Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s consumer prices remained in deflationary territory for the third consecutive month in December, adding to pressure on policymakers as they seek to restore confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. The country’s consumer price index
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US and the UK are preparing strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea. The US is expected to lead the military response against the Houthis after
Argentina’s annual inflation rate reached 211.4 per cent in December following the inauguration of libertarian President Javier Milei, confirming the depth of the economic crisis embroiling the country. Prices rose 25.5 per cent on average in December, the country’s statistics agency said on Thursday, compared to a 12.8 per cent increase in November. The rate
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Donald Trump’s potential election as US president is “clearly a threat” to Europe judging by the policies in his first term in office, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has said. Lagarde’s comments in an
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US foreign policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The Pentagon failed to properly track more than $1bn worth of weapons the US provided to Ukraine, according to a watchdog’s report that could fuel concerns about whether the arms had been diverted from
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Bitcoin trading volumes surged after the first US exchange traded funds with direct exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency made a long-awaited debut on stock exchanges. Nine new ETFs and two conversions from other products
Are you optimistic about 2024? The answer from the World Economic Forum would seem to be “heck, no”. Each year, the WEF asks 1,500 of its “community” — elite business leaders, academics, politicians and so on — to cite key risks, and then crunches that with Marsh McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group. The latest reading,
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The European Commission is willing to bow to some of Hungary’s demands in order to secure a €50bn support package for Ukraine, according to senior officials. Brussels has been working to find a solution
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A Post Office investigator said he was taking instruction from the company’s lawyers when he claimed there were no problems with the Horizon IT system and denied acting like a “mafia gangster” in his dealings
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. US headline inflation edged up to 3.4 per cent for the year to December, as the Federal Reserve deliberates over when to cut interest rates from their 23-year-high. The US consumer prices figures published on
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The British government demonstrated rare imagination and initiative when it held an international summit in November to discuss the existential risks posed by artificial intelligence. Tragically, successive British governments have shown a shameful failure to
Two days before the Slovakian election in September, a mysterious recording went viral on social media. In it, liberal opposition candidate Michal Šimečka could apparently be heard plotting with a journalist to buy votes and rig the result. “It will be done in a way that nobody can accuse you of taking bribes,” Šimečka purportedly
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. By 1890, so many European immigrants were arriving at New York City’s “Golden Door” that the US government began building a new reception station on Ellis Island. That year, 14.8 per cent of the American
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The boss of shipping giant AP Møller-Maersk has warned it could take months to reopen the crucial Red Sea trading route, risking an economic and inflationary hit to the global economy, companies and consumers. Vincent
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. An oil tanker linked to a dispute between Iran and the US has been seized off the coast of Oman, in a raid UK maritime authorities said was carried out by individuals in black military-style
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Donald Trump is expected to appear in a New York court on Thursday for closing arguments in a civil fraud trial that has already impugned his reputation for financial prowess and may yet imperil his
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Apropos the SEC approving spot bitcoin ETFs overnight, choose your fighter. Deutsche Bank: ‘this is good for bitcoin! Aargh!!!!’ Despite prevailing consumer sentiment leaning towards negativity,* we anticipate further [bitcoin] price increases in the coming
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Hedge funds are challenging private equity firms over restrictions that dictate who can lend to or buy the debt of buyout-backed companies, weighing legal action to capitalise on a surge in corporate distress. Private equity
Botlhokwa Ranta had never flown before, and she was frightened of both the flight and what awaited her when she landed. By the time the wheels of the aeroplane touched the tarmac in Nairobi, she was drunk. She was 26, and it was her first time outside South Africa. Ranta’s faux-leather handbag was filled with small
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Rich countries’ management of immigration has long employed the kind of misdirection of which a stage magician would be proud. For decades now, governments in the US and western Europe — particularly the UK —
This is part of a series, “Economists Exchange”, featuring conversations between top FT commentators and leading economists US Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell is earning plaudits these days because a scary spike in US inflation appears to be receding without major job losses or economic contraction. But American economist Stephanie Kelton argues that the Fed’s