FT News Briefing

Big tech companies reported mixed earnings for the most recent quarter, and Donald Trump is pointing to strong third-quarter GDP days before the US presidential election. Plus, the FT’s Washington Bureau chief Demetri Sevastopulo explains how early votes could affect election day.  Google ad sales bounce back sharply from pandemic slump https://www.ft.com/content/07c22dcb-9747-4bd3-a01c-bb51d...

Stocks in Europe and the US dropped on Wednesday as Germany and France re-entered lockdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus. The FT’s Michael Peel explains how the European Commission is handling the latest wave of the virus. Plus, investors worry about its spread in Europe and the US, and China’s leadership discusses the country’s next Five-Year Plan.   Germany and France impose fresh...

Apple is stepping up efforts to develop its own search technology, Boris Johnson’s plan to flout international law over Brexit is set to be blocked by the House of Lords, LVMH is in talks to renegotiate its $16.6bn takeover of US jeweller Tiffany. Plus, the FT’s Kiran Stacey will explain why US Senators are going after big social media groups ahead of the US presidential election.  Apple deve...

US stocks on Monday notched their biggest one-day drop in a month on fears that rising coronavirus infections will dampen business activity, and European banks get a lift from equities revenue. Plus, the FT’s China corporate tech reporter, Ryan McMorrow, explains how Alibaba is making a push into a crowded grocery delivery field.  Alibaba to pay $3.6bn to take control of Chinese supermar...

Pandemic-struck EU member states are worried about debt and are hesitant to reach for recovery fund loans, and a Covid-19 vaccine trial out of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has shown promise in a recent trial. Plus, the FT’s Peter Foster and Judith Evans explain what kind of complications will occur at the UK border after the Brexit transition period ends.  Italy and Spain introduc...

Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, clashed over issues from the pandemic to foreign policy in their final presidential election debate. Then, the FT’s Demetri Sevastopulo will explain why local races in Texas and around the US could dictate the political make-up of the country for years to come. Plus, Gilead has received the first US regulatory approval for a Covid-19 drug, and...

The US director of national intelligence has warned that Iran and Russia are attempting to influence American voters before the November 3 US election, Tesla delivered a fifth straight quarterly profit in the three months to the end of September, and one of the biggest US public pension funds has frozen new investments with Apollo Global Management over concerns regarding Leon Black’s connections...

Snap posted record revenues and attracted the highest-ever number of advertisers to its platform in the third quarter, and the US Department of Justice has accused Google of suppressing competition in internet search. Plus, the FT’s west coast editor, Richard Waters, explains how the US and Europe are handling the regulation of big tech in very different ways.  Netflix subscriber growth slows...

US stocks slid on Monday as a deadline on US stimulus talks looms and coronavirus cases continue to rise, and ConocoPhillips is betting on a post-pandemic oil recovery with its plans to buy Concho Resources for $9.7bn. Plus, the FT’s greater China correspondent, Kathrin Hille, explains why Chinese companies of all stripes are rushing into the country’s semiconductor industry.  US stocks slide...

Economists worry rising coronavirus infections and fresh government restrictions will cut short the region’s recent recovery, and UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing to release tens of millions of pounds to end a coronavirus restriction deadlock with leaders in Greater Manchester. Plus, investors are keeping a close eye on sterling as the Brexit transition period nears the end. The FT’s Katie M...

The World Health Organization has found the Covid-19 treatment remdesivir does little to prevent deaths and Boris Johnson could push Brexit talks into crisis on Friday. Plus, the FT’s Washington bureau chief Demetri Sevastopulo explains why suburban women might be the key to victory when it comes to the US presidential election.  Remdesivir has little effect on Covid-19 mortality, WHO study s...

France and the Netherlands jointly issued a call for the bloc’s competition authorities to take pre-emptive measures against big tech companies, and investors have been unimpressed by recent US bank earnings despite lower loan loss provisions. Plus, the FT’s Dave Lee explains whether Amazon will be able to handle the logistical hurdles thrown its way this holiday season.  Falling interest rat...

The EU has been given the green light to hit almost $4bn of US goods with punitive tariffs in retaliation for illegal state aid to Boeing, and the IMF said the coronavirus crisis will wreak “lasting damage” on people’s living standards across the world. Plus, some hedge funds are betting that the best days for the stock market’s coronavirus winners are in the past. EU given green light to hit US w...

US stocks built on last week’s rally with investors assessing US presidential election polls that show a strong lead for former vice-president Joe Biden, and unemployment looks set to hit the UK’s youth the hardest with the country’s economy facing a sharp slowdown. Plus, the FT’s US finance editor, Rob Armstrong, explains why US banks might suddenly be hoping for a Democratic wave and what their...

EU regulators are drawing up a “hit list” of up to 20 large internet companies that will be subject to new and far more stringent rules, and government ministers of poor and indebted nations plead for more ambitious debt relief programmes. Plus, FT’s Brexit editor David Bond speaks with Sam Fleming and Victor Mallet about how European countries are viewing the progress of Brexit talks.  EU ta...

Tensions between Washington and Beijing reflect a shift in how America views Asia’s superpower. We'll look at how both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are handling China in the presidential campaign. Plus, why a Silicon Valley start-up has decided to disrupt whiskey.  How the US elite became hawks on Xi’s China https://www.ft.com/content/75ce186e-41f7-4a9c-bff9-0f502c81e456 Silicon Valley start-up...

Eli Lilly, a US drugmaker, has applied for an emergency authorisation of its Covid-19 antibody in the US. According to documents seen by the Financial Times, the Vatican invested donations for the needy in derivatives that bet on the creditworthiness of Hertz. And the FBI picks up the case of two men found dead in a hotel room in Missouri; British prosecutors had seen the men as potential witnesse...

Donald Trump abruptly broke off talks with congressional Democrats on a new fiscal stimulus package until after next month’s presidential election, and economists estimate the coronavirus pandemic has put millions more workers across the developed world out of jobs than official unemployment statistics suggest. Plus, why US department store chain Macy’s is set to take a stake in Europe’s highest v...

Donald Trump returned to the White House on Monday evening after three days of hospital treatment for coronavirus, although his doctor warned that the president was not yet “out of the woods”. Plus, the IMF is instructing rich countries to spend on infrastructure, and a court case over trade secrets between two South Korean companies could affect the future of electric cars in the United States.&n...

Donald Trump’s doctors said the president could be discharged from hospital today, after a weekend of mixed messages from the White House concerning Mr Trump’s health. Plus, the FT’s Brexit editor, David Bond, talks with the FT trading room editor Philip Stafford about what financial services will look like after Brexit.   Trump’s doctor says he could be out of hospital on Monday https:/...

Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19 and will start quarantine barely a month before the US presidential election, US personal income dropped by 2.7 per cent in August after the lapse of emergency unemployment benefits, and Brussels is suing the UK over plans to violate last year’s Brexit withdrawal agreement. Plus, the FT’s Washington bureau chief Demetri Sevastopul...

Moderna Therapeutics’s chief executive told the Financial Times that the company would not have a vaccine ready before the US election, and Japan adjusts for a digital economy. Plus, the FT’s metals and mining correspondent, Henry Sanderson, explains how western investors’ interest in gold is driving up its price.  Moderna chief says its vaccine won’t be ready before US election https://www.f...

The first presidential debate quickly turned chaotic, and JPMorgan Chase will have to pay $920m in the largest ever spoofing settlement. Plus, the FT’s Olaf Storbeck uncovers that EY was made aware of potential wrongdoing at Wirecard as far back as 2016.  Joe Biden and Donald Trump clash in ill-mannered presidential debate https://www.ft.com/content/c77fa4ff-3278-4258-9033-8b62adcdbba5 EY whi...

European stocks lead a global rally on Monday driven by investors scooping up shares in beaten-down sectors, and Donald Trump is beating back allegations of tax avoidance and voter suppression ahead of tonight’s US presidential debate. Plus, the FT’s Michael MacKenzie will explain why investors are rethinking the traditional 60/40 portfolio.  Financials lead global equity market rebound https...

Argentina’s newly restructured dollar bonds have slumped in value less than a month after a deal was finalised to postpone debt payments, and Swiss voters have defeated a nationalist initiative to tear up their free-movement agreement with Brussels. Plus, the FT’s Mure Dickie explains how Scotland’s push for independence is influencing Brexit talks.  Argentina bonds ‘back in hot water’ just w...