FT News Briefing

Tesla reported a record net profit of $2.3bn last quarter but warned of supply chain constraints and the Federal Reserve signalled its intention to raise interest rates in March. Plus, the FT’s China correspondent, Ed White, talks about China’s vaping queen and her company's stock price which went up in smoke this week.  Mentioned in this podcast: Tesla reports record profit but warns of cons...

Google has overhauled a central piece of technology it is building to replace advertising cookies, and the owner of 7-Eleven is facing investor calls to split up. Plus, the FT’s Rome correspondent, Amy Kazmin, explains why Italy is having such a hard time finding someone who can be prime minister if Mario Draghi is elected president.  Mentioned in this podcast: Google changes course on cookie...

Stocks on Wall Street ended higher on Monday after investors took advantage of a severe drop early in the session, Peloton has come under attack from an activist investor, and the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two missiles launched by the Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.  Mentioned in this podcast: US stocks reverse severe losses as buyers step in UAE intercepts ballistic missil...

Germany’s largest publishers and advertisers are demanding that the EU intervene over the Google's plan to stop the use of third-party cookies, Sony has plans to enter the electric vehicle market. Plus, the FT’s asset management correspondent, Harriet Agnew, discusses the discord at the global consumer goods conglomerate Unilever.  Mentioned in this podcast: German publishers oppose Google pl...

This weekend, we look at our culture through new lenses. First, we go to Mexico. Lilah speaks to James Beard Award-winning chef Pati Jinich about how diplomacy is sometimes better achieved through the language of food. Then, anthropologist and FT columnist Gillian Tett looks at social phenomena through the lens of anthropology – from crypto to how tastemakers decide what is 'cool'. Gillian has a P...

The Federal Reserve has for the first time launched a period of debate of a central bank digital currency, and Luckin Coffee is planning to relist in the US after being delisted following a $300m fraud scandal. Plus, the FT’s Katie Martin explains why we should pay attention to German Bund yields turning positive this week.   Mentioned in this podcast: Fed opens debate on possible digita...

  A US Senate committee will begin debating a pair of bills designed to reshape technology regulation, and US banks are gearing up for interest rate rises planned by the Federal Reserve this year. Plus, the FT’s Moscow bureau chief, Max Seddon, explains how Russia has built up its economy to protect itself from sanctions.  Mentioned in this podcast: US Senate committee to debate legislat...

The car industry has turned on France’s plan to force manufacturers to attach the equivalent of a public health warning to their advertising, and US telecoms companies will delay their rollout of 5G services near airports. Plus, the FT’s Chris Nuttall, explains why Microsoft’s $75bn deal for Activision Blizzard makes sense.  Mentioned in this podcast: Carmakers criticise French plan for healt...

UK inflation is expected to rise to a 30-year high when December’s data are released this week, Meta patent applications indicate how the Silicon Valley group intends to cash in on its virtual world with hyper-targeted advertising and sponsored content, Chinese lenders have grown more cautious about lending to African nations as some have reached the limit of their borrowing capacity and the prosp...

Pension cash for British Gas workers was used to buy Israeli cyberweapon developer NSO Group, European sales of electric cars overtook diesel models for first time in December, and the FT’s Southern Africa correspondent Joseph Cotterill discusses Bain’s role in state corruption in South Africa under former president Jacob Zuma.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on  Apple Podcasts  ...

This week, we’ve got two GOATs – that’s Greatests Of All Time. Legendary artist Tracey Emin is starting an art school and studio compound in Margate, England, the seaside town where she grew up. On the week of her winning the Whitechapel Art Icon Award, we speak to Emin about the legacy she’s building and examine the work that came before, from scandalous installations like “My Bed” to her more co...

Google says it will spend $1bn to purchase its office building in London, Katie Martin explains why Ken Griffin selling a $1.2bn stake in his Citadel Securities is a big deal, and FT investigation correspondent, Tom Burgis, describes a British industry that caters to global elites who want to hide their wealth and manage their reputations.  Subscribe to the FT News Briefing on Apple Podc...

Boris Johnson suffered the toughest day of his premiership on Wednesday when he faced calls to quit after he admitted attending a Number 10 “bring your own booze” party during lockdown , the commodities boom has extended to nickel which reached its highest level in a decade, environmentalist activists are targeting public relations firms, and Beyond Meat has become one of the most shorted companie...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/afd4c412-780b-407a-8b5a-10175cf319fc A US judge says that the Federal Trade Commission can go ahead with a revised case seeking to break up Facebook, and the latest US inflation report is expected to show prices rose at their fastest pace in nearly 40 years. Plus, the FT’s US markets editor, Eric Platt, explains how the Federal...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/d84a12a8-97da-4331-836b-391c25c8676b The Federal Reserve’s second-in-command has resigned after a trading scandal, companies raised more than $100bn on the bond market in the first week of this year, and Wall Street’s biggest banks are set to report record profits. Plus, the FT’s pharmaceutical correspondent, Jamie Smyth, discu...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/51351f23-63b8-458c-9ee2-a7cbda43c287 Nato has warned Moscow to abandon its belligerent foreign policy or face a military alliance steeled for conflict, frustration over corruption in Portugal is the hot button issue for voters in this month’s election, and UK financial regulators plan to take a close look at cloud computing com...

Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2022 is dedicated to one of the world’s most powerful cultural forces: Disney. What happens when a company with that much influence just keeps growing? We visit Disneyland for a rare interview with CEO Bob Chapek, with FT reporters Chris Grimes and Anna Nicolaou. We explore where Disney Plus fits into the digital streaming wars. And Lilah speaks with a Disney e...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/4418eedc-e949-4d44-a517-55e73f2076f9 Outgoing Federal Reserve vice-chair has blamed “inadvertent errors” for failing to disclose the full extent of his trading activity at the start of the pandemic, the FT’s Katie Martin looks back on the first week of trading in 2022, and our Moscow and Central Asia reporter, Nastassia Astrash...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/31290819-a321-496e-a995-4281198ec453 Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting show the US central bank gearing up for more aggressive tightening, tech stocks plummeted, Hong Kong is bracing for sharply higher food prices, and one of Germany’s biggest utilities, Uniper, has been forced to seek €10bn of financing to avoid...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/cf9a801f-d99d-4703-a1dd-2219ee91f3fa Chinese banks rushed to meet their annual state-imposed lending quotas last month by buying up low-risk financial instruments, a divided EU has demanded a role in next week’s negotiations with Russia over the Ukraine crisis, and travel stocks rose sharply on Tuesday. Plus, the FT’s Frankfurt...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/f1236902-0997-4028-8cd1-d50317d10aba A jury found Elizabeth Holmes guilty of conspiring to defraud investors in the failed blood testing start-up Theranos, Apple has become the first company to hit a market capitalisation of $3tn and US president Joe Biden is launching a crackdown on the country’s largest meat producers. Plus,...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/f0ee8a8b-fab1-4fcc-a49e-864a7b2cf62e The US chief medical adviser has warned of an “unprecedented” surge in Covid-19 cases, and Tesla smashed its own production and delivery records in the final months of last year. Plus, the FT’s chief leader writer, Neil Buckley shares some of the FT’s predictions when it comes to 2022’s top...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/693b3337-ce80-4150-866a-01e1c3730fad US financial conditions are near the most accommodative on record even as the Federal Reserve has begun stepping up its exit from coronavirus crisis-era stimulus measures, and soaring US stock markets are masking a strong tide that is pulling down the share prices of hundreds of companies, a...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/ee47c8a9-9e84-4e31-bcf0-2314be0b406f US stock exchanges are increasing their efforts to attract new companies to fill the gap left by a decline in Chinese listings, and Turkey’s lira jumped sharply after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a new savings scheme. Plus, the FT’s US banking correspondent, Imani Moise, explains...

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com https://www.ft.com/content/5e8d9be2-8efa-4339-b80a-53ffe0664ec1 US retailers’ supply chain problems are being exacerbated by computer programs known as “Grinch bots” that are buying up the most sought-after holiday gifts in split-second online swoops, Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime is relaunching its initial public offering in Hong Kon...