share buyback, Shell is pausing construction on one of its biggest energy transition p...

Denmark’s cow tax is more than just hot air

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The EU is planning to impose duties on substandard Chinese goods, Panama’s president wants to close the Darién gap, and Joe Biden is under pressure...

Unpacking the US Supreme Court Trump immunity ruling

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Western banks have cut their workforces in China, the US Supreme Court ruled that former president Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for his ‘offici...

First round victory for French far-right

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Marine Le Pen’s far-right party has battered President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in the first round of snap parliamentary elections, US ...

Martin Wolf on democracy’s year of peril

30 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Wolf is worried about the threat autocrats pose to liberal democracies. Across the world, billions of citizens are being asked to cast their vo...

Swamp Notes: After the debate, is this it for Biden?

29 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Biden went into Thursday night’s CNN presidential debate hoping to assuage concerns over his mental acuity and fitness for office. But his perfo...

A final goodbye to EY’s Project Everest?

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US is inviting foreign ministers from Israel and Arab countries to the Nato summit next month, EY’s new global chief executive confirmed that th...