FT News Briefing

Thousands of National Guard troops are being deployed to Washington to safeguard the capital for the inauguration of Joe Biden. The president-elect is already planning which executive orders he will sign, but there is still time for President Trump’s secretary of state to leave his mark on foreign policy. Germany’s ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union, has a new leader to replace Angela Me...

Joe Biden plans to ask Congress for a $1.9tn economic rescue package, Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell assures markets that asset purchases will continue, four big US banks report quarterly earnings, and far-right groups find alternative internet platforms to rally for further unrest. Plus, the FT’s Guy Chazan on who is vying to replace Angela Merkel as leader of Germany’s ruling party.  B...

Donald Trump has become the first US president in history to be impeached twice, New York City cuts business ties with the Trump Organization, and the City of London has a post-pandemic recovery plan. Plus, the FT’s Beijing bureau chief, Tom Mitchell, explains what the clash between Jack Ma and Beijing means for China’s private sector.  Donald Trump is impeached for second time https://www.ft...

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is scrambling to stave off privacy concerns following a recent update to its terms of service; greenhouse gas emissions in the US rose less in 2020 than in any year since the second world war; China’s fast-growing tech industry is in the spotlight for harsh working conditions. Plus, the FT’s Richard Waters reports on the growth of Microsoft Teams and what it could mean...

U-S corporations are reviewing their political donations after the attack on the Capitol building, and research has found the huge global cyber espionage campaign discovered last month was carried out using tools similar to those developed by known Russian hacking group, Turla. Plus, the FT’s Turkey correspondent, Laura Pitel, explains how Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aggressive foreign policy moves hav...

Technology companies are blocking President Donald Trump from their platforms , renters fleeing U-S cities are straining the market for  mortgage-backed securities, and Europe tries to enforce its investment deal with China. Plus, the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off, virtually. Twitter vs Trump: has Big Tech gone too far? ft.com/content/6df12c33-e7a3-482b-92da-8c3549789a6b? Fading allure...

President Trump concedes power for the first time and calls for an orderly transition: the FT’s US managing editor Peter Spiegel looks at how Joe Biden can unite a divided nation; global markets have continued rising despite the chaos in Washington; Boeing agrees to pay $2.5bn to resolve a criminal charge stemming from the 737 Max crashes; and counter-culture icon Neil Young cashes in on the music...

Congressional leaders reconvened on Wednesday night to certify Joe Biden’s victory in November’s presidential election, defying pro-Trump rioters who attempted to scupper the process by storming the Capitol earlier in the day. The FT’s US managing editor, Peter Spiegel, reports on a frantic day in Washington.  Further reading: Angry mobs of Trump supporters interrupt transfer of power https:/...

Saudi Arabia pledged to cut an extra 1m barrels a day of oil output in February and March, and also has agreed to end its dispute with Qatar. Plus, the FT’s US business editor, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, explains why businesses are making their voices heard when it comes to the Republican rebellion against the outcome of the presidential election.  Saudis pledge to cut oil output despite Russ...

US equities had their worst day since October as spiking coronavirus cases and lockdowns shook investors, nearly €6bn of EU share dealing shifted away from London in the first trading day after Brexit, and China’s currency has rallied to its highest level in more than two years. Plus, the FT’s economics editor, Chris Giles, explains why the OECD’s top economist wants governments to rethink their c...

Businesses face a wave of new bureaucracy and checks at ports now that the UK is officially outside of the EU’s single market and customs union, European countries debate more restrictions aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus, and law firms ditch their UK trophy offices. Plus, the FT’s deputy markets news editor, Ian Smith, tells us about Bitcoin’s latest milestone.  European countri...

Britain and the EU were finalising a historic post-Brexit agreement on Wednesday night.  Plus, Beijing’s market regulator has announced an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, China’s ban on Australian coal exports is hurting its companies, and the FT’s US business editor, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, looks at 2020’s corporate winners and losers as well as who might rebound in 2021.  Brit...

France is set to reopen its borders with the UK to truck drivers who test negative for Covid-19, Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen aim for a Brexit trade deal by tonight, the US government sues Walmart for links to the opioid epidemic, and the botched launch of the video game Cyberpunk 2077 has prompted a shift by Sony. Plus, the FT’s consumer industries reporter...

Global stock markets slipped and the price of oil declined on fears over the new strain of coronavirus sweeping through parts of Britain. The FT’s science editor, Clive Cookson, explains what scientists know about the strain and how it will affect efforts to beat the pandemic. Plus, SoftBank has filed to raise up to $604m from investors for its first blank-cheque listing, and upscale sportswear co...

Several EU countries have banned travel from the UK as scientists identify a new strain of Covid that is 70 percent more transmissable, in the US, lawmakers reached a deal on Sunday night over a new round of stimulus, and shopping sites delivering from China are rushing to build their own global freight networks. Plus, our Brexit editor asks whether the UK’s stock market can ever get its mojo back...

Dozens of states and territories have launched the first US antitrust challenge to Google’s core search engine, and a surge of stockpiling by UK companies before the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1 has triggered road congestion in southern England and France. Plus, the FT’s Laura Noonan explains what we can expect out of the Federal Reserve’s stress test today and what they will t...

The US central bank  says it will keep buying at least $120bn of debt a month until “substantial further progress has been made” in the recovery, US regulators have hit Luckin Coffee with a $180m penalty in an accounting fraud settlement, and Massachusetts launches legal action against the online trading app Robinhood. Plus, the FT’s global finance correspondent, Robin Wigglesworth, explains...

Spanish blue-chips have positioned themselves for tens of billions of euros in EU coronavirus aid, the UK is drawing up plans to turn London into a rival to Singapore as a hub for shipping companies, and online brokers are scrambling to hold on to customers acquired during a surge in account openings amid the pandemic. Plus, the FT’s energy correspondent, Nathalie Thomas, explains what a possible...

Presidential electors confirmed Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 US election, and the Federal Reserve is poised to issue new guidance extending its emergency bond-buying programme. Plus, the FT’s Hannah Murphy explains what the US is doing in response to an infiltration by “nation-state” hackers into secure IT systems.  US orders emergency action after huge cyber security breach https://ww...

US doctors could administer the first authorised coronavirus shot as soon as today, an EY anti-fraud team warned in 2018 that “red-flag indicators” at Wirecard pointed to potential accounting manipulation, and Europe’s top financial regulators are set to approve lender payouts within strict limits. Plus, Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to extend negotiations for a UK-EU trade agreeme...

Boris Johnson has warned Britain to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, and Airbnb shares more than doubled on their first day of trading on Thursday. Plus, the FT’s Brussels correspondent, Javier Espinoza, explains why the EU is giving Big Tech companies an ultimatum when it comes to policing the internet.  Correction: A previous version of this episode referred to Netscape as Microsoft's browser...

Boris Johnson and the EU have set a Sunday deadline for a “firm decision” on the fate of their future-relationship negotiations, the US Federal Trade Commission and 46 states have brought antitrust cases against Facebook, and DoorDash reached a market value close to $60bn in its public trading debut. Plus the FT’s global media editor, Alex Barker, looks at whether Disney’s push into streaming is e...

Starbucks chief executive Kevin Johnson says the company will continue to grow despite the pandemic, Congress looks to approve the first overhaul of US anti-money laundering laws in decades, and Japan has launched a stimulus package to help speed up the country’s recovery from Covid-19. Plus, the FT’s senior energy correspondent, Anjli Raval, discusses the recent executive exodus at Royal Dutch Sh...

Boris Johnson is to travel to Brussels for make-or-break talks on a UK-EU trade deal, Uber will swap its self-driving car operations for a minority stake in Aurora, and China has drastically curtailed the overseas lending programme of its two largest policy banks. Plus, the FT’s Guy Chazan explains why there is so much at stake for Europe and German chancellor Angela Merkel during this week’s EU s...

Britain’s trade talks with the EU were on “a knife-edge” on Sunday, Brussels has been urged to stick to climate science when drawing up rules on sustainable finance, and doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford could be available for purchase in India as soon as March. Plus, the FT’s Brussels bureau chief, Sam Fleming explains how the UK’s departure fr...