FT News Briefing

Western countries are punishing Russia after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion from Ukraine, and UK prime minister Boris Johnson wants to punish Russia by removing it from the Swift international payments system. Plus, the FT’s Katie Martin explains how markets reacted on the first day of the war in Ukraine.  Mentioned in this podcast: Putin shatters peace in Europe as Russia storms Ukraine...

The FT’s Max Seddon, reports from Moscow about Vladimir Putin’s order to launch a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, and the FT’s economics editor, Chris Giles, explains what a Russian invasion might do to the global economy.  Mentioned in this podcas Vladimir Putin orders start of ‘military operation’ in eastern Ukraine Ukraine crisis: Sanctions and high energy prices pose threat to global ec...

Western powers impose sanctions on Russia as Biden says Ukraine ‘invasion’ has begun, and Russian assets are set to bear the brunt of the Ukraine conflict. Plus, the FT’s Berlin bureau chief, Guy Chazan, explains what freezing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project means for Germany.  Mentioned in this podcast: Biden imposes wave of sanctions on Russia for Ukraine ‘invasion’ Russian stocks sell o...

Russia sends troops into Ukraine after recognizing two separatist regions there. Then, Russia could be facing sanctions for its actions over Ukraine. How could that affect gas companies and consumers? Finally, Peloton discovered rust on some of its exercise bikes, it sent them to consumers anyway without telling them. We have more on its plan to conceal the rust, known as “Project Tinman.”  S...

The Olympics wrapped up in Beijing yesterday, capping two weeks of competition and controversy. Banks pledged in the run up to the Glasgow climate summit to fund a UN-backed ETF. But, the money never arrived and the fund is close to failing. Plus, Taylor Nicole Rogers on what steps companies can take to have a more diverse workforce. Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify M...

This weekend, FT Weekend editor Alec Russell brings us to Albania for Lunch with the FT. He sits down with writer Lea Ypi, whose memoir ‘Free’ documents her childhood there, both under communism and after its fall. Ypi, a political theorist at the London School of Economics asks: does capitalism make us free? Plus: European tech correspondent Madhumita Murgia explores how science fiction shapes ou...

Sequoia Capital plans to move deeper into cryptocurrency markets and has earmarked at least $500mn for investments in cryptocurrency assets, and a global financial regulator says that policymakers must act quickly to craft rules for digital asset markets. Plus, the FT’s Moscow correspondent, Polina Ivanova, reports that Siberia has become home to a cottage industry of DIY cryptomining fuelled by c...

The Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes show it would be willing to tighten monetary policy quickly if US inflation does not come under control, and the EU’s top court has opened the way for Brussels to withhold funding from member states for violations of the rule of law. Plus, the FT’s Mark Vandevelde explains how Blackstone’s rent-to-buy business is working out.  Mentioned in this pod...

  US and European shares rallied on Tuesday after Russia said it had begun pulling back some troops, and former Google chief executive, Eric Schmidt, is creating a $125mn fund to address problems with artificial intelligence. Plus, the FT’s US energy editor, Derek Brower, explains that US shale companies are feeling pressured to produce less oil despite rising prices.  Mentioned in this...

The FT’s Gideon Rachman discusses the messaging wars between the US and Moscow over Ukraine, Central America and Mexico is benefiting from a bumper year in remittances from migrant workers in the US. Plus, the FT’s Jonathan Wheatley explains why investors might be getting more nervous about sinking their money into emerging markets.  Mentioned in this podcast: Putin, US intelligence and the g...

German chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Kyiv and Moscow to try and deter Putin from attacking Ukraine, and Germans are confronting a major #MeToo moment as German publishing conglomerate Axel Springer comes under scrutiny for sexual misconduct charges against top editor Julian Reichelt. The FT’s Berlin correspondent Erika Solomon discusses her investigation of how the media company handled the accu...

Miami is hot right now. In the pandemic, more people moved to Florida than to any other state by a long shot. Chief among them were the tech elite, who have made Miami—one of America’s most diverse cities—their next big conquest. But what happens when Silicon Valley falls in love with a place with such a singular culture? Will a new tech migration help Miami, or hurt it? We go to Miami with writer...

A court struggle in China is casting a shadow over the company’s hopes for an Arm IPO after its failed $66bn sale to Nvidia, the 10-year Treasury yield on Thursday climbed to 2 per cent for the first time since August 2019, as investors ditched government debt on the latest evidence of stubbornly high inflation, and European scientists have made a big breakthrough in the decades-long effort to gen...

Dozens of biotech companies are running low on cash and face an uphill struggle to raise fresh funds, Fidelity’s little-known passive investment business Geode Capital Management surged to $1tn in assets last year. Plus, the FT’s US business editor, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, explains why Peloton’s latest turmoil makes it an attractive acquisition target.  Mentioned in this podcast: Burs...

Credit Suisse investors warn they will try to block any extension of vice-chair Severin Schwan, and SoftBank is looking to list UK chip design company Arm Holdings on the Nasdaq in the US after a sale to Nvidia fell through. Plus, the FT’s Robert Wright and leading researcher Virginie Guiraudon discuss the current state of the UK-EU migrant crisis and why no solutions are forthcoming.  Mentio...

Credit Suisse became the first Swiss bank in the country’s history to answer criminal charges on Monday, and the US is lobbying Brussels to water down the effect of EU regulations targeting Big Tech companies. Plus, we talk to the author Horatio Clare about the UK town of Dover and how people there are approaching the migrant crisis.  Mentioned in this podcast: Landmark Credit Suisse money la...

A week of dizzying diplomatic meetings seeking to de-escalate tensions with Russia kicks off today in Moscow and Washington, aid agencies call for unblocking of cash flows to Afghanistan as the humanitarian crisis deepens. Plus, the FT’s Anna Gross takes us inside a French refugee camp to hear the stories of the people who are seeking asylum in the UK.  Mentioned in this podcast: Ukraine: EU...

This weekend, we look at the Peloton phenomenon. Is it a failing fitness cult or a lasting way to stay healthy? Lilah and San Francisco correspondent Patrick McGee explore the behavioural science behind why we don’t exercise and the tech that tricks our brains into doing it anyway. Then, management editor Andrew Hill tells us why so many bad business books exist at the airport, and what makes a go...

Wall Street stocks slumped on Thursday after disappointing earnings reports in the technology sector from Facebook parent Meta, Turkey and Ukraine signed a deal to deepen defence co-operation in defiance of warnings from Moscow, and Olympics sponsors are accused of ignoring the plight of China’s Uyghur Muslims. The FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson talks about the pressure on companies and how they a...

Spotify delivered a weak outlook for first-quarter subscriber growth, investors are putting more pressure on the European Central Bank to raise interest rates, and Argentina has been plunged into a fresh crisis after a crucial political figure resigned over the country’s outline debt deal with the International Monetary Fund Mentioned in this podcast: Spotify warns it’s ‘too early’ to calculate im...

Alphabet announced a 20-for-one stock split on Tuesday, and businesses across Myanmar shut up shop yesterday, joining a nationwide “silent strike” to mark the first anniversary since a military coup. The FT’s commodities correspondent, Emiko Terazono, explains that the slowing growth of plant–based meat sales has taken executives by surprise.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcas...

The US stock market has suffered its worst start to the year since the global financial crisis, US and European allies are preparing what is being described as the most aggressive package of economic and financial sanctions ever assembled to punish Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Italian government bonds rallied as investors welcomed the re-election of Sergio Mattarella as president.  S...

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has warned that investors face years of low returns due to permanent inflation, and splits are emerging in corporate America’s response to a supply chain crisis. Plus, the FT’s Europe editor, Ben Hall reports from the Ukraine city of Mariupol about how people view a potential Russian invasion.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podcasts or Sp...

This week, we look at two things that connect us to human history. First, How To Spend It editor Jo Ellison takes us mudlarking — sifting through low tide for treasure — to find remnants of ordinary life from hundreds of years ago. Licensed mudlark Lara Maiklem teaches us how. Then we explore the staying power of games: why do we love them? Why have we been playing some for more than 7,000 years?...

Apple posted record revenue of $123.9bn in the holiday quarter, and investors had a tough time gauging the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone, the UK’s new information watchdog says he wants the country to take the lead on holding Big Tech to account in a post-Brexit Britain free of cumbersome European data rules. Plus, the FT’s European diplomatic correspondent, Henry Foy, reports that western countr...