FT News Briefing

US President Donald Trump said he would “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” subject to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, hedge funds made record bets against European stocks, Turkey has sold or loaned out $20bn of gold since the outbreak of the Iran war, and a project for a German warship has turned into a defence procurement disaster. Plus, four astronauts made a...

The US and Iran rejected each other’s peace proposals, EU officials are urging governments to avoid excessive support to offset surging energy prices, and the value of buyouts by private equity groups fell by more than a third in the first quarter of the year. Plus, Cuba is offsetting power blackouts and shortages with the help of soaring imports of solar technology from China. Mentioned in this p...

In a special edition of the FT News Briefing, reporter Guy Chazan explains the cost of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. We hear from business owners and people affected by the policies in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. Mentioned in this podcast: The economic cost of Trump’s migrant crackdown Sources: White House, Fox, ABC Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice it...

America’s tariff regime affected all aspects of life from the global economy to the day-to-day of average business owners. In this special episode, the FT’s US Economics Editor Claire Jones explains what changed, and what didn’t, because of those tariffs.  Mentioned in this podcast: Listen to the rest of our Liberation Day series  Listen to Swamp Notes  Note: The FT does not use gen...

President Donald Trump fired US attorney-general Pam Bondi, and private credit investors are requesting their money back from Blue Owl Capital at an alarming rate. Plus, the FT’s Robert Armstrong continues our series on Trump’s tariffs with analysis of the Taco trade theory a year later.  Mentioned in this podcast: Donald Trump fires US attorney-general Pam Bondi Blue Owl struck by $5.4bn of...

US President Donald Trump updated Americans on the war in Iran, and Chinese government bonds have sidestepped a global debt sell-off since the start of Washington’s conflict with Tehran. Plus, in part four of our tariff anniversary series, the FT’s Gideon Rachman explains how Trump’s tariffs reshaped the geopolitical landscape.  Mentioned in this podcast: Donald Trump offers mixed messages on...

Foreign central banks have slashed their holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve to the lowest level since 2012, and a preliminary estimate showed that Eurozone inflation jumped to 2.5 per cent in March. Plus, we hear from two small US business owners about how they have navigated a year of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.  Mentioned in this podcast: Foreign central banks sell...

Swiss lawmakers have assured senior UBS executives that they will water down stringent new rules and the Trump administration took its first step in opening the more than $10tn US retirement marketplace to private markets. Plus, as part of our series marking one year since so-called Liberation Day, the FT’s Stefania Palma explains the rocky legal future of US tariffs.  Mentioned in this podca...

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to ‘take the oil in Iran’ and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island. Uncertainty about what happens next in the war is sending nervousness through global markets. Plus, this week marks one year since President Trump’s so-called Liberation Day announcement. How has the global trade landscape changed since then? Mentioned in this podcast: Donald Trump...

Untold host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas – and unexpected harm – entangled in that spiritual mission. We meet Sarah – a young girl drawn to Opus Dei’s message that professional work can be a path to holiness. At 18, Sara...

The United Arab Emirates has told allies that it would participate in a multinational maritime task force intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Hong Kong is weighing tax cuts for asset managers. Plus, London has embraced a controversial form of energy production: burning rubbish.  Mentioned in this podcast: UAE pushes for international force to reopen Hormuz Hong Kong weighs ‘big bang’...

Iran’s top military leadership dismissed Donald Trump’s claims that the Islamic republic was ready to make a deal, the US president appears to make abrupt policy pivots based on swings in oil prices, and the EU’s trade commissioner says time is running out to stop the World Trade Organization from fading into irrelevance. Plus, how worried should investors be about the caps on redemptions at priva...

Meta and OpenAI will be among the first customers of Arm’s long-awaited new AI processor, the haven asset gold hasn’t been looking like its usual self, and Volkswagen is in talks to switch production at one its factories from cars to missile defence for Israel. Plus, Lebanon is worried Israel will push further into its southern region and occupy it.  Mentioned in this podcast: Arm launches ow...

Sources tell the FT that Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator trying to broker an end to the US’s and Israel’s war against Iran, and the US ambassador to the EU says the bloc must implement its trade deal with the US or risk losing its “favourable” access to liquefied natural gas shipments from American exporters. Plus, carmakers are panic buying aluminium because of the Middle East...

The World Food Project warns millions more could be pushed into acute hunger if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Plus, energy executives meet in Houston as war in Iran rages, and China pitches itself as a “harbour of stability” to global CEOs. And Trump escalates his rhetoric on Cuba, raising fears of U.S.-Cuba confrontation. Mentioned in this podcast: Piles of wheat and canned food stuck in t...

  Investors sounded the alarm on Thursday after a major Qatar gas facility took serious damage, and amateur traders are going wild for five-minute bets.  Mentioned in this podcast: ‘Armageddon scenario’ for gas markets as Qatar hit by missiles Five-minute bets are the new craze sweeping crypto markets Stocks and bonds tumble as investors price in ‘protracted energy shock’ CERAWeek confer...

The US has relaxed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil group Petróleos de Venezuela and the Federal Reserve has stuck with plans to cut rates later this year. Plus, Walmart won patents to give algorithms more sway over prices and fears of an immediate escalation in the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan have eased. Mentioned in this podcast: Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell says Iran o...

The EU wants to make mergers a bit easier, Wall Street banks are offloading $18bn of debt tied to video game maker Electronic Arts, and investors are piling into cash at the fastest rate since the Covid-19 pandemic. Plus, the FT’s Ahmed Al Omran explains why Saudi Arabia’s recent truce with Iran has not paid off.  Mentioned in this podcast: EU weighs curbs on national powers to block mergers...

The FT’s Gideon Rachman explains what the Strait of Hormuz’s closure means strategically for Iran, Italy’s UniCredit has launched a €35bn takeover offer for Commerzbank and China’s oil stockpile is put to the test as the strait remains closed. Plus, scientists have identified a potential new type of planet. Mentioned in this podcast: Why Hormuz will haunt us long after this war ends Biggest N...

Donald Trump warned Nato faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the Strait of Hormuz, and though oil prices have breached $100 per barrel, America’s shale producers aren’t celebrating. Plus, wealthy individuals have sought to pull more than $10bn from some of the largest private credit funds in the first quarter. And, what to expect from eight central bank meetings thi...

Introducing Artificial intimacy from Tech Tonic. For the next episodes in this season go to the Tech Tonic feed . Calder Quinn has fallen into a relationship with a chatbot called Sara. She’s kind, emotionally intelligent and creatively inspiring. But how can he tell his wife he is having sex with an AI girlfriend? In the first episode of Artificial Intimacy we look at how people are developing ro...

Gulf oil producers have lost billions of dollars in energy revenues since the start of the US-Iran war, but there is one country benefiting: Russia. It is earning as much as $150mn a day in extra budget revenues from its oil sales. Plus, the FT’s defence and security correspondent Charles Clover explains what may come next in the conflict.  Mentioned in this podcast: Gulf states lose $15...

The International Energy Agency has launched the largest release of strategic oil reserves in its history, investors have sought shelter from the turmoil of the war in Iran in US tech stocks and US inflation held steady at 2.4 per cent in February. Plus, the war has threatened the Indian economy’s “Goldilocks” combination of strong growth and low inflation.  Mentioned in this podcast: IEA rel...

Oracle’s shares climbed 9 per cent on Tuesday after the database group posted better than expected earnings, and we discuss how American businesses are navigating soaring energy prices. Plus, the higher costs to insure tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz, and the FT’s Antoine Gara explains why investors are ditching private credit funds.   Mentioned in this podcast: Oracle shares ral...

The price of oil fell sharply, and we’ll take a look at why the US and Israel are avoiding an attack on Iran’s Kharg Island. Plus, the FT’s George Hammond explains what the tenuous relationship between the Pentagon and Anthropic might mean for the AI start-up.  Mentioned in this podcast: G7 ‘stands ready’ to release emergency oil reserves Anthropic sues the Pentagon over being declared a ‘sup...