FT News Briefing

The US Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins today. Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell proposed rules on Monday evening that outraged Democrats.  Plus, lawyers for Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou told a Canadian courtroom that the US extradition case against the executive amounted to “fiction”, France signals a breakthrough in talks to resolve a spat over digital taxes with the...

US government-funded technology companies have recorded an increase in the use of circumvention software in Iran in recent weeks, the UK’s pledge to diverge from EU rules after Brexit has provoked alarm in Brussels, and a successful emergency escape simulation puts SpaceX on track for a launch with Nasa astronauts. Plus, the FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson explains how climate change and Big Tech w...

Investors catapulted Alphabet’s stock market value above $1tn for the first time on Thursday, Comcast’s NBCUniversal unveils a new streaming service that will be free to many customers, and Italy’s collapsing birth rate raises alarm bells. Plus, a non-partisan government watchdog said the White House violated the law by withholding US military aid to Ukraine last year. The FT’s Kadhim Shubber expl...

The US and China have signed an agreement to pause the trade war that has weighed on the global economy for nearly two years, flying taxi start-up Joby Aviation secures $590m in a new funding round led by Toyota, and legal costs from the 1MDB bribery scandal hit Goldman Sachs earnings. Plus, the FT’s Lionel Barber shares the highlights from his exclusive interview with German chancellor Angela Mer...

The US House of Representatives will vote today on sending articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, Boeing has ceded the crown as the world’s biggest plane maker to rival Airbus, and investment in UK-based tech start-ups exceeded £10bn for the first time last year. Plus, JPMorgan Chase kicked off the Wall Street earnings season by posting a record profit. The FT’s Rob...

The UK government is trying to claw back some of the £10m paid to trade organisations to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, US officials have presented the UK with new intelligence challenging the claim that Britain would be able to mitigate the risks of adopting Huawei technology in its 5G network, and the US Treasury department has dropped the designation of China as a currency manipulator.&nbsp...

Nissan executives have accelerated secret contingency planning for a potential split from Renault, the head of MI5 says he has “no reason to think” that the UK’s intelligence-sharing relationship with the US would be hit if Britain adopted Huawei technology in its 5G mobile phone network, and JAB Holdings-owned Panera Bread is set to reduce the proportion of meat-based items on its menu by a third...

The US House of Representatives votes in favour of limiting president Donald Trump’s military powers against Iran, Western intelligence officials believe a plane that crashed in Iran killing 176 people was mistakenly brought down by an Iranian missile, and Britain is preparing to activate a new post-Brexit sanctions regime. Plus, the FT’s Patrick McGee breaks down both the outlandish and realistic...

Donald Trump backs away from military action against Iran, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visits London in her first meeting with UK prime minister Boris Johnson, and Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman promote their new mobile video start-up, Quibi. Plus, the FT’s Chloe Cornish reports on Carlos Ghosn’s first press conference since his escape from Japan.   Hosted on Acast....

Iran fires more than a dozen missiles at bases in Iraq hosting American troops in retaliation for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani. Plus, Bank of England governor Mark Carney says central banks are running low on ammunition to fight a recession, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó reclaims his post as the head of congress, Boeing recommends simulator training for 737 Max pilots, and US Sena...

The top US military official denied that America would be pulling troops out of Iraq, blaming a leaked “draft” letter indicating otherwise. Plus, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, said he is willing to testify in the president’s Senate impeachment trial if subpoenaed, and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein faces new sexual assault charges in Los Angeles as he prepar...

France warns the US about the repercussions of imposing tariffs in response to the digital services tax on the likes of Google and Amazon, Boris Johnson is expected to pressure the European Commission to fast-track Brexit-related trade talks, and Spain is one step closer to its first coalition government in modern times after a parliamentary vote on Sunday. Plus, the FT’s Katrina Manson reports on...

US regulators unveil long-awaited restrictions on some flavoured e-cigarettes, Bernie Sanders notched up the biggest quarterly money haul so far of any Democratic US presidential candidate and Brussels is preparing a fresh push to create an EU-wide tax on plastic waste. Plus, the FT’s David Sheppard highlights what investors will be watching in the oil markets in 2020.  Hosted on Acast. See a...

Lebanon pressed for Carlos Ghosn’s return one week before the former Nissan chairman escaped from Tokyo and Google Health has created a system that can identify breast cancer more accurately than radiologists. Plus, the FT’s Robin Harding explains why employees are gaining more power in Japan’s changing labour market.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Private equity groups spent more on deals this year than at any time since the financial crisis, investors gear up for the final day of share trading in 2019, and former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn leaves Japan, where he was on house arrest, for Beirut. Plus, the FT’s companies editor, Tom Braithwaite, breaks down the year in IPOs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fraudsters are milking companies of tens of billions of dollars a year with fake responses to online ads, new documents reveal that WeWork will have to pay $17m for some executives’ golden parachutes, and the number of small businesses being created in France has surged this year. Plus, why Warren Buffett says companies cannot be moral arbiters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

Andrew Bailey has been selected as the new governor of the Bank of England, Democrats and Republicans trade barbs over tactics in the delay to President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial and Uber’s former chief executive, Travis Kalanick, has sold the majority of his stake in the company. Plus the FT’s US markets editor, Jennifer Ablan, explains why investors have piled into some of the riskiest US...

The Bank of England admits that high-speed traders have been able to listen in on market-sensitive press conferences , the man who came to be a symbol of corporate corruption is granted an early release from his 25-year sentence, and the challenge faced by European carmakers from electric vehicles sees Fiat Chrysler and PSA strike a deal to create the fourth-largest automaker in the world. Plus, t...

FedEx cuts its annual earnings guidance for the second time in three months, a new report shows that Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporate income tax in the UK in 2018 and Sterling surrendered its post-election gains on Tuesday after Boris Johnson signalled he will try to push legislation that could cause a “cliff-edge” Brexit next year. Plus, like other countries in central Europe, Poland is facing...

Global stocks hit fresh record highs on Monday as the US and China hit pause on the long-running trade war, while Mexico and the US resolve a row over the enforcement of labour provisions in the USMCA trade pact, Netflix reveals how quickly it is growing outside of the US and Boeing plans to temporarily suspend production of the 737 Max in January. Plus, the FT’s Kiran Stacey explains why US techn...

A deal to implement the new USMCA trade agreement was under threat after Mexico said it did not agree to certain provisions, Apple will face a shareholder vote next year calling for the iPhone maker to publicly commit to respecting freedom of expression as a human right and Boris Johnson plans to pour billions of pounds into the midlands and north of England after his election win. Plus, the FT’s...

Boris Johnson declared a powerful mandate for Brexit after a crushing UK election victory. The FT’s Sebastian Payne breaks down the results. Plus, the US House of Representatives judiciary committee pushes a critical vote on the impeachment process into Friday, and the US and China were closing in on a limited trade deal on Thursday night. Follow live updates on the UK election at FT.com/ukel...

The Federal Reserve leaves its policy rate unchanged and indicates that it has no plans to make changes through 2020, and the climate summit in Madrid could stall over the question of how to create a global carbon trading market. Plus, new findings show the US Federal Aviation Administration failed to ground Boeing’s fleet of 737 Max aircraft even after its analysis showed the plane was more accid...

UK prime minister Boris Johnson makes a final plea to voters in the “most important election in a lifetime”, Saudi Arabia renews its push for a $2tn valuation for Saudi Aramco, Democrats in the US House of Representatives unveil two articles of impeachment against president Donald Trump and trade negotiators from the US, Canada and Mexico sign changes to the USMCA trade pact. Plus, the FT’s Alan B...

Donald Trump says “a lot of strides” have been made on the USMCA trade deal, Morgan Stanley is cutting around 1,500 jobs worldwide, Amazon claims it was denied a $10bn US defence contract because of pressure from the president and SoftBank has agreed to sell its nearly 50 per cent stake in Wag back to the dog walking company. Plus, Paul Volcker has died at the age of 92. The FT’s Gillian Tett look...