FT News Briefing

EU budget commissioner Johannes Hanes has warned Poland and Hungary that Brussels could cut them out of its recovery fund, British officials accused France of making new Brexit demands at the eleventh hour on Thursday, and Boeing clinched its first firm order for the 737 Max since the aircraft was grounded 20 months ago. Plus, the FT’s global financial correspondent, Robin Wigglesworth, explains w...

Top Democrats have expressed support for a $908bn stimulus plan offered by a bipartisan group of US senators, the UK has become the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, and Chinese state-backed funds are still scouring the US for investments in critical technologies despite stiffer restrictions on such deals. Plus, the FT’s West Africa correspondent, Neil Munshi, explains why Nigeria’s ric...

Airbnb disclosed on Tuesday that it could raise as much as $2.5bn in its initial public offering, and Brussels is still holding back on granting Britain a whole collection of Brexit rights and regulatory waivers. Plus, the FT’s Latin America editor, Michael Stott, explains why Jair Bolsonaro’s monthly subsidy to Brazilians is a double-edged sword.   Airbnb looks to raise up to $2.5bn in IPO f...

The cost of many popular goods and services in the eurozone is rising far faster than the bloc’s overall depressed level of inflation, the video conferencing company Zoom continued to ride the boom in working and learning from home, and Eurozone finance ministers have struck an agreement to revamp the bloc’s bailout fund. Plus, the FT’s James Politi explains what is in store as Federal Reserve cha...

The EU will call on the US to seize a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to forge a new global alliance, the first coronavirus vaccine is on track for international deployment within weeks, and Hong Kong’s leader has said she is being forced to receive her salary in cash because of US sanctions. Plus, the FT’s Helen Warrell explains how the UK is trying to position itself as a global leader in def...

The company OpenAI has developed an extremely powerful machine-learning system that can rapidly generate text with minimal human input. The system is known as GPT-3 and it does everything from crafting an email to writing advanced fiction. However, the FT’s innovation editor, John Thornhill, explains, there are barriers and even a dark side to this tool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Europe’s financial sector has reached “peak uncertainty” as regulators and banks rush to stave off the harshest effects of Brexit, cloud software company Salesforce is in talks to buy Slack, and Facebook allowed several thousand adverts and posts that violated UK law earlier this year. Plus, the FT’s economics editor, Chris Giles, explains why UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is warning of an ‘economic e...

US stocks surged to new highs on Tuesday, alongside global equities, as the path for a smooth transition of power in the US cleared, French tax authorities have begun demanding millions of euros in extra tax from US tech giants, and an ECB executive says that eurozone banks could be allowed to pay dividends again if their balance sheets are in order. Plus, the FT’s Robin Harding explains why Japan...

US president-elect Joe Biden is poised to choose former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as his Treasury secretary, Peru joins a select group of countries that has issued century bonds, and the number of US air travellers has ticked up ahead of US Thanksgiving. Plus, the FT’s Donato Paolo Mancini explains how the vaccine produced by Oxford University and AstraZeneca will play into the larger fig...

European policymakers are preparing to relax Covid-19 lockdowns and “save Christmas”, G20 leaders pledged to “spare no effort” to ensure global access to Covid-19 vaccines, and Beijing has warned it will show “zero tolerance” for financial misconduct after several high-profile bond defaults by state-owned companies. Plus, the FT’s Peggy Hollinger explains how investors are handling Brexit.  E...

The World Health Organization has recommended that doctors do not prescribe Gilead's remdesivir to patients in hospital with coronavirus, US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has decided against extending several of the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending facilities, and online wine retailer, Naked Wines, has said that worsening wildfires are becoming a challenge for the industry. Plus, the FT’s M...

A new report from the EU’s external auditor has found Brussels failed to tame Big Tech because it moved too slowly, the US Federal Aviation Administration issues an order on Wednesday allowing Boeing’s 737 Max to fly again, and Wall Street analysts expect the arrival of a coronavirus vaccine will send the dollar sinking next year. Plus, the FT’s environment correspondent, Leslie Hook, explains why...

Saudi Arabia’s finance minister says the world’s richest countries are close to unlocking additional IMF funds for low-income nations, Amazon has launched an online delivery service offering big discounts for prescription medicine in the US, and Unilever is aiming to increase its annual sales of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives to €1bn in five to seven years. Plus, the FT’s US markets repor...

US president-elect Joe Biden has warned that the country’s ability to handle Covid-19 could be hampered if Donald Trump does not allow a smooth transition of power, AirBnB published the prospectus for its long-awaited stock market listing on Monday, and the secretary general of the Basel committee of regulators has argued that shareholder payouts should remain on hold until the long-term impact of...

A Financial Times analysis has found the UK’s weakness in international economic league tables during the coronavirus crisis reflects stretched household finances and potentially wasteful public spending, leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific countries have signed one of the biggest trade deals in history, and US banks are concerned over one of their most profitable business segments as consumers pay down...

Data analytics company, Palantir, beat Wall Street forecasts in its first quarterly earnings since going public, t he US Senate is preparing to vote on Judy Shelton, Donald Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve board, and Poland’s prime minister warns that his country’s parliament could shoot down the EU’s next seven-year budget. Plus, the FT’s Nordic and Baltic correspondent, Richard Milne, expl...

Boris Johnson’s director of communications resigned on Wednesday night following a bitter Downing Street power struggle, the European Central Bank will keep financing costs exceptionally favourable in the eurozone until the economy recovers from the pandemic, and TikTok wrestles with its US divestment deadline. Plus, the FT’s Laura Pitel explains how Turkey hopes to boost its economy despite an ov...

Republicans have grown more assertive in giving cover to Donald Trump’s false claims that the US presidential election was stolen from him, Lyft has said it was in the “early days” of building a delivery business to take on Uber Eats and others, SoftBank is considering moving its Vision Fund unit to Abu Dhabi, and the European Union is hitting Amazon with antitrust charges. Plus, the FT’s Leila Ab...

A breakthrough in the race to find a vaccine for Covid-19 fuelled a broad global equity rally on Monday. The FT’s Joe Miller explains what this means for managing the pandemic. Plus, India’s competition watchdog has ordered an in-depth investigation into the tight links between Google’s mobile app store and its payment service, and electric truck start-up Nikola has acknowledged for the first time...

President-elect Joe Biden will face a power struggle between liberal and progressive Democrats, and how will a Biden administration handle a trade deal between the US and the UK? The FT’s Sebastian Payne and Aime Williams explain how the internal market bill plays an important role. Plus, shopping centre landlord Westfield is threatening tenants with legal action over unpaid rents.  Biden fac...

Joe Biden edged closer to a presidential victory on Thursday night while Donald Trump claimed without evidence that the Democrats were trying to “steal” the election. Plus, the Federal Reserve kept monetary policy steady, the Bank of England took more robust measures as the UK entered a second coronavirus lockdown, and Uber missed Wall Street’s expectations on earnings in the third quarter despite...

Joe Biden won Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday in two critical victories that boosted his chances of winning the presidential election while the Trump campaign launched lawsuits to delay vote counting. Meanwhile, investors are now changing course after Democrats missed an opportunity for a blue wave. Plus, the FT’s environment correspondent, Leslie Hook, explains how the outcome of the election...

The US presidential election appeared to be headed towards prolonged uncertainty as critical battlegrounds continued to count mail-in ballots. The FT’s Peter Spiegel reports on the early morning results, and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains what it means for business.  Plus, China has suspended the $37bn listing of Ant Group, which had been set to become the world’s largest IPO. Our Asia ca...

US election day begins as Americans brace themselves for what could be a drawn-out result, Nvidia’s $40bn deal for the UK-based chip designer Arm is facing fresh problems in China, and Volkswagen will be within only “a gram or so” of tough new EU carbon emission limits. Plus, the FT’s US capital markets correspondent, Richard Henderson, explains which policies from Mr Trump and Joe Biden are most...

Fresh lockdowns in Europe announced have triggered a flurry of downgrades to economic growth forecasts, and UK business leaders have called for more financial help from the government to support crisis-hit companies. Plus, the FT’s Peggy Hollinger explains how Brexit will affect an already hard hit aerospace industry.   Eurozone economic forecasts slashed as fresh lockdowns imposed https...