FT News Briefing

First, the FT’s Colby Smith explains why the Federal Reserve is predicting that it would keep interest rates close to zero until at least the end of 2022. Then, the FT’s Brazil bureau chief Bryan Harris examines how the country is handling the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, the FT’s US business editor, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains how company leaders have been awarded generous stock options tha...

EU member states are urging Brussels to account for the shock of a hard Brexit in its coronavirus recovery plans, a former Goldman Sachs banker has avoided prison time for his role in a global insider trading ring, and US online car sales company Vroom more than doubled its price on the first day of trading as investors showed strong demand for newly listed stocks.  Plus, the Federal Reserve...

The US stock market has erased all of its losses from 2020, the World Bank has forecast that emerging economies will shrink for the first time in 60 years, and US Congressional Democrats have responded to protests against police brutality by proposing a bill to reform police practices. Plus, the FT’s Anjli Raval will explain the cautiously optimistic moves from the oil market.  Hosted on Acas...

US civil rights groups have received a surge of corporate donations since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, the head of Fidelity International has warned that asset managers will struggle to provide enough cash to keep businesses afloat, and global trade is under threat with up to 400,000 crew stranded either at sea or at home due to Covid-19. Plus, the FT’s James Politi explains why the US...

Veteran market strategist Jeremy Grantham has cut back his holdings in global stocks. The FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson recounts his conversation with the Boston fund manager. And, Frankfurt bureau chief Martin Arnold walks through the latest moves from the European Central Bank. Plus, the FT’s Attracta Mooney explains why wealth managers believe that investment with a sustainable focus will like...

US defence secretary Mark Esper breaks with Donald Trump on sending the army to clamp down on protests, and his predecessor James Mattis joins the president’s critics. The  FT’s Katrina Manson explains why the rift is so significant. Plus, a study casts doubt on whether taking hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for Covid-19, and Warner Music scored the biggest US IPO of 2020 on Wedn...

Many companies and chief executives have expressed solidarity with protests over the police killings of George Floyd and other black men and women. The FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains what is different this time round. Plus, public health experts fear the demonstrations will hasten the spread of Covid-19, and Zoom has emerged as one of the biggest corporate winners from the pandemic. Hoste...

President Donald Trump threatened to send US soldiers on to American streets to tackle the most widespread unrest the country has seen in decades, following the killing of George Floyd by police. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is facing a backlash within Facebook over his stance on controversial posts by the US president related to the protests. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...

Protests swept across US cities over the weekend as demonstrators responded to the death of George Floyd, another black man who died by police brutality. The FT’s Claire Bushey and Lauren Fedor explain what has been happening at the local and federal levels. Plus, the European Union budget commissioner is calling on member states to back new taxes to help fund the coronavirus recovery, and how sev...

Donald Trump said he had ordered a wide-ranging review of the law that grants social media companies immunity from legal action for content on their platforms, and the UK government has opened a path to citizenship for more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents in response to China's security crackdown. Plus, the FT’s industry editor, Peggy Hollinger, unpacks the turnround that propelled pharmaceutical...

Boeing said it will resume production of the troubled 737 Max, just hours after announcing plans to dismiss  more than 12,000 US workers. Meanwhile, Brussels has unveiled a plan to borrow €750bn to bankroll recovery efforts after the coronavirus crisis. Now it faces a critical few weeks for corralling member states to back the plan. Plus, the US will no longer consider Hong Kong autonomous fr...

Hopes of a quick economic recovery gave global stocks a lift on Tuesday. The FT’s Philip Stafford explains whether that optimism can be sustained. Then, a look at the highly rated companies, including ­Disney, Apple and ExxonMobil, that have borrowed a trillion dollars in the first five months of this year. Plus, Elon Musk’s SpaceX will send two Nasa astronauts to space today. The FT’s West Coast...

Japanese couples are putting off parenthood over coronavirus concerns. The FT’s Tokyo correspondent, Kana Inagaki, explains what this means for a country already suffering from population decline. Plus, countries around the world are aiming to roll out contact-tracing apps as they seek to reopen economies. The FT’s South Asia correspondent, Stephanie Findlay, reports on India’s mandatory system.&n...

The Chinese government is preparing to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong, and sales surged at the US retailers deemed “essential” by local authorities in the first quarter. Plus, the business of higher education is under threat because of coronavirus. The FT’s Andrew Jack explains. To get free access to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update newsletter for 30 days, visit ft.com/newsb...

Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the rapid spread of coronavirus in the southern hemisphere suggests it is likely to flare up in the US later this year. Then, the biggest shopping mall in America has fallen behind on mortgage payments that help underpin the $500bn mortgage-backed bond market. Plus, the FT’s Stephanie Findlay will explain ho...

Facebook has unveiled a shopping service that puts it in direct competition with Amazon and eBay, and a €500bn EU recovery fund put forward by Germany and France is facing some resistance. Plus, SoftBank announced a record $13bn annual loss earlier this week. The FT’s Tokyo correspondent, Kana Inagaki, explains what is next for founder Masayoshi Son.  To get free access to the FT’s Coronaviru...

Positive results from the first US Covid-19 trial raised investors’ hopes of an economic rebound, Chinese self-driving car start-ups have been accelerating pilot projects as US rivals sit idle, and bond investors have hit out at the growing trend of companies reporting “earnings before coronavirus”. Plus, the FT’s Kiran Stacey explains what the latest US sanctions against Huawei mean for the Chine...

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has warned that the US economy may not “fully recover” until the end of 2021, Japan’s oldest brokerage firm, Nomura, is poised to unveil a new strategic focus on private markets, and the Taiwanese government and Stanford University are preparing a quarantine and testing regime for foreign travellers. Plus, the FT’s June Yoon explains how the hopeful era for South K...

The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine is central to global efforts to restart economies. The FT’s US coronavirus correspondent, David Crow, explains how nationalism could slow the fight against the pandemic. Plus, some companies are presenting a new customised metric they are calling ebitdac: earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation — and coronavirus. The FT’s markets reporter, Nikou...

Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell said on Wednesday that additional fiscal stimulus may be “worth it” to shield the US economy from long-term economic damage due to the pandemic, meanwhile, OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría warned that rising debt levels would “come back to haunt us”. Plus, BMW is facing criticism for plans to make a dividend payout to shareholders despite requesting subsidies fr...

The global economic outlook is still worsening, according to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva. Plus, the FT’s corporate finance and deals editor, Arash Massoudi, reports on the latest deal to collapse amid the pandemic and the FT’s Colby Smith explains why the looming emerging markets debt crisis is expected to be messy. To get free access to the FT’s Coronavirus Business Update newslett...

The head of an Italian biotech company that sells Covid-19 diagnostic and antibody tests told the FT that demand far exceeded supply as countries put mass testing at the centre of plans to ease lockdowns, BP’s new chief executive, Bernard Looney, said the coronavirus hit to crude consumption was likely to endure beyond the pandemic, and, as coronavirus takes a devastating toll on senior living hom...

UK airlines demanded “urgent additional government support” on Sunday warning that Boris Johnson’s plans to introduce a 14-day quarantine for people arriving in the UK by air will exacerbate the crisis facing the sector. Plus, US businesses resuming operations after coronavirus lockdowns are confronting uncertain legal terrain over whether they are required to pay workers for time spent on health...

Uber reported stronger than expected first-quarter revenues on Thursday thanks to a surge in food delivery;  India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has sold a stake in his digital services group Reliance Jio for a third time in three weeks. Plus, we will look at what to expect from the US jobs report for April. Then, without runways or retail, how is the fashion industry faring under lockdown? T...

Donald Trump is weighing up more aggressive economic measures against China, The European Central Bank is expected to resist recent pressure from Germany’s constitutional court over its bond-buying programme, and first-quarter results from Lyft showed promising signals for the company’s target of profitability until the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, Airbnb was expected to make its...