FT News Briefing

FT correspondents provide insight on the latest developments in Ukraine, why Algeria cannot supply more energy to meet Europe’s demand, and US airlines respond to a judge’s decision to strike down a mask mandate for transport.  Mentioned in this podcast: Mexico nationalises lithium in populist president’s push to extend state control Algeria struggles to meet rising demand for its gas after R...

Elon Musk’s $43bn bid to take Twitter private is struggling to draw interest from private equity groups, Netflix shares tumbled on Tuesday after its first quarter earnings report, and the International Monetary Fund has cut its global growth forecast. Plus, the journalist Neri Zilber explains how Israel is handling an influx of immigrants leaving their countries because of the war in Ukraine.&nbsp...

Bank of America gave a bullish revenue outlook as the second-largest US lender reported better than expected earnings, and Mexico’s opposition politicians helped defeat a radical energy reform bill backed by President López Obrador. Plus, the FT’s Eric Platt explains why real yields on US treasury bonds are nearing positive territory and what it means for other financial markets.  Mentioned i...

Many people with lingering symptoms of Covid-19 struggle to work or have been forced to leave the workforce entirely. Plus, the FT’s capital markets correspondent, Robert Smith, talks about the lessons learned from the collapse of Greensill Capital a year later.  Mentioned in this podcast: Long Covid: the invisible public health crisis fuelling labour shortages The FT News Briefing is produce...

Our latest season of Tech Tonic continues, with a deep dive into the semiconductor industry and Taiwan’s unique position as a bastion of computer-chip talent. James Kynge, the FT’s global China editor, looks into the unintended consequences of the race for semiconductor dominance.  We hear from Chad Duffy, a Taipei-based cybersecurity expert who helped uncover a major hack on Taiwanese semico...

This week, we bring our classic Life of a Song series to your ears, with the dramatic story behind 'Bam Bam', Sister Nancy's reggae dancehall classic. Despite being one of the most sampled reggae tracks of all time, it didn't make Sister Nancy a penny for more than 30 years, Alice Kemp-Habib tells us. Then, undercover economist Tim Harford teaches us how to think about failure. What can we learn f...

US president Joe Biden announced yesterday he would send $800mn in additional military aid to Ukraine, the FT’s John Paul Rathbone outlines Russia’s changing military strategy, and our US financial commentator, Robert Armstrong, unpacks the debate over whether the US economy is heading into a recession.  Mentioned in this podcast: Recession whispers grow louder Recession whispers, part 2 Mili...

Stockpiles of some of the world’s most important industrial metals have dropped to critically low levels, US banks start reporting quarterly earnings today and Boris Johnson has become the first British prime minister to commit a criminal offence. Plus, the FT’s Frankfurt correspondent, Joe Miller, explains why Volkwagen is pivoting its strategy away from growth and toward profit.  Mentioned...

Investors are bracing for another tough report on US inflation, Putin’s war in Ukraine has sparked an exodus of educated professionals from Russia and could worsen the country’s population decline, and conservative shareholder activists in the US have filed a record number of proposals this year as they try to counter what they call “woke-ism” in corporate America.  Mentioned in this podcast:...

Incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen will advance to the final round of voting after yesterday’s first round of the French presidential election, and Stefania Palma explains the big themes that have emerged from the 1MDB scandal. Plus, the FT’s Asia financial correspondent, Tabby Kinder, explains why China is changing its audit secrecy rules.  Mentioned in this podc...

In the second episode of this season of Tech Tonic, James Kynge, the FT’s Global China Editor, asks how significant Chinese intellectual property theft has been to the country’s rise as a global tech superpower. We hear from an FBI agent based in Silicon Valley whose job is to prevent the theft of trade secrets, and ask whether China’s ‘talent programmes’, under which Beijing funds scientists and...

This weekend, we delve into the world of celebrity via the app Cameo. What does it mean that we can now pay celebrities to send us personalised video greetings? And how has our interaction with famous people shifted over the last decade? Lilah talks to gaming critic Tom Faber about the ethics and absurdities of fame in 2022. Then, interior design columnist Luke Edward Hall gives us his top tips on...

French bank shares and bonds were rattled this week after the recent poll showed stronger results for right-wing French presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen. Aluminium producer Rusal became the first Russian company to publicly call for an investigation into the alleged war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, and FT markets editor, Katie Martin, discusses whether sanctions against Russia might...

The US has imposed its most severe level of sanctions on Russia’s Sberbank and Alfa-Bank, and Brazil might have finally settled on a chief executive for Petrobras. Plus, the FT’s China correspondent, Eleanor Olcott, spoke to staff at a Chinese autonomous vehicle company who say AutoX conducted risky test drives in a push for better data and investment. Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Po...

US and eurozone government debt sold off on Tuesday as traders weighed the prospect of stronger sanctions against Russia and comments from a top policymaker at the Federal Reserve signalling more aggressive action, President Joe Biden announces US, UK and Australia co-operation on hypersonic weapons, and in China’s financial hub, Shanghai, there are signs of growing public anger at the govern...

The venerable venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, has announced a change in leadership, Elon Musk has bought a nearly-10 per cent stake in Twitter, French president Emmanual Macron has called for a ban on Russian oil and coal.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Mentioned in this podcast: EU moves closer to boycott of Russian energy Twitter/Elon Musk: social med...

EU prepares more sanctions against Russia after apparent atrocities near Kyiv, French president Emmanuel Macron has warned his supporters not to assume that he will win a second term in this month’s election, and international auditors are resigning from China’s heavily indebted property developers. Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Mentioned in this podcast: EU prepar...

In the first episode of this season’s six-part series, the FT’s Global China Editor James Kynge tracks China’s dramatic transformation from the manufacturing workshop of the world to the next global superpower. The driver of that change is technology, sparking a battle between China and the US over who will dominate. Numerous ethnic Chinese scientists working in the US have found themselves ensnar...

This week, guest host Marc Filippino discusses the FT's war coverage in Ukraine with our Editor, Roula Khalaf. How does a news organisation make decisions during wartime? Then Marc talks with Maria Stepanova, author of In Memory of Memory, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize last year. Maria tells us why so many intellectuals are leaving Russia and what it’s like to be Russian and against...

The White House announced a “historic release” of about 180mn barrels of oil from the US emergency stockpile in an attempt to cool oil prices, and the two-year Treasury yield this week rose above the 10-year Treasuries for the first time since 2019. FT markets editor, Katie Martin, explains what this signals for the US economy. Mentioned in this podcast: US orders biggest ever release from Strateg...

SoftBank will slow down further investments amid a scramble for cash, journalist and “Putin’s People” author Catherine Belton talks about the impact sanctions are having on Russian oligarchs. Plus, the FT’s Frankfurt bureau chief, Martin Arnold, talks about Russia’s threat to halt gas shipments to Germany and what that could do to the German economy.  Mentioned in this podcast: Softbank to sl...

Russia has decided to “dramatically” scale back its military activities in the Kyiv area, and Barclays faces a £450mn hit after the bank mistakenly issued $15bn-worth more of financial products in the US than it had permission to do so. Plus, the FT’s chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, explains how the war in Ukraine is further disrupting the global economy.  Mentioned in this podcast:...

Russia’s biggest internet company has embedded code into apps found on mobile devices that allows information about millions of users to be sent to servers located in the country, the yen dropped to a seven-year low on Monday as the Bank of Japan bucked the global trend for tighter monetary policy, and China’s patchy vaccination campaign has left half of its elderly population exposed to a higher...

A new six-part series of Tech Tonic brings you stories from the frontlines of the battle between the US and China for global technological supremacy. At stake is the future of technologies that will shape all our lives, from the way the internet is used to the way we govern our societies. Join the FT’s Global China Editor James Kynge as he charts China’s dramatic transformation into a global tech...

HSBC has repeatedly edited its analysts’ research publications to remove references to a “war” in Ukraine, the US has denied that it is seeking to overturn Vladimir Putin’s regime, Plus, the FT’s Global China Editor explores how the bitter hi-tech war between the US and China is playing out.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Mentioned in this podcast: US denies i...